Content marketing is a great way to build your brand and increase your audience.

By creating content that addresses the needs of your target audience, you can establish trust and credibility with them. You’ll also be able to engage with them more effectively, because they’ll feel like they know you better and they’ll be more likely to respond to anything else you have to say.

That’s why we provide Content Marketing services – to help you create content that will build your brand, grow your audience, and increase engagement. We work with companies of all sizes, from small businesses just starting out trying to get their message out there all the way up through Fortune 500 companies looking for ways to improve their existing digital presence.

In this content marketing guide, you’ll discover

What is Content Marketing?

Content marketing is the process of creating and distributing valuable, relevant and consistent content to attract and retain a clearly defined audience. Content marketing can be used to generate leads, build brand awareness and increase traffic to your website.

You have a lot riding on your content. Whether you’re looking to build brand awareness, reach a wider audience or drive sales, we’ll work with you to create content that gets results.

The number of people that are now using the internet has risen considerably over the past few years. It is now a challenge for businesses to reach their target market effectively. One way of overcoming this challenge is through content marketing.

We are all consumers of content. Whether you’re reading this post from a desktop or a mobile device, an app or a social media platform, we consume content on a daily basis.

And guess what?

Your target audience is doing the same thing whether they’re watching a how-to video on YouTube, reading the latest article in their Facebook feed or trying a new recipe from Pinterest.

How Does Content Marketing Work?

If you’re completely new to the concept of content marketing or you don’t exactly know where to begin, here are some useful methods you can start with:

That’s all there is to it! Now you have a system in place that will allow you to consistently produce content that will enhance your brand and drive sales.

Why is Content Marketing Important?

Content marketing is important because it’s a way to connect with your audience in a way that feels personal, while also giving them the information they need in order to make informed decisions. You can do this by creating blog posts, videos, infographics and other forms of content.

By creating content that’s relevant and interesting to your audience, you’ll be able to establish trust and build a relationship with them. This will help you grow your brand loyalty and sales over time.

It’s a way to connect with people who want to engage with your brand. They want to read what you have to say, they want to hear your story, and they want to be entertained by you. Content marketing is also the best way to get started with building a brand. It’s simply about creating good content that will resonate with people.

“Content is like a relationship: it takes time to build, and you have to keep it up.”

Jobin John, Founder & CEO Egochi

Content Creation Ideas for Marketing

There are so many different types of content that you can create for your business that it would be impossible to list them all. Think about some of your favorite brands and companies. Chances are that they’re using content in some way to engage with their customers such as blogs, social media, webinars, eBooks and more.

Some content does work better than others for certain industries though. For example, a legal firm is unlikely to have much success with video content since it’s difficult to keep your customer’s attention for that long. On the other hand, a manufacturing company may find that video tutorials are an excellent way to reach their audience and teach them how to use their products.

As long as you’re writing content that pertains to your niche, you’ll be fine. Here are some ideas to get your started:

Whether you create your content yourself or have someone on your team write it for you, make sure that it’s high quality.

Poorly written content is not only a turn off to readers, but it can also hurt your SEO.

Hire a professional writer if you need to or read lots of books on copywriting and learn the art yourself.

The more content you create, the easier it will be for you to promote it. This is why it’s a good idea to have several pieces of content ready before you even start your marketing campaign. At least one of them should be able to be promoted immediately.

The Benefits of Content Marketing

Content marketing is one of the best ways to market your business, especially in today’s digital world. It gives you an opportunity to connect with your customers on a personal level and allows you to showcase what you have to offer. Many businesses are starting to realize how beneficial content marketing can be for their company, but they’re still unsure of how far it can take them. In this post we’ll discuss why content marketing is important and how it can benefit your business!

More Direct Business

Content marketing is a more direct way to market your business because it puts you in front of the right customers without being intrusive. It’s also personal and relevant, so it helps you create a lasting connection with the consumer.

Content marketing is much more cost effective than traditional methods because it’s measurable, you can decide what works for your business, and then replicate it until it becomes an automated process – meaning less time spent on strategy means more time spent actually creating content that generates leads and sales.

