How Content Marketing Can Help You Attract New Customers

Content marketing is about creating and sharing valuable, relevant, and consistent online content. Unlike traditional marketing, it’s not about direct selling. It’s more about engaging your audience, establishing trust, and building strong connections. When done right, your online content marketing strategy can transform your business, fueling customer engagement and driving growth.

Why should small to medium-sized businesses like yours care about content marketing? The answer is simple. With the increasing digitalization of business operations, your potential customers are online, searching for solutions on search engines and scrolling through social media channels. Traditional marketing methods might not be enough anymore. This is where a documented content marketing strategy steps in.

Content marketing is more than just producing and distributing content. It’s about crafting a compelling story around your brand—using your unique voice to stand out giving your audience something they can’t resist. It provides customers with value that extends beyond your products or services.

In this guide, we’ll discuss how content marketing works and how it can help you attract more customers. Let’s get started, shall we?

In this Guide:

• What is Content Marketing (Definition)
• How Content Marketing Helps in Customer Acquisition
• How to Win Customer Acquisition with Content Marketing
• How to Create Effective Content
• Content Marketing Measurement and Analysis

Content marketing is the new advertising.

What is Content Marketing (Definition)

Content marketing, as the term suggests, is all about leveraging content. It can be a blog post, visual content, video content, and social posts, or any other form of online content. The goal is to engage, educate, and inspire your target audience. It is a strategic approach focused on creating and distributing valuable content to drive profitable customer action.

Think of it as a conversation with your potential customers. Instead of making a sales pitch, you provide them with answers. What most businesses don’t realize is that conversion can start from research. We are so eager to make the sale process faster that we forget that research is part of the buyer’s journey.

So instead of talking about how awesome your product is, figure out why they need your product in the first place. How can your product or service solve their problem? This strategy establishes your brand as an authority.

In today’s digital world where your customers are just a Google search away, content marketing can enhance your visibility on search engine results pages. A successful content marketing strategy aligns with search engine optimization practices and helps your business appear in relevant searches. Thus, making it easier for customers to find you.

Moreover, content marketing shines where traditional marketing methods fall short. It’s not about interrupting your audience with your sales message; it’s about providing value and nurturing relationships. In doing so, content marketing gently guides potential customers through the sales process, building trust and rapport along the way.

Content marketing also plays a crucial role in your social media strategy. By sharing valuable content on social media platforms, you can engage your audience, spark conversations, and expand your reach. From user-generated content to analyzing Google trends, content marketing is a powerful tool that can help you connect with your audience on a deeper level.

How Content Marketing Helps in Customer Acquisition

Content marketing is the Swiss Army knife of digital marketing. It’s not just a tool to improve your SEO rankings or social engagement but a holistic strategy to boost customer acquisition. Let’s dive into how it does that.

Think about content marketing as a bridge between your business and your potential customers. On one side, you have your products or services. On the other hand, you have individuals who could benefit from what you’re offering (target audience). The compelling content you create acts as a bridge, providing a pathway for your audience to cross over to your business.

So, how does content marketing work in the real-world? Just one example is Pixel by Hand, a photo editing service located in Europe. Despite offering a high-quality service and a free trial, the company struggled to generate organic traffic for its website, limiting its potential customer base.

Realizing the need for a more cost-effective method to grow their customer base, they sought help to improve their content marketing strategy. A few of the SEO and content marketing strategies implemented included restructuring the blog content calendar to align with underperforming service landing pages, implementing internal linking, and optimizing current content for target keywords. They also targeted content specifically for their ideal customer profiles, eCommerce store owners.

After five months, the results were striking. Organic traffic to Pixel by Hand’s site increased by over 130% compared to the previous year. Additionally, organic clicks jumped from 548 to 713, and total impressions doubled. This surge in traffic meant more potential customers were discovering Pixel by Hand, and consequently, more were likely to become actual customers.

