Top 4 Business Benefits of Online Content Creation

by | Jul 11, 2014

Central to all online marketing activities is fresh, relevant, and compelling content. To be successful online, businesses must commit to becoming content publishing organizations.
According to Anne Handley of MarketingProfs:
“When content became king, marketers became publishers. We shifted our focus from traditional outbound strategies to delivering the kind of content that drives successful inbound campaigns. Instead of going out and hunting prospects, we had to learn how to lure them to our doorstep. High quality content, delivered consistently and through a variety of online channels proved to be the best way to accomplish that goal.”

How Content Supports Business Objectives

A content, or education-based, approach to online marketing produces a number of business benefits:

  1. 1) Inbound Lead Generation

Creating and promoting content is essential to filling the top of the sales funnel by driving increased website traffic, and subsequently, inbound leads.
This occurs because relevant content serves as a referral source; searchers that find content of interest will often link to an organization’s website. Content also drives increased traffic by making an impression on search engines when they crawl the internet and discover new and relevant material to index.
Content distributed through formats such as blogs provides opportunities for ongoing commentary about specific topics in a transparent, conversational style.
Recent data suggests that companies that create, optimize, and promote their blogs get 55% more website traffic and 70% more inbound leads than organizations that do not regularly blog.

  1. 2) Increased Conversion

Efforts to generate more inbound leads must be combined with a lead nurturing and conversion strategy. Prospects that land on a website must be compelled to take a next step in a well-developed process.
The goal of content from a lead nurturing and conversion perspective is to make precisely the right information available at the right time, so prospects feel confident in moving forward.
Website content must be developed with this objective in mind. This is why easy to find, easy to consume, value-based content is so critical.
Calls to action (with compelling offers), are crucial to conversion and can be delivered in many formats such as case studies, white papers, “how-to”, tips, and promotions.

  1. 3) Customer Retention

Once a business has earned a new customer, it is critical to nurture the relationship.
Customer retention requires ongoing engagement, and this is facilitated by consistently providing content that customers deem of value: new product updates, service information, special offers/promotions, industry information, etc.

  1. 4) Brand Building

Online content is often what creates a first impression. What is said online is a reflection of what an organization stands for and how it conducts itself; this has a direct impact on its reputation, and ultimately on whether a prospect will buy.
These are just a few of the benefits of a well-developed and executed content marketing strategy. It takes a lot of time, thought, and hard work to do it well and consistently.
As consumers and buyers become more reliant on online sources to make purchasing decisions, organizations that consistently disseminate valuable and interesting content will develop credibility with prospects.
In so-doing, they will increase their conversion rates. And as prospects become more internet savvy, their expectations of your ability to assist them in their decision making only get higher.
In the not too distant future, ongoing development of value-based content will be a business imperative.
>> Our team of specialists can make sure your website always has fresh, engaging content. Sign up for our free seminar to learn more about online marketing, or contact us to get help today!
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Ben Molfetta
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