Cost-Effective Form of Marketing

Content marketing is the most cost-effective form of marketing. It’s also a long-term investment in your business that will pay off over time because it builds trust and loyalty with customers by providing them with valuable content they want to consume—not just ads that interrupt their lives.

Content marketing allows you to get your name out there, build relationships with customers, increase brand awareness and build trust within your target audience.

3X As Much Leads

In the face of a mobile-first world and an overwhelming amount of information, content marketing has emerged as the most effective way to capture leads. In fact, according to HubSpot data, it’s 3X more effective than other forms of marketing.

This is because content marketing isn’t just about driving traffic and sales—it’s about building trust with potential customers over time by providing them with valuable insight into your industry. As you create content that explains how your company can help solve their problems, you’re also creating opportunities for them to learn how you can help solve theirs as well.

In order for this strategy to be successful though, it takes time and patience—but once implemented properly (and smartly), there are numerous benefits:

More Interested Customers

Content marketing isn’t just about getting your message out there. It’s a great way to establish yourself as an expert in your field and to connect with prospective customers. You can also engage with current customers by providing them with relevant content that they can use every day.

And it’s not pushy! Because content marketing consists of stories that contain valuable information, people are more likely to pay attention because they want to find out what happens next. They’ll be so invested in the story that they won’t notice that you’re trying to sell them something at all!

Build Customer Trust

Content marketing builds trust. People buy from people they know, like and trust. Content marketing allows you to show your customers that you’re an expert in your field. Customers will trust you more when they see that you have valuable information to offer them—and they’ll be more likely to buy from you and recommend your business if they think highly of what it has to say.

SEO Gains

SEO is a long-term investment, and it’s one that can pay off big if you put in the time. It’s important to remember that Google and other search engines do not like spammy tactics or over-optimized content. Rather than trying to game the system, focus on creating quality content with keyword research in mind.

When you’re writing blog posts, articles and webpages for your site, think about how they’ll rank in search results. What keywords are you targeting? How can you incorporate them into your writing? If you want to learn more about SEO best practices before diving into the deep end of content creation, check out The Beginner’s Guide To Search Engine Optimization: 10 Actionable Tips That Will Change Your Life Forever by HubSpot Academy (which I went through earlier this year).

Brand Awareness

Brand awareness is the number of people who know your brand. It’s also known as brand equity, which means that it’s the value that a person attaches to a particular company or product. Brand awareness is an important stage in the customer journey because it allows you to reach out and connect with potential customers at a time when they’re receptive to hearing what you have to say.

When companies try new products or services, they tend to stick with brands they already know and trust. Therefore, if someone has heard of your company before but hasn’t yet made up their mind about whether it’s right for them (or if they even like its products), then you’ll want to make sure that person knows more about your business so that he or she will feel confident enough in purchasing from you if needed

Types of Content Marketing Strategies

It’s great that you’ve finally created some killer content that you know your audience will love, but if no one ever sees it then you’re wasting your time. You need to let everyone know that it even exists. This is called content promotion.

The good thing about content promotion is there are so many different ways to do it and most of them are really inexpensive (or even free). As long as you have an audience of any size, there will be no shortage of options for you.

Below are some of the most popular options that you can consider:

1. Social Media Marketing

Social media is a no-brainer when it comes to promoting your content. Although it’s best to post your content on all of your social media accounts, it’s especially important to do it on Facebook and Twitter since these are the two most popular sites and therefore have the most users. Additionally, since most people have these set up to show up on their phones, your post will also show up on the news feed of all their friends.

Posting your content on social media is a great way to ensure that you’re reaching the most amount of people possible. Not only that, but you can easily track how well your posts are doing by simply keeping track of the number of people that are interacting with it (likes, shares, comments, etc.). After you’ve posted your content, be sure to keep track of these numbers so that you know which types of posts perform the best. This will help you know what types of content to create more of in the future.

