The Top 3 Reasons Content Marketing Matters
Despite what you heard in a recent podcast, content marketing is not new. Yes, there is big growth in the awareness of content marketing practices and implementation across industries. But new?
Photo from Unsplash.com, by Clark Tibbs
Content marketing is more than 100 years old, thanks to John Deere, which created The Furrow magazine in 1895. Still published today, this educational and informative magazine subtly promoted John Deere products to as many as 4 million consumers at its peak in 1912. Other early content marketing leaders included Sears, which was big in radio beginning in the 1920s. And for more than 20 years, Red Bull has not only revolutionized content marketing, the company has turned it into a profit center (that’s another blog post).
Indeed, the popularity of content marketing is booming of late. But don’t do something because it’s popular, especially when it comes to marketing tactics. Adopt marketing principles and strategies that work. And content marketing works. Here’s some proof.
Quality content on your website increases traffic. According to data from the Aberdeen Group, year-over-year growth in unique site traffic is 7.8 times higher for content marketing leaders compared to followers (19.7% vs 2.5%). Two things: quality content is that created with a purpose and a strategy, not just words on site for SEO purposes. And “content marketing leaders” are companies with defined content marketing strategies, as opposed to those who try it once or twice.
When well strategized, content marketing increases conversion rates. Also from Aberdeen, data shows that B2B companies with a content strategy see website conversion rates of almost twice their counterparts who lack a strategy. These successful companies also see 30 percent higher email click through rates.
Content marketing costs 62% less than traditional marketing, according to DemandMetric, and generates as much as three times as many leads. Traditional marketing includes paid advertising on TV, radio and magazines, as well as outdoor ad options and others.
Bonus Info: Content marketing doesn’t need to be a time-consuming or high-tech production. A survey report from Social Media Examiner found 58% of marketers said “original written content” is the most impactful type of content, even besting visuals and videos. Visual content (including videos, photo galleries and infographics) is sexier than a bunch of words – even a writer like me will admit that. But you want results first, right?