Over 20 years ago, one of history’s most groundbreaking innovators wrote an essay that would eventually become a cornerstone in the future of marketing. The essay is called Content is King, written by Bill Gates.
He was referring to content on the Internet, which at the time was fast becoming the most fertile ground for growing and marketing one’s business. Today, as marketing continues to innovate how we do business, experts still swear by this creed. The game has changed considerably since, but developing and strategising content remains to be an integral factor in launching successful businesses.
Why disruptor and innovator businesses need Content Marketing
If marketing was a cutthroat industry back then, it is more so now in the digital age. Technology and the Internet has introduced new ways of consuming information with new platforms being launched one after another. Businesses are now reaching their audience in a non-traditional way and content is the key to this. With that said, competition between brands and companies has also gone to a whole new level.
Disruptor and innovator businesses need Content Marketing to compete in both local and global markets, for several reasons:
- Popular content linked to your brand gives you great brand awareness
- Consistent messaging through content helps build trust with your customers - especially as a new brand that challenges the marketplace
- Relatable and engaging content helps influence conversions
- Tailored content keeps your audience engaged and earns brand loyalty
- Great content sets your business up as an expert - which is necessary when you're starting something new and innovative.
- Extensive content allows you to fully introduce your new product or service, define the market, and provide the detail people need in order to understand and engage with you
Creatively conceptualised and executed well, great content disrupts usual brand perception and buying cycles. To get one step ahead of the competition, great content marketing plan must be in place in any innovative campaign strategy.
Using topic clusters to structure content
Website architecture has undergone countless experiments in UX/UI design over the years. There is one method used in Content Marketing that improves website ranking and site authority by providing visitors exactly what they need: valuable, in-depth content.
This is called the topic cluster method.
In this approach, we have the Pillar pages - pages (or website sections) that cover the main topics that are essential to the business. These are called “pillars” because they are the foundation of what the website is primarily for. Next, supporting these pillars are the Cluster pages - pages that contain valuable content that links back to the pillar page topic.
Topic clusters get rid of cluttered information and provide well-tailored information that readers find valuable when they go through content of your website. Think of them as category pages. And since cluster pages are linked to the main page, they pass on overall credibility to the brand.
Creating high value content for people to download
High value downloadable content can be in the form of infographics, ebooks, audio samples, white papers, research reports, and so on. This offering gives customers a sample of what you offer and entices them to become subscribers. Now in marketing, subscribers turn into leads. And what do you do with leads? You get in touch with them.
Building your database comes from getting people to sign up to receive information from you. The better your content, the more likely your audience are to sign up. Downloadable, gated content gives you the opportunity to build that database while providing value to the reader - the more valuable your content is, the better the chances you have of being able to attract people to downloading it.
As a disruptor, your website content will likely be structured around how you're disrupting the market, but your downloadable content should provide something tangible that is of use to your audience. Give them something deep and actionable in order to warrant them signing up for it.
Email marketing to your database
With the rise of social media and other online channels, the question remains - is email marketing still effective? It very much is. According to recent studies, email marketing continues to be one of the simplest and most effective methods of marketing your business online. Here a few reasons why:
- Email marketing is targeted – emails with tailored content addresses the needs and concerns of customers
- Email marketing is measurable – campaigns success are easily evaluated through key metrics like open rate, bounce rate, and click-through-rate.
- Email marketing is cost-effective – email platforms offer basic accounts that are inexpensive but effective. Email drives some of the highest ROI in digital marketing.
Once you have your audience in your database, you need to make use of that valuable data. Keep in touch with up to date information and insights, to keep your brand in the minds of the people who are already interested in what you do.
Regular email marketing nurtures those leads that have engaged with your business - if you're new to the market, keeping people updated helps to build trust and maintain brand awareness.
Innovative methods of digital marketing
As the business landscape changes, so too do the ways of reaching and catering to potential customers. Digital marketing has gone smarter and is there is certainly no lack of innovation.
Take for example, Artificial Intelligence, which uses customer data and machine learning to fully customise product recommendations. Along with A.I. came Chatbots – automated conversations that provide excellent round-the-clock customer support. Streaming video is also now an in-demand service that provides new platforms in entertainment and communication.
Any innovative business should be adopting as many innovative techniques as possible.
There’s also Augmented Reality, which simulates real-world environment with digital elements to create the ultimate customer experience. This is particularly effective at showing people how products could look within their own environments - perfect for new and unfamiliar products.
It’s truly an exciting time in digital marketing. The possibilities are endless for innovation.
Brand alignment across marketing when establishing a new brand
Authentic brands understand themselves at the core and act accordingly with that understanding. Their mission and vision are genuine and their actions deliver on their promise. This is authenticity is reflected in all of their marketing efforts. Their messaging is consistent and, because of this, consumer trust is gained.
For new brands, it is important to build trust right away. Having your brand messaging aligned across all marketing efforts paints a clear picture of who you are and what value you bring to the consumer. This builds a great first impression and spreads brand awareness that in turn helps a new business scale quickly.
Content Marketing creates meaningful, engaging, and shareable content that attracts the target customers of businesses. Getting the right message to the right customer at the right time is crucial.
