29 Reasons Why You Need Content Marketing
Content marketing attracts the right people at the right time. You build trust organically, by providing useful information. This establishes a relationship in which consumers buy and they come back; something that doesn’t occur with PPC alone. It’s the difference between a long term relationship and a one night stand.
Content Marketing Rules of Engagement (Reasons 1-10)
The main drivers of online engagement- blogging, visual content and email marketing don’t work immediately. Online engagement is a long term strategy and it takes time to build. So why are 73% of businesses producing more content than just one year ago? According to Hubspot’s 2014 Annual Report on Inbound Marketing and Selling, 82% of marketers who blog, see positive ROI for their content marketing. Brands that create 15 blog posts per month average 1200 new leads every 4 weeks.
Customers who received email marketing, spend 83% more when shopping. Their orders are 43% larger, and they often order 28% more product. Did you know that simply using the word ‘exclusive’ in an email campaign increases by 14% the likelihood of your target consumer opening it? 52% of marketers generated a lead from Facebook in 2013, while 36% found a new customer from twitter this year. And let’s not forget about Pinterest- customers spend more money when they convert from this social referral than from any other.
The Power of Visual Marketing (Reasons 11-21)
90% of the information transmitted to the brain is visual, and visuals are processed 60,000 times faster than text. People prefer photos to text twice as often, and videos are shared 12 times more frequently than links and texts combined. In fact, 80% of your online visitors will watch a video- only 20% will read content. Visitors are 64% more likely to buy a product online, for example, after watching a YouTube video.
Any visual content will not do. According to the Content Marketing Institute, more than 99% of banner ads are rejected. You are, in fact, more likely to finish Navy Seal Training, get a full house in Poker, or survive a plane crash than you are to click on a banner ad. If you only use ads you are effectively ignoring 95% of the online public.
The Benefits of Content Marketing (Reasons 22-29)
This may be why 60% of marketers are increasing their content marketing budgets. Leads gained from content are 61% cheaper than leads from advertising, tradeshows, direct mail, or telemarketing. This means that content marketing provides three times more leads per pound.
Content with more than 1500 words on average gets over 68% more tweets and ranks better, according to Quicksprout. Websites with active blogs have 434% more active pages and 97% more indexed links. Having more active pages and more high quality links translates into better rankings.
According to Hubspot, 71% of people say that blogs affect their purchasing decisions.
How To Improve Ranking and Conversion Rates
What will create a meaningful improvement in your conversion rates? First, create a content strategy that appeals to your customers. Then produce high quality content and plenty of it; your site requires regular and varied updates with infographics, videos, photos and text blog posts. Next, broadcast these approaches across your social media and email it to your top clients. Your ranking will improve, and your conversion rates will grow from here.
Advertising alone is highly unlikely to help your business. The most effective marketing strategies employ the right combination of unique content and engaging visuals.