2. Paid Advertising

If you want to get your content in front of a more targeted audience, paid advertising is a great way to do that since you’ll be able to choose the demographic that you want to target. Additionally, because you’re paying for the ad, you have the ability to schedule them to run at times when more of your ideal customers will see it.

Facebook and Google Ads are probably the most popular places to run paid ads, but you can also try advertising on other niche-related sites that accept advertising, such as industry-specific forums. For a beginner’s guide to Facebook Ads, check out this post.

3. E-mail Marketing

Most people are always happy to hear from someone they knows, especially if that someone is offering something for free. Email lists are a great way to stay in touch with your customers and let them know about all your latest news, products, promotions, etc.

While most e-mail marketing software can get a bit pricey, this doesn’t necessarily mean that you need to spend a lot in order to implement an effective strategy. If you’re just starting out, your best bet is to register for a free service like Yahoo or Gmail and create a simple “newsletter” format e-mail that you can send out to your customers.

Create an e-mail template that offers a discount code or coupon (for your products) in exchange for subscribing to your newsletter. Alternatively, you can offer a free guide or report in exchange for an e-mail address. You can also do a bit of both, offering a discount code for your products in exchange for an e-mail address.

4. Print Advertising

Although we’re currently living in the digital age where most people aren’t paying attention to traditional forms of media like television and radio, don’t overlook these options just yet. Many online marketers still swear by good ‘ol fashion print advertising, such as flyers and newspaper ads. Additionally, if you can afford it, paying for a billboard or bus ad can be a great way to get your message out there and seen by a large audience in real time.

5. Public Speaking

Along those same lines as advertising at events, you could always get in front of a crowd and speak about your business, field of expertise, or anything else that you’re passionate about.

A lot of famous entrepreneurs like to do this in the form of a TED Talk where they give a popular talk online. In any case, pretty much every crowd is a potential audience for you.

When you give a speech of any kind, you’d obviously want to promote your content. You could do this by having a banner displayed behind you or mentioning it at some point during your presentation.

6. Event Sponsorship

Another way to get your name out there is to become a sponsor for an event that is already happening. For instance, if you’re selling weight loss products, becoming a sponsor for a 5k running race would be a great way to reach your audience since these types of events usually have a pretty large attendance.

When you agree to be a sponsor for an event, you’ll often get more than just the chance to have your logo displayed. For example, if you decide to be a sponsor for a fitness expo, you’ll probably get a booth where you can interact with customers (and potential customers). Depending on the type of event that you choose to sponsor, you could also get free publicity through the media and social media promotion from people who are physically there.

A few more innovative ways to promote your content:

Examples of Content Marketing

Some popular online retailers that use content marketing include:

1. Wayfair: This company has perfected the art of creating stunning product images that inspire customers to buy. They also write blog posts that educate their audience about design and architecture.
2. Amazon: This retailer provides the audience with a lot of information without being pushy about sales. They generate revenue by earning customer trust and selling products that are relevant to the audience’s interests.
3. Patagonia: This outdoorsy clothing company offers educational content for people who love the great outdoors. Their terrifying journey to save the Antarctic is a great example of content marketing that’s both entertaining and informative at the same time.

This is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to content marketing. You can search for more examples online or come up with your own ideas as you gain more experience.

How to Create a Content Marketing Roadmap?

It is highly recommended that you have a content marketing strategy and we got you covered, here are 10 simple steps for a perfect content marketing strategy:

1. Choose a format

Depending on your topic, you may be able to create different types of content. For example, if your topic is “cooking”, you can create written recipes, videos, or podcasts about cooking. Try to choose a main format that you want to focus on such as videos, or written articles. Don’t try to do too much at once since it can become overwhelming and you won’t be able to maximize your effort.

2. Come up with a detailed plan

Using the information you have so far, try to make a more detailed plan of what you want to have accomplished within the next month, then the next 6 months and finally within the next year. Having a set schedule or goal to work towards is one of the most effective ways to improve your motivation and stick with a content marketing plan.

