What is the meat of your marketing strategy?

If you’re interested in promoting and marketing your business online, it’s almost guaranteed that you’ve seen countless experts touting the benefits of content marketing and custom branded content. After all, 78% of CMOs think that custom content is the future of marketing and 41% of marketers confirm the positive ROI of marketing content. As more and more organizations experience the positive effects of branded content, it becomes obvious that assets such as blog posts, articles, eBooks, and newsletters have transitioned from “nice to haves” to “must haves.”

Custom branded content is one of the most effective tools that any brand or business can use to engage their customers and drive them to perform a specific call to action. Today’s consumer is often turned off by the hard sell. In the Google age, where mountains of information are available to anyone with any sort of internet connection, customers appreciate it when brands offer them well-written, thought-provoking, and (more importantly) useful content that helps them answer their questions and solve their problems.

This new age of content is great for businesses because it has changed the marketing landscape as a whole. It’s no longer just the “big boys” with deep pockets that are ‘allowed’ to reach consumers. Any small business owner, entrepreneur, or startup founder can start creating valuable content that resonates with an audience.

Still not convinced? Here are five reasons your business needs top-of-the-line custom branded content to compete in today’s changed marketing landscape.

Branded Content Grows Web Traffic

One of the major reasons any brand wants to create custom branded content is to attract and keep customers. Most business owners are looking to increase the amount of visitors to their website and for that to successfully happen people need to be able to find your website. Sure, some customers may know your business name and type it directly into their browsers and others may be brought in by sometimes costly pay-per-click campaigns, but there is another way: custom branded content.

In addition to well optimized website copy, businesses looking to attract more visitors can start a blog and let the power of content marketing do some of the work for them. A small business website may not have many pages – perhaps a homepage, about us page, staff page, etc. These may be quality pages that answer customers questions, but how often are they updated? If you’re like most business owners, probably not that often. Regularly updated content (such as a blog) lets search engines know that your website is active and (if the content is high-quality) is a good choice to direct visitors to. Fresh content is also useful for increasing visits from social media, as it gives your customers something new to share on a frequent basis.

Content Strengthens Brand Awareness

The days of the door-to-door salesman are over. No one is stopping by your customer’s house to tell him about how awesome your company is and why your products are better than the competitor’s offerings. It’s not up to you to sing the virtues of your company and gives your customer an “inside view” of your company’s goals, mission, and values. With branded content you can accomplish this as well as develop and promote your brand image.

Ask yourself, “What do I want customers to think of when they think of my company?” Once you know the answer to that, you can begin strategizing on how to get that message across in your content. The more clear your message is, the more likely that your customers will stick around to see what else you’ve got to offer – and this is when you can sell to them. (Did you know that 61% of consumers say they are more likely to purchase from a company that has custom branded content, and they actually feel better about the company because of content?)

Content Helps You Become an Influencer

Think about the last time you answered a customer’s question or helped them solve a problem. They probably really appreciated it, right? Now move that exchange online. Instead of helping just one customer with your unique knowledge, you could potentially help hundreds (maybe thousands) of people. If your business regularly puts out quality, educational content your readers will see you as an authority and will be more likely to seek out your information and your services.

Custom Branded Content Increases Sales

As we previously mentioned, your website may not have a large number of core pages, so a blog can help you increase the amount of custom branded content on your site. More blog posts means that search engines are able to index more pages on your website – and increasing the amount of indexed pages in Google can cause double-digit growth in the amount of leads generated through your website. Every businessperson knows that each new lead brings the opportunity for a sale along with it, so increasing the odds of a sale is always good news.

In addition to new leads, your sales team can also generate new sales by using content to build their own authority. When a customer is ready to buy, they will know exactly who to approach.

Content Builds Relationships

Is building meaningful relationships with your customers hard? Yes. Is it worth it? Yes! You can engage your audience in a sincere way through content creation and sharing, whether it’s on your website, social media, or another platform. The key is frequency. By interacting with your audience on a consistent basis and sharing useful insights with them, you’re slowly building a relationship with them. With time your readers will develop a habit of turning to you for their relevant needs. Studies have shown that businesses that use content marketing can see up to 6x higher rates of website conversions than those that don’t. You don’t need to do a hard sales pitch within your custom branded content – in fact, that will turn a lot of customers off. Sales will come from these positive relationships as you move your readers through the sales funnel.

In Conclusion…

High-quality content is an integral part of any marketing strategy. No matter what other strategies you employ in your marketing, custom branded content should have a place of honor at the table. There is no “one size fits all” solution when it comes to content – and that’s a good thing. It allows each brand to create something totally unique that allows them to most effectively connect with their customers and drive sales.