Everyone knows content marketing is where it’s at. Unfortunately, most people just don’t get the promised results they need and give up on it. What’s the secret? Why does content marketing work for some people and not for others?
Have you ever asked that question?
Well, brace yourself, because the answer may not be very fun. Here it is: you’ve simply never done it.
Market Content, Don’t Content Market
Many people think content marketing is what you call publishing blog posts or recording a podcast. Instead, they need to realize that content marketing is simply that – marketing content.
It’s not writing a few blogs and giving up.
It’s not recording a couple podcasts and giving up.
It’s not creating a few graphics and giving up.
It’s marketing. It’s strategic, persistent, planned execution. And as fundamental as that may sound, it’s surprising how few people understand this powerful secret to content marketing. They think creating a few pieces of content means they have tried content marketing and it failed them. So they give up. But they never actually gave content marketing a chance.
Because when you consistently invest in content marketing, the returns are obvious.
How Content Marketing Works
Content marketing is the single most profitable long-term marketing strategy, bar none. But you cannot stay in the rut of thinking old-school. Old-school marketing stratgies were based on short-term gains. Pour a ton of money into a billboard campaign that brings in even more money than you spent. Ok, great. That was the 1990s. This is now.
Now, you have to think long-term. Content marketing is not a get-rich-quick scheme. It doesn’t yeild quick returns. But what it does is residually and cumulatively yield more and more as it matures. Here’s what I mean.
A weekly blog or podcast (or whatever content your audience connects with most) starts giving your site more domain authority and thus increased traffic. That takes a few weeks to a few months to get started. But it also gives your business credibility, as you answer the questions your audience asks most, and thus more repeat visitors and a higher likelihood to buy from you. This takes months and even years.
Thirdly, that content feeds other marketing efforts. It provides fodder for social media marketing, serves as an incentive for email-opt-ins, etc. It is the beginning of an entire world of marketing potential. The problem is, so many think posting 5 or 10 blogs will bring them profits.
It won’t.
The Payoff
Each industry is different. But there is no industry that cannot greatly benefit from long-term investment in content marketing – IF your business approaches content marketing like the long-term powerhouse that it is. Marketing content over time increasingly grows visibility, authority, traffic, and conversions.
Set aside a substantial portion of your marketing budget for content creation. Get a few months of content in the pipeline. Strategically target certain SEO keywords. Leverage that content to collect emails and to engage your audience on social media. With time – and with the patience most lack – marketing that content will result in more web traffic, more credibility, more motivated buyers, and more revenue.
The reason your content marketing has failed is because you never gave it a chance to succeed. On the other hand, some businesses crank out new content every week or even every day. Why? Because they know the dividends will accrue. They know the residual revenue is more than worth it.