3. Organize your ideas

Now you have a better idea of what you want to achieve, you can start organizing your ideas into a coherent form. If you’re creating articles, you can start categorizing them into a WordPress page or website. If you’re making videos, you can start separating them into a YouTube channel. Try to be as specific with your content as possible so that it’s easier for people to find what they’re looking for.

Before diving into writing or filming your content, it’s best to take some time to plan everything out. If you’re creating videos, you can use tools such as photoshop to make image based content more appealing.
If you’re struggling to find ideas for content, here are some additional methods that you can try:

4. Set up Google Alerts

You can set up alerts that will let you know whenever a relevant topic is posted online. This can be anything from news articles to blog posts or even social media content.

5. Keep up with the competition

You’d be surprised at how many business owners don’t keep up on their competition. One of the easiest ways to get content ideas is to keep up with what your competitors are posting and see what subjects or types of content seem to be getting the most attention.

You can also try visiting related businesses in person and ask them what types of content they find to be effective.

6. Research popular topics

Look for popular topics within your industry or similar ones and see if you can provide an additional viewpoint. For example, let’s say you’re the owner of a pizza shop and you want to create a video series that explains how to make pizza, a popular topic to be sure. Instead of creating a how-to video, you could explore some more obscure types of it such as making pizza on a campsite stove or making it in a microwave.

Is there anything that you’re emotionally attached to that you can talk about in order to provide more of a personal touch? Even if the topic is about something mundane such as how to organize a home office, creating a video of your own office and talking about your experience can make it more interesting and relatable for others.

7. Be active on social media

Social media can be great for getting the word out about your content since it can reach people all over the world. One downside is that if you don’t have a large following, your content isn’t likely to be seen by many people. One way to counteract this is to pay for ads that will allow your post to be displayed to a wider audience. You can also take advantage of any events that are going on such as the Super Bowl and create unique posts that tie in with that.

8. Try getting outside promotion

Another great way to get content seen is to enlist the help of friends and family. Let them know whenever you post something new so that they can check it out and provide feedback. You can also try asking them to share the post with their social media accounts to get an even wider reach.

Even if your friends aren’t interested in the same content you post, they might share it with people who are. The other advantage of this is you’re exposing your content to people who may not have heard of you before and can lead to new followers or customers.

9. Research what’s working now

It’s important to keep up with what’s popular in your industry or related ones since this can determine what type of content you create. Check out sites such as BuzzFeed for information on what’s popular and try to create something similar that targets your demographic.

What have your past successes been? You should definitely try to repeat whatever it is that made those posts popular since you can rest assured that similar content will be well received by your fans as well.

10. Don’t give up!

If you’re just starting out with creating content for your website, it’s perfectly normal to have a low number of views in the beginning. However, as you start to acquire more fans and build a larger audience, your posts will also become more popular and seen by more people.

If you’re already getting some hits but just aren’t satisfied with the amount of views that your posts are getting, consider changing up the types of content that you’re posting or think of new ways to present it so that it’s more interesting.

How to Measure the Success of Content Marketing?

To determine whether your content is a success, you need to set a specific goal before you create any content. The goals can range from increasing brand awareness to generating sales leads to improving customer satisfaction. With these goals in mind, there are a few ways you can track your content’s success:

How can I get my content to go “viral”?

Going viral is what every marketer dreams about! A popular post, product or video can gain millions of views and reach a massive audience. It can also lead to a huge spike in sales, traffic or leads. While it’s tempting to put everything into that one piece of content in the hopes that it goes viral, this isn’t a reliable marketing strategy.

Viral content is unpredictable and nobody knows exactly what causes one piece of content to go viral and another to fail. That being said, there are a few things you can do to maximize your chances.

Step 1: Start with high quality content

If you create low quality content, no one will share it. If your content has a bunch of mistakes or is just plain boring, people aren’t going to bother reading it (let alone share it).

Your goal should be to create amazing content that people can’t help but talk about.

Step 2: Make it timely and relevant

Part of what makes content go viral is its timeliness. If you’re writing a blog post about Donald Trump, you’re more likely to get traffic and shares during (and immediately after) his presidency rather than a year beforehand.

