We all know that great content is important but let’s face it, most companies struggle to do it well and above all, do it consistently. Given how hard is to do well and how much effort it can take, it’s worth challenging assumptions about, why content marketing is so important.
Before detailing its importance, let’s first define Content Marketing.
Content marketing is the consistent creation, publication, and online distribution of valuable content, or information that is meant to entice, attract and capture the interest of a specific target audience, guide them to take the desired purchase action, and ultimately, win them over as a happy and loyal business customer.
In this article, I list and discuss below some of the top 10 most important reasons why content marketing is so important, especially if you are using an ABM strategy and selling to healthcare.
The list has no particular priority but depends entirely on your choice of the most suitable strategy for your business.
Top 10 Best Reasons To Consider Content Marketing
As you think through how the best content marketing strategy can drive your business, our below-detailed reasons will ensure that you are in a better position to pick and focus only on the key areas that are most relevant to your business.
Here are the top 10 benefits of content marketing:
#1. Content Marketing Helps You Build Your Brand
Great content is about great storytelling. And there is no better way of building a brand than great storytelling.
There are so many ways to build brands other than the traditional 30-second TV spot.
You can use blogs to tell you stories, long-form, printer pieces, case studies, and of course videos.
These are just but some of the weapons in the brand-building arsenal.
#2. Best Strategy To Build Your Business Authority
The second reason why content marketing is so important is that it can help you build authority.
When you are selling technology to healthcare buyers, they are looking for more than just great solutions. They are looking for expertise.
They want to know that you are reliable and dedicated to what you do.
Blogs and long-form articles are great ways to teach the market about how they can solve their problems, and share insights about the market, or customers.
They provide you with the key tools that will establish you as a go-to resource.
#3. Helps You Build Customer Trust and & loyalty
Marketing content has a key role with your existing customers. It can help reinforce why they made the right choice in selecting you.
You can use content like blogs to share updates, and news about the company that builds trust in your company, and cement their loyalty.
#4. A Key Strategy For Influencing Influencers
One of the newer strategies being employed by more sophisticated marketers is to reach out to influencers.
These are people who are highly trusted and viewed as authorities by your customers.
They are not in the media. They may be analysts or consultants.
To be effectively informed, they need to continually learn and gain insights.
As you feed them with smart and well-informed perspectives, they will be more favorable towards you.
They may even invite you to write a piece for them.
#5. Creates Social Media Currency
One of the most significant reasons why content marketing is so important is social media.
Social Media Currency refers to the level of influence or the value that your brand commands as a result of your social media networks or cycles.
We are all trying to grow our social networks and followings.
A strong social network makes it a more authentic and cost-effective way to market.
The building of the necessary network can, however, be extremely hard, especially in the health-tech sector.
Great content remains the valuable currency that attracts and keeps people in your network. It’s the fuel that powers your social network.
#6. Will Boost SEO
For many, Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is the number one reason why content marketing is so important. Content is a fundamental pillar of SEO.
Why? The search engines are increasingly biased positively towards websites that are authoritative in their respective subject matter.
You need to create a deliberate strategy to do this well.
Content and SEO are the foundations of how we market at healthlaunchpad.
Through our content-driven SEO model, we increased traffic by 50% over 4 months with SEO accounting for 84% of all traffic to the site.
In fact, the top 3 entry points into the website were blog posts, not the home page.
#7. Content Marketing Improves Site Stickiness
You may have gone to a lot of effort to get people to your website. Site Stickiness measures the time that your website visitors will be on your site over a specific period of time.
The longer you can keep them on your site, the better you will do at building your brand and growing leads.
Having great content that delivers value to your site visitors will keep them there longer and keep them coming back.
We have published blogs and videos at least once per week for over a year.
Site engagement has increased by 31%, and page views have increased by 83% in a year.
And this generates leads.
#8. Improves Lead generation
Great content generates leads. How? Well-optimized content attracts more visitors.
Moreover, an authentically written blog post can be more convincing than a hard-selling web page.
And of course, long-form content like buying guides or white papers is a tried and true way to generate leads by gating content and requiring registration.
#9. Drives Conversions
As we move down the funnel, converting leads into deals is another reason why content marketing is so important.
Great articles, implementation guides, and best-practice blog posts are very helpful to sales managers in building trust and getting prospects more engaged.
#10. It’s A Cost-Effective Marketing Strategy
And last but not least, the reason why content marketing is so important is that it’s a cost-effective strategy.
You can grow your website traffic with the paid search, but once you turn that off, traffic drops.
The combination of content and SEO will build sustainable and constantly growing traffic.
Many years ago I ran a blog on sailing. I published 2-3 posts per week.
Without spending a dime on marketing, I grew the blog to 15,000 unique visitors per month and it was one of the top-ranked sailing websites. All it took was hard work.
At healthlaunchpad, we are passionate about the value of great content.
We have an amazing team of writers and a well-honed process for creating content that works.
If you would like to learn more, give us a shout.
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Other Relevant Links:
- Making SEO a Culture In Healthcare Marketing
- Content & SEO – Positioning Frequency
- Effective Communication for Brand Marketing Optimization
- The Use & Benefits of ABM
- How Sailing Taught Me About Social Media and SEO
- How To Engage Influencers To Build Your Authority
Featured Photo by Melanie Deziel on Unsplash