Why Good Content is a Do-or-Die Component of Digital Marketing
Content writing is quite possibly the most undervalued aspect of digital marketing. Many businesses neglect it, thinking it’s not that critical. But the truth is it’s absolutely essential for marketing your business, both for building your brand and getting visitors to your website.
Think of it this way: even though your car is made up of some obviously critical components – the engine and battery, for example – it won’t get you anywhere without a steering wheel. But who thinks long and hard about the steering wheel when they’re shopping for a new car? Likewise, while every facet of digital marketing is important, your brand won’t have traction without a steady influx of high-quality content.
And this may sound obvious, but you need a good writer, meaning an actual human being, to create the content. We’ve all been to websites where the content was obviously generated by software, and it just doesn’t work. Poor-quality content, whether it’s spun from a program or put together by somebody with good intentions who’s just not good at writing, can ruin the potential customer’s faith in your business. Without a skilled content writer to give your website content an authentic human voice, attracting the attention of your audience will be a serious challenge.
Consistent content – the kind of information that people are looking for – is the bridge between brands and their customers. It’s often the whole reason users find your site, when they’re semi-randomly searching for some information to meet their needs. Good content is as precious as gold when it draws users to your website. And when those site visitors convert to customers, you’ve reached your ultimate objective.
Content’s Place in the Digital Marketing Realm
Content falls under the umbrella of SEO (Search Engine Optimization). Basically, SEO is the strategic process of making the most of your online content so that a search engine (like Google) will show it as a top result when you search for a particular keyword. Let’s face it: people are either lazy or in a hurry – or both – and they’re going to click on the top items in the search results. After all, the Internet is supposed to be quick, and they want their information instantly. That’s why you want to work with human nature and do all you can to get your content to appear at or near the top of the list.
Since Google is the world’s largest and most popular search engine, you can be sure that there are people in your area using it to learn about your product or service. By writing useful content and posting it to your website, you’ll reach more of those potential customers and gain conversions: visitors to your website will take action to become clients.
Social media can be your business’s other best friend, when you share your site’s relevant content on the appropriate platforms. This is an excellent way to engage with your audience, especially if you can get a dialogue going in the comment field, be it on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, or another social site. Used correctly, social media will help you promote the content from your own website, driving ever more traffic exactly where you need it to go.
Next time around, we’ll discuss content quality: how you know it’s good, and who you need to write it.
Written by: Nick Driscoll