Okay, I know that you know the worth of content marketing, that’s why you’re here, right? So, I’m not going to bombard you with statistics, or attack you with my pitch about why content marketing is absolutely awesome!
No. Instead I’m going to present you with the tools, facts, and figures that you need to convince your boss to invest in content marketing.
In this blog post, there are four approaches that you can use to convince your boss that investing in content is worthwhile. Or, you can go even further, and use all four approaches together!
1. The Peer Pressure Approach
‘Everybody else is doing it!’
We’ve all said this at some point when we were stroppy teenagers, and if we’re honest, it didn’t really work that much! But, we’re adults now, so I think this approach is worth a try. And, it’s true, everybody else really is doing it!
If content marketing is good enough for huge brands, like Disney and Oreo, then it’s good enough for anyone, right? Check out these great examples below:
Disney
Disney has a huge presence on YouTube — it’s one of those channels that you visit for one video, and leave three hours later because the content is just so fun! The video above was created to advertise a 24-hour party at Disney Land, they also managed to blow up Twitter with it because of their clever idea to arrange 140 characters in a hashtag shape.
Oreo
Oreo are amazing at content marketing because they make everything current! As you can see above, there’s practically an Oreo for every occasion, and this is just a tiny snippet from their content marketing strategy. To prove just how current they are, Oreo were ready with this tweet within seconds of the SuperBowl power cut.
Obviously, these are huge brands with basically a limitless budget to spend on marketing. But, there are also small brands that manage to come out of nowhere through the power of content marketing. Dollar Shave Club, for example. If you haven’t heard of them already check out their hilarious video below:
48 hours after this start-up company launched the above video, 12,000 people signed up for their service! Is there any other form of marketing that can gain that much ROI that quickly?! I don’t think so.
Show these examples to your boss, let him or her see that ‘Everybody else is doing it!‘, and then begin pitching ideas of how your company can make great content too!
2. The Get Your Moneys Worth Approach
‘It will last for ages!’
Content marketing is incredibly inexpensive when you compare it to other forms of marketing: TV ads, ppc campaigns, print, and so on. It also lasts longer than any other form of marketing, further reducing the overall price of it.
Content is Timeless
When content is created, you have it forever. It will remain online for as long as you want it to. And, unlike many other forms of marketing, the longer your content is out there, the more authoritative it becomes.
The main apprehensions coming from your boss may be due to the fact that when you create content you technically have to give away for ‘free’. But, it’s not necessarily free if you get something in return, and with content, there’s always a return. As well as increasing your online presence as an authoritative thought-leader within your industry, content marketing also helps you to build strong, long-lasting relationships with customers.
Customers don’t want to be marketed to anymore. They have the power to choose which company they use, so the best thing you can do is create amazing content that will catch their eye and encourage them to choose you. Content marketing that is helpful for customers, that gives without asking in return, emanates a very strong sense of trust. And, trust is priceless.
3. The We Can’t Survive Without It Approach
‘I need it!’
Content marketing is becoming downright essential for any company that wants to have an online presence. It’s simple:
Great content = engaged customers.
Engaged customers + great content = more social shares.
Social shares + great content + engaged customers = more people searching for you.
More people searching for you = Increase in SEO.
Okay, maybe it’s not that simple. Let me break it down:
Increasing SEO is the only way to climb the ladder up to Google’s first page, and considering that 75% of people never scroll past the first page of results, it’s a good place to be! And, you guessed it, content is the best (and most cost-effective!) way to do this.
The greatest thing about it?
You don’t have to do anything. Once you’ve created your content and shared it with your customers they will do the hard work for you. By engaging with your content and sharing it with their friends, and searching for you on Google to find more content from you, your customers are automatically increasing your brand’s SEO.
4. The Cold, Hard Facts Approach
‘It works!’
If all else fails, you can always fall back on the many statistics that prove content marketing is worth investing in:
1. Content marketing costs 62% less than traditional marketing and generates about 3 times as many leads.
2. 82% of marketers who blog see positive ROI for their inbound marketing.
3. Only 1% of B2B marketers will decrease spending on content in the next year.
4. Customers who receive email newsletters spend 82% more when they buy from the company.
5. 50% of consumer time online is spent engaging with custom content.
Enough proof yet? No? Okay, here’s some more:
6. 90% of consumers find custom content useful, 78% believe the organizations behind the content are interested in building good relationships.
7. 41% of marketers confirm content marketing’s positive ROI.
8. Interesting content is a top 3 reason people follow brands on social media.
9. Blogs give websites 434% more indexed pages and 97% more indexed links.
10. 79% of B2B marketers use content marketing to achieve brand awareness goals.
More, you say? Okay, here you go:
11. 27,000,000 pieces of content are shared each day.
12. 10% of website’s content drives 90% of the traffic.
13. Social media sites and blogs reach 8 out of 10 of all U.S. Internet users and account for 23% of all time spent online.
14. Articles with images get 94% more views.
15. 60% are more likely to be on the lookout for products when looking at content marketing.
That should do it!
Take this blog article to your boss and see if you can finally convince him to invest in content marketing!
If he still needs a bit more evidence then check this article out.