Are you looking to develop your business with the internet, but you don’t have the means to launch advertising campaigns and don’t have the expertise of a marketing team?
Creating content on the internet can be a compelling way to get your business off the ground with little money. And contrary to popular belief, you don’t necessarily need great expertise in marketing or sales.
Whether you are an e-tailer, freelancer, consultant, lawyer, or window seller, content creation can help you grow your business from the moment your customers go online.
This technique applies both with a target of individuals (B2C) and with a target of professionals (B2B).
As a software publisher with a B2B target, we opted for this strategy (which suits us well because we have always loved creating content). Unlike most of our competitors, we do not advertise (or only very exceptionally) and do not need it. Our customers come to us independently, and we have excellent conversion rates.
In this article, we will talk about content creation (Content Marketing) and explain how you can use it to get your business off the ground!
Table of Contents
Today, almost everyone creates content on the internet, and it has become natural. When you write a status on Facebook, post a photo on Instagram, or upload a holiday movie to YouTube, you create content!
almost everyone creates content on the internet
But then “Content Marketing” what does it mean? Well, Content Marketing is when you use the content you post on the internet as a strategy to acquire new customers. It’s still content creation, but with a plan. You’ll publish the right content in the right place and work to make it work for your business!
How much does content creation cost? As with everything, I want to say it depends! So, to be relevant in our case, it must be compared with other ways of obtaining customers.
Concretely, publishing content on the internet is almost free. If you’re posting text on social media, you only need a computer or a phone. If you want to write a blog, there are free tools, where your only cost will be to pay for a domain name (14 € per year). If you want to make videos, maybe you will invest in some equipment, but nothing prevents you from starting with your phone!
How about comparing a content strategy to a classic acquisition strategy like advertising? Facebook or Google advertising, for example, has a cost. Launching a campaign can be expensive. If you want this to work, you need to hire an expert. Once the advertising has been set up and optimized, you will have to pay every month for the distribution of your campaign.
Good content creation with an effective strategy is compelling in the long run!
What you have to understand is that content creation is a long-term investment. Unlike an advertising campaign that you have to pay for every month, a blog article, you only write it once, and if it brings you 5000 visitors per month, it’s 5000 visitors per month that cost you nothing and potentially remain “for life.”
It is the same with videos. If you spend one day making a video that generates 500 views per month, tell yourself that this video will bring you maybe 60,000 views over ten years, with only one day’s work. And each picture can allow you to reach a potential customer.
We tend to be wary of advertising messages because we know they are created with the sole objective of selling you a product. On the other hand, we trust those who make content on the internet much more, especially if it is helpful to us. Thus, with “Content Marketing,” you have six times more chance of convincing an Internet user to buy your product
For someone to buy your product, that person must already know that you exist. The more you see a brand, the more likely you think about it when you need to buy something. For example, I’m sure if I ask many people if they know of a company that sells VPNs, everyone will say “NordVPN.” Why? Because with millions of sponsored videos on YouTube, it’s by far the brand of VPN you see the most, even if you don’t care about the subject.
So, the more people who know about your brand or product, the more you will sell, making sense. And this is true whether you have an e-commerce site, whether you are a craftsman who works with wood, or whether you are a software creator or a plumber.
So how do you get more people to know about your business?
You will probably think: I need to make a page where I present my products!
Well, yes, and no.
Of course, you must create sales pages that talk about your products. But the subtlety is that you must find a roundabout way for your future customers to arrive on this page.
To establish a content creation strategy that works, you must do this exercise: Put yourself in your client’s shoes! Try to identify who he is, his problem, and his habits.
Going back to the example of the vacuum cleaner seller, the customer’s need is not limited to “Buying a vacuum cleaner.” Buying is rarely needed, and vacuuming isn’t necessary; it’s the solution. The customer’s needs could be: “Clean my apartment” or “How to clean a large area efficiently?”.
Once you have identified one or more of your customer’s needs, you can start creating content! And since it’s a subject you know well (usually if you sell vacuum cleaners, you know a little about cleaning), it will be easy!
In the case of the vacuum cleaner, you could write a blog post with tips for cleaning or a top 10 essential tools to clean your apartment effectively. You could also create videos in which you compare vacuum cleaners or give techniques to be more efficient when vacuuming a large area without hurting your back!
The important thing is to address the right person who is likely to buy your product. She has to see your site, brand, and logo, but not necessarily your product! At least not directly.
If the person viewing your content feels like you’re giving them free advice on a topic they’re interested in, then that person will have a favorable view of your brand and be more likely to trust you.
The goal is not to convert everyone. If your article reaches 5000 people, there may only be ten who will be interested in your product, but that’s okay! If you try in every way to convert every visitor, you risk scaring everyone away.
Try to bring something valuable and exciting to your audience, talk about what appeals to you, and do it authentically. Then, part of your audience will naturally turn into customers, and you will be rewarded.
SEO is all the techniques to optimize your site so that it arrives as high as possible in the results of search engines like Google.
In SEO, there is an indicator called authority. It is a score that Google will assign to your website based on your popularity. The more authority your site has, the more likely you appear in search results.
What is very interesting for you is that if you create, for example, a blog article, and it works very well (a lot of people read it), the overall authority score of your site will increase. And so, since your authority goes up, Google has a better chance of highlighting your site, so if on this site you have pages that you use to sell products, these will also be positively impacted!
In summary, creating exciting content allows you to boost your entire site and generate more income, even if your content does not speak directly about your products.
This is another side effect of content creation. If you offer quality content and people follow you on social networks, if you have subscribers on YouTube (if you have a channel), that’s reassuring for your future customers.
In marketing, this is called reassurance or social proof, and these are elements that will reassure your prospects and give you credibility.
When paying for a product or service on the internet, we often try to look a little at what the brand does before buying to be sure that it is not a scam.
For example, if you are a craftsman who manufactures wooden products, you can create a YouTube channel where people can see you working, explain what you do, talk about your passion for wood, etc. This kind of content will make you more credible and authentic to future customers, who will be more likely to buy your products and even give you more money. They will have the impression of knowing you a little and then be confident that they will not pay for industrial work relocated to a factory in China.
Content creation is an investment over time. It doesn’t cost much money and can be a potent lever to get your business off the ground if you sell online. It’s something that is reasonably accessible. No need to have attended a significant marketing school! If you are passionate about your work, your customers, or the product you create, talk about it on video or in writing, in your blog, on YouTube, or social