Content marketing is all the rage these days, with more and more companies using content creation and social media to establish themselves as brands of authority and esteem. It is important to realize, however, that content marketing is not just about the business’ perception or the business owner’s ego; if your company is not seeing measurable sales benefits, then your content marketing strategies need some work! What follows are six simple ways to increase sales through content marketing.
Guest Blogging as a Two-Way Street
There are several ways to increase sales through blogging. In recent years, guest blogging has arisen as a powerful component of SEO and online reputation management; by posting guest posts to relevant, authoritative blogs, companies are able to establish their own expertise and know-how. What many companies neglect is the reality that guest blogging is a two-way street—and that inviting other reputable industry titans to write for your company blog can yield surprising benefits.
This is one of the most underutilized ways to increase sales, yet it works quite well. Surveys show that more than 60 percent of all consumers say they are much more likely to buy a product or service if they first read educational, informative content on the company’s website or blog. There is no rule saying that this content must be written by you or your marketing team members, though—and in fact, inviting other industry leaders to contribute to your blog shows that your company is, in fact, held in high esteem within its field. This is a stellar way to build consumer confidence and trust.
Different Boards for Different Content
Another tip is to take advantage of the opportunities Pinterest afford for creating different boards with different themes. Create one board for your company blog posts, another for e-books and white papers, and so on. Segmenting your content in this way may seem illogical at first, but it is a great way of drawing attention to the sheer range of information that you provide. Plus, many users who are not necessarily regular blog subscribers will still have an easy way to keep tabs on your company blog.
Questions on Quora
Companies looking for ways to increase sales through social marketing will want to make certain that they are making good use of Quora. Head there every week or two and search for questions related to your industry or niche—and then answer them, not in a promotional way but in a way that shows off your own expertise within your field. Quora’s user base grew by a staggering 37,000 percent last year, and it stands poised to continue expanding—making it a platform companies cannot afford to neglect!
Setting Off Alerts
One great strategy for getting your name out there, and attracting hot leads from those actively seeking assistance in your field, is to try to set off Google and Bing Alerts. The best way to do this is to use your company website or blog to report news and trends within your industry. By using the right keywords, you can set off alerts for those using search engines to monitor the industry.
Repurpose Your Content
Every time you create a presentation or give a speech, you should be in the habit of spinning that content into a blog entry—or perhaps even a series of blog entries. This may seem, at first, like additional work, but it is actually a smart and efficiency-boosting way to generate substantive content. You’ve already done the research needed to put the presentation together, after all—so why not put it to use on your blog?
Landing Pages
Those looking for ways to increase sales through content marketing will also want to make sure they are integrating content with landing pages. Say that you have a plumbing company, and you write a blog entry or send out a press release about green plumbing trends. Use those pieces of content to drive traffic to a page set up about your green plumbing services—not just to your main company homepage, or to a more generic services page.
Blogs and social media sites reach close to 90 percent of all U.S. consumers—and that number is only growing all the time. As such, these tools present plenty of ways to increase sales. The key is simply to approach them strategically.
Read more: A Business Owner’s Guide to Content Marketing
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