Content IS Marketing

Working in the business development team for Red Rocket Media is good fun, particularly when the content that our team of journalists produces brings opportunities to us.

Was that a penny I heard?

There have been so many occasions when I have been discussing with a prospective client just how effective content marketing could be for them and, each and every time, I have almost heard the penny drop… I simply ask the question “what made you contact us?”. The most common reply is: “I read some of the articles you have published about our industry /articles you have written about the power of content marketing and you guys seemed to know what you were talking about.” Boom.

It’s that simple! The content we produce brought you to us – it will bring you leads too. The figures speak for themselves; companies who publish blog content generate up to 88% more leads, blogs can drive up to 55% more traffic to your website and, of course, they encourage engagement on social media.

People take to their keyboards during the research phase whatever they are looking for and making great content available to them and being the original publisher is the perfect way to differentiate yourself as the go-to brand for a product or service.

Capture your passive audience

It’s particularly good at capturing a passive audience. Many brands, for example those in recruitment and property, will appreciate the challenges of marketing to those people who don’t yet know they are in the market for a new job or their dream house. How do you get your brand in front of great talent who weren’t looking for a new job? By publishing insightful articles about the world of work in which they live.

If you are targeting candidates in the rail industry, an article on emerging roles in the industry in the Middle East will appeal to those craving a new opportunity who were previously unaware of recent developments. If they decide to contact a recruitment company to find out more, they will come to you as the experts who published the article and therefore clearly have a finger on the pulse of the industry.

“You can’t help us”

As an agency, people often expect us to take a fluffy approach to writing their content – I often have conversations that go something like this: “Ours is a very technical product, you couldn’t possibly write about it with authority.” Actually, in some cases, probably not, but our journalists can research the industry, not the product, and write a great piece for you to publish which will get shared and escalate your brand as thought-leaders.

So, if you keep hearing the phrase content marketing and wonder what all the fuss is about, remember to add a little word – content IS marketing. It’s what will bring you potential business by making sure you are seen as the experts at what you do.