It's important for companies to engage in content marketing to build their online presence and grow brand awareness outside of word of mouth. The practice of content marketing allows companies to consistently put noteworthy content out there about what they do best and how their solution(s) can help consumers solve their problems.
When exploring content marketing, it is crucial to have a strategic plan in place to produce the best results, and we’ve found time and time again that consistency is key.
We’ve outlined the key steps below to take your content marketing strategy to the next level.
Start By Building Brand Awareness
Any successful content marketing strategy begins with growing brand awareness. Here’s an example of super-strong brand awareness: At some point you have probably thought something along the lines of, “I have horrible allergies and I could really use a Kleenex.” Have you ever stopped to think that Kleenex is actually a brand and not a product? The product itself is more broadly called facial tissue, yet many Americans opt to say Kleenex. This is a perfect example of a company building such strong brand awareness that its name is synonymous with the product it sells.
The same philosophy can apply to your B2B company. Of course, you probably aren’t aiming to become a household name the way Kleenex is. But that doesn’t mean you can’t take steps to get your name in front of people, and that starts with content. You may have the best cybersecurity services in the business, but unless your prospects know you're there, they'll go with the competition.
Building brand awareness starts with building strong buyer personas. Once you have solid semi-fictional representations of your customers, you can address their pain points directly and help them understand how your solution directly solves their problems. Once your personas are developed, keep them in mind while you develop a consistent content schedule. Ideally, you should write 4-6 blog posts a month, comment on industry blogs, publish white papers on your industry award-winning performance, and shout to the rooftops all of the different ways your company mitigates all concerns about an organization's cyberthreats.
Turn Brand-Aware Prospects into Contacts
You've gotten them to your site to read all about your expansive IT services—now how do you draw them in to download a white paper that will teach them how to bulletproof their network?
The answer is fairly straightforward: Answer their pain point with helpful and engaging content that points them straight toward you.
A prospect starts with a pain: network security threats. Then, they’ll search, “how to keep my network secure.” Google will lead them to your SEO-optimized article, “Tips to Keep Your Network Secure in 2023.” After reading that article, they see a pretty graphic that says, “Download Our Guide: 10 Ways You May Be Putting Your Network At Risk.” That sounds helpful, so they click the link in the graphic. The link takes them to a form asking them to fill out simple information, which they do, and then ... BAM! The guide arrives in their inbox.
We’ve taken the first step toward achieving our goal of lead nurturing.
Website Visitors Have Converted into Contacts—Now What?
Once you have their contact info, you can begin the process of lead nurturing. Every content marketing strategy should lead toward generating revenue for your organization. With HubSpot, lead nurturing is a breeze. You can strategize workflows and then simply turn them on and watch your content marketing efforts pay off for years.
When you pay close attention to your data, you may start to notice patterns. Sometimes you are lucky and a customer will only need to visit one or two pages on your IT services before reaching out to sales. But most of the time, they'll browse around, reading testimonials, case studies, and service pages before they click to have a consultation with your sales team.
At SmartBug Media, we could geek out about content marketing strategies for days. If all of this gets you excited but you’re still not sure where to start, we have the perfect team to help you reach your revenue goals.