But how exactly does this translate to customer acquisition? Here’s how:

• Establishing Brand Trust: Research suggests that 81% of consumers consider brand trust as a crucial factor in their buying decisions. By creating and publishing consistent, high-quality content, you build credibility and brand authority.
• Providing Value: Informative content is a gift to your audience members that keeps giving. It shows you’re knowledgeable in your field and willing to share that expertise, which can help your audience solve their problems or fulfill their needs.
• Leveraging SEO: Search engines love fresh, relevant content. A well-optimized blog post or product page can rank highly in search engine results pages, attracting organic web traffic to your website.
• Utilizing Social Media: Regularly posting engaging content on social media platforms encourages shares, likes, and comments, increasing your brand’s visibility and attracting more potential customers.
• Enabling Lead Generation: Helpful content often encourages readers to learn more about your business, turning your audience from passive readers to active leads.
• Enhancing Sales Process: Content marketing helps at every stage of the sales process, from awareness and consideration to decision and advocacy. By educating and engaging potential customers, you’re subtly guiding them down the sales funnel.

Content marketing isn’t just an alternative to traditional advertising. It’s a powerful tool that can enhance all your marketing efforts, increasing your brand recognition, attracting new leads, and ultimately, winning new customers. By understanding your target audience and creating content that addresses their needs and interests, you’re not just promoting your business—you’re building a bridge to it.

How to Win Customer Acquisition with Content Marketing

To become a valuable resource for your audience, you need to create content that aligns with the user’s journey, meets their pain points, and provides solutions to their problems. As a result, you can successfully improve your brand awareness and attract more website visitors.

Align Your Content with the Buyer Journey

The importance of content marketing becomes apparent when you align your content with your buyer’s journey. While any traffic to your website can contribute to brand awareness, targeted traffic is more likely to convert into customers. It’s about delivering valuable information to prospective customers at the right time.

Your potential customers are at different stages of their buying journey: from awareness to consideration stage to decision making. It’s crucial to create content that resonates with their current stage, whether it’s a blog post for top-of-the-funnel visitors seeking general information or an in-depth case study for bottom-of-the-funnel visitors close to purchasing. This strategy is crucial to your inbound marketing efforts, enabling you to seamlessly guide the prospect from one stage to another.

Write Blogs—a lot

Your blog is the cornerstone of your content strategy. It’s the platform where you post content that reflects your company values, discusses industry trends, and educates your audience about your product or service. But, posting randomly will not cut it. You need to strategically create content that appeals to your target audience’s pain points.

Start by conducting SEO keyword research and content audit. Then, consistently generate blog posts that align with customer search intent and your buyer journey. Besides, focusing on technical aspects such as blog visibility, URL configurations, and article page templates can further enhance your blog’s performance.

Improve Your Best Performing Content

Content optimization is a potent strategy for enhancing your customer acquisition. Once you identify your top-performing web pages or blog posts, take steps to optimize them further to increase leads and sales.

Use tools like Ahrefs or SEMrush to identify which content is ranking high. Then, optimize these pieces to rank for the right keywords and implement strategies to capture visitor information, like gated content, CTAs, subscription forms, and more.

Leverage High-Value Gated Content and Video Marketing

Gated content acts as a lead magnet by offering something exceptionally valuable to your website visitors. It could be anything from ebooks, checklists, templates, and how-to videos.

Speaking of videos, video marketing is fast becoming a staple of content marketing. It’s predicted that video will soon account for 82% of all online traffic. Fortunately, you don’t need expensive equipment to produce effective videos. Even simple social media stories can significantly enhance your brand visibility. As you get more comfortable with video creation, consider trying vlogging, live online events, webinars, and user-generated content.

Launch Social Media Campaigns for Social Proof

Social proof is a powerful marketing tool to validate your brand’s credibility and trustworthiness. Potential customers often look for reviews, testimonials, and case studies to make informed decisions. Integrating social proof into your content can power your customer acquisition potential. Including testimonials on your product pages, sharing user-generated content on social, or publishing case studies can assure prospective customers that you deliver on your promises.

How to Create Effective Content

Creating engaging, relevant, and SEO-friendly content isn’t a cakewalk. However, understanding the customer’s journey and needs can significantly amplify your content marketing strategy. This guide will provide practical tips and strategies to generate compelling content and more leads.

Don’t be Shy about Adding Visual Content

Visuals are a powerful tool in your online content marketing arsenal. They have the ability to captivate your audience, break up the text, and enhance your SEO. If you’ve been hesitant about incorporating visuals into your content, it’s time to reconsider. Here are some practical tips from content marketers on how to use visuals.

1. Use high-quality images and video content: Aim for high-resolution and relevant images or video content. Choose visuals that are visually appealing and easy to understand. Remember, visuals should enhance your content and make it more engaging for your audience.
2. Optimize visuals for SEO: Uploading images to your website? Don’t forget to optimize them for SEO. Include descriptive alt text and title tags to help search engines index your visuals. This optimization can improve your visibility in search results and drive organic traffic to your content.
3. Break up text with visuals: Long blocks of text can be overwhelming and discourage readers. Use visuals strategically to break up your content and make it more visually appealing. This improves your content’s readability and user experience.
4. Place visuals at the top: Research has shown that placing visuals at the top of a page increases their visibility and memorability. Capture your audience’s attention from the start by featuring compelling visuals at the beginning of your content.

Types of Visuals to Consider

• Infographics: Use infographics to convey complex information or processes visually. They are great for step-by-step guides, data visualization, and summarizing key points.

• Videos: Incorporate videos to demonstrate products, provide tutorials, or showcase testimonials. Videos can be highly engaging and help your audience understand concepts more effectively.

• Images and Photographs: Enhance your content with relevant images and photographs. They can evoke emotions, reinforce your message, and connect visually with your audience.

• Charts and Graphs: Present data and statistics in a visually appealing way using charts and graphs. They make complex information more digestible and facilitate comprehension.

• Memes and GIFs: Add a touch of humor and personality to your content with memes and GIFs. These visual elements can create a relatable and shareable experience for your audience. However, be cautious in using these types of visuals as you want your audience to take your business seriously.

Select visuals that align with your audience’s interests and preferences. Keep your visuals consistent with your brand’s tone and style for a cohesive visual experience. Avoid cluttered or overly complex visuals that may confuse your audience.

Consistency is Key

Being consistent in your content marketing efforts is as important as the quality of the content. Regularly publishing new content keeps your audience engaged, improves SEO, and strengthens your brand’s online presence. Develop a content calendar to maintain a consistent posting schedule and ensure a steady flow of fresh content.

Promote Content

Creating high-quality content is only half the battle. Promoting your content is equally important. Use various channels such as social media, email newsletters, landing pages, and even paid ads to spread the word about your content. A well-executed promotion strategy significantly amplifies your reach and visibility.

There are numerous effective ways to promote your content, and your chosen strategies will depend on factors like your target audience, content type, and budget. Here are some practical tips to help you effectively promote your content:

• Post on social media: As mentioned earlier, social media can help you reach a wide audience. Post content on social profiles and encourage your followers to share it. Run contests or giveaways to generate excitement and engagement around your content.
• Guest blog: Collaborate with other bloggers or websites in your industry by guest blogging. This allows you to tap into their existing audience and increase your reach while establishing yourself as an expert in your field.
• Submit to directories: Explore relevant directories that list websites and blogs. Submitting your content to these directories can boost your visibility and attract more traffic to your site.
• Run paid advertising: Consider investing in paid advertising to reach a large audience quickly. Be sure to target your ads carefully to reach people who are likely to be interested in your content.
• Attend industry events: Participate in industry events to network with potential customers and partners. Use these opportunities to promote your content by distributing business cards and brochures that reflect your brand.
• Write press releases: Craft attention-grabbing press releases to get your content noticed by the media. Include a catchy headline, a brief content summary, and a link to your website to encourage further exploration.
• Email marketing: If you have an email list of your existing customers, utilize it to promote your content. Include a link and a brief content summary in your email newsletters to encourage clicks and engagement.
• Social media advertising: Capitalize on social ads to target a specific audience interested in your content. Utilize the advanced targeting options available on various platforms to maximize the impact of your ads.
• Content curation: Curate high-quality content that is relevant to your audience. By sharing valuable information, you establish yourself as a thought leader in your industry and attract an engaged audience.
• Host webinars: Share your expertise with your audience through webinars. Promote them in advance, ensure they are well-organized and informative, and encourage participants to engage and ask questions.

Track and Analyze Your Performance

Keeping a close eye on your web page’s performance is critical for refining your content marketing strategy. This data will highlight the strengths and weaknesses of your content marketing efforts and guide future strategies.

Understanding the Customer’s Journey

Tailor your content to align with the different stages of the customer’s journey – the awareness stage, consideration stage, and decision stage. Catering content to these stages ensures that your audience members receive the right content at the right time, making your content marketing strategy more effective.

Use Storytelling

A story can do wonders to captivate your audience. Stories make your content more relatable and memorable, creating a strong emotional connection with your audience. They can effectively address pain points, promote your brand, or highlight customer testimonials.

Be Authentic

Authenticity goes a long way in building trust with your audience. Let your brand’s personality shine through your content, ensuring your voice is consistent across all platforms. People connect with people, so humanizing your content can significantly increase engagement.

Have Fun

Creating content shouldn’t feel like a chore. Bring creativity and fun to the table while developing content. If you enjoy the process, it will reflect in your work, making it more attractive to your audience.

Content Marketing Measurement and Analysis

Measuring the success of your content marketing is crucial to understanding your strategies’ effectiveness and making data-driven decisions. Here are some of the tools you can use.

Google Analytics

Google Analytics is a must-have tool for any marketer. It provides valuable insights into your website traffic and engagement. With Google Analytics, you can track the number of visitors to your website, understand which pages they visit, and how much time they spend on your site. It also offers data on bounce rate, which shows the percentage of visitors who leave your website after viewing only one page.

HubSpot

HubSpot is worth considering if you’re looking for a comprehensive paid tool. It offers a range of features for content marketing, including social media management, email marketing, and lead generation. HubSpot’s analytics provide data on website traffic, conversion rates, and user behavior, allowing you to measure the success of your content across various channels. While it comes with a cost, HubSpot’s user-friendly interface and robust features make it a valuable investment for small to medium-sized businesses.

SEMrush

SEMrush is a paid tool that helps you track website traffic, analyze SEO performance, and monitor your competitors. It provides data on keyword rankings, backlinks, and organic search traffic.

Ahrefs

Another powerful paid tool, Ahrefs, offers content marketers a wide range of features. It lets you track website traffic, analyze backlinks, and conduct keyword research.

Now that we’ve covered some essential tools let’s explore the metrics you should focus on:

• Website traffic: Track the number of visitors to your website to understand overall reach.
• Page views: Measure the number of pages viewed to assess content engagement.
• Unique visitors: Monitor the number of individual visitors to get a clearer picture of your audience size.
• Bounce rate: Keep an eye on the percentage of visitors who leave after viewing only one page; a high bounce rate may indicate a need for content improvement.
• Time on page: Evaluate visitors’ average time on your website to gauge content relevance and engagement.
• Social media engagement: Monitor the number of likes, shares, and comments your content receives to assess its reach and impact.
• Lead generation: Track the number of leads generated from content marketing to measure their effectiveness in driving conversions.
• Sales: Measure the revenue generated directly from your content marketing campaigns.

The metrics you choose to focus on will depend on your specific goals and objectives. If you aim to increase website traffic, prioritize metrics like website traffic, page views, and unique visitors. Always align your metrics with your goals to ensure you’re tracking the right indicators of success.

In a Nutshell

Content marketing is about more than just direct selling. Creating valuable and relevant online content can transform your business and fuel customer engagement.

At It’s a Writer’s World, we specialize in content marketing strategies and SEO services that can help your business thrive. Our team of highly skilled marketers understands the needs of small and medium-sized businesses and can craft compelling copy that appeals to your target audience’s emotions and needs.

Don’t let traditional marketing methods hold you back. If you’re ready to take your small or medium-sized business to the next level, reach out to It’s a Writer’s World SEO and content marketing. Together, we can unlock your business’s full potential for content marketing.

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