It would be clichéd to say that marketing practices are always evolving – but it is true. Now more than ever, intelligent and useful content is of huge significance as audiences continue to switch off from traditional techniques.
Power has shifted to the user, and they’ll no longer tolerate even the soft-sell when messages invade their personal social spaces. With the plethora of sales messages encountered in both the on and offline world, it’s little surprise that new approaches are required to effectively engage with consumers.
Smart content marketing will help brands to achieve this. Content should be truly relevant and useful to the reader. Messages are designed to educate and inform, delivering real benefit to the audience without directly pushing for a sale.
Thought leadership plays a big part in the success of this method, as brands need to demonstrate why they are industry leaders, or why you should choose them over the competition. By becoming an authority on a subject, brands become trusted for their knowledge and ability to provide solutions. As a result, consumers are more likely to engage in communications with little fear that they’ll encounter nuisance promotions. The goal for businesses is to continuously present intelligent content with real value to build loyalty, which is then rewarded with purchases as they are seen to be a reliable authority on the matter.
The release of Google’s Hummingbird algorithm in late 2013 furthered the necessity for brands to focus more on content marketing. The web’s leading search engine now places greater value on webpages that feature detailed and beneficial information, and their rankings now reflect this. Although some marketers may be reluctant to alter their content strategy as a result of Google’s algorithm change – one of the biggest to date – it would surely be detrimental to ignore.
It’s never too late to adopt content marketing as a means to achieving your business goals, but with its relevance increasing, the sooner you commit, the sooner you will see the benefits. Engaging an experienced copywriting agency will give you a head start. Contact us today to find out more.
Why smart content marketing matters