Timeliness can also come down to something as simple as the weather. If you’re posting a photo of last night’s lightning storm, people in other parts of the country will be more likely to share it due to weather-related boredom.

Relevance is closely related to timeliness. If you can tie your content into a current event or something that’s happening right now, you’ll grab more attention.

Step 3: Promote, promote, promote!

No one is going to share your content or promote it for you. It’s up to you to let everyone know when you’ve created quality content that they should look at.

There are a few ways of doing this:

Step 4: Go back to step 1

Once you’ve created quality content that’s gone viral, you need to keep up the pace. This means you need to keep creating quality content on a regular schedule. This will keep your audience coming back, and more importantly, keep them from losing interest in your brand and forgetting about you.

Do you have any tips for making your content go viral? Let me know in the comments!

What are the Best Content Marketing Tools

There are a number of tools out there to help you get content created on a regular basis. If you’d like to skip the research step and focus on creating content, here are a few tools that can help you:

Even if you don’t have the luxury of having someone on your team with expertise in content marketing, these tools should help you develop content that is well-received and gets noticed by search engines. For more information on search engine optimization, be sure to read through the rest of our website!

Does Content Marketing Still Work?

In a word: YES!

However, the rules have changed. The internet has made it so that people can find information about their problems in just a few clicks.

If you want your content to be found, it needs to be stellar. It can’t just be good; it needs to be the best of its kind. No one is going to click on a second page of search results if they’ve already found what they’re looking for on the first page. That means that you need to have high quality, well-written content that offers a unique perspective the reader can’t get anywhere else.

If you create content like this on a regular basis, you’re likely to see visitors coming back to your site day after day. You may even influence the way they think about things or the products they buy in the future. This is the goal of organic SEO and it’s why companies continue to create content for their websites and pay to advertise online.

When creating a piece of content, ask yourself the following questions:

Perhaps the best way to learn to create content that works is to look at what others are doing and find ways to improve upon it. For example, let’s take a look at BuzzFeed. BuzzFeed’s content is often easy to spot. They write everything in list form and include lots of GIFs and images.

As a viewer, you probably know immediately if something is from BuzzFeed just by looking at the way it’s presented. Even if you’ve never heard of the site before, you can probably guess that it’s a site that lists lots of interesting facts or funny pictures.

How Much Does Content Marketing Cost?

It’s important to note that content marketing is different than pay-per-click or advertising on social media. With PPC and social media advertising, you’re paying each time someone sees your ad. With content marketing, you only need to create quality content to start seeing a return on your investment.

The cost involved with creating content largely depends on yourself and the resources you have available. If you have a knack for writing or are skilled in another way that could help you create content, you may only need to invest in legal or editing services if your post requires it.

If you’re paying someone to create your content for you, expect to pay anywhere from $10 to $100 an hour depending on their experience and skill. For businesses just starting out with content marketing, it’s a good idea to start small and scale up as you gain more experience.

If you need logos, illustrations, or photos to go along with your content, this can increase the cost. If you’re on a tight budget, consider asking a talented friend to help you out or look for cheaper alternatives like using a free image source.

While content may be initially expensive to create, there is virtually no limit to the amount of content you can produce. This means the costs can be spread out over time and you can easily reap the benefits from an ongoing and repeatable process.

Once you have a quality content creation process in place, it’s just a matter of maintaining your website or blog. You may also choose to distribute your content across multiple platforms through blogging, social media or paid advertising.

No matter what, you’ll want to be sure to post content regularly so that your site stays current and relevant. The goal is to always have new content to distribute so that you never go too long in between updates.

Get in Touch for Help With Content Marketing

Egochi is a leading digital marketing agency that handles all your content marketing requirements under one roof. Egochi provides a wide range of services including press releases, blog posts, social media management and more.

Our writers and marketers are passionate about their job and produce quality work. It’s a little expensive, but well worth it when it comes to increasing your search engine rankings and building credibility.

I hope to connect with you soon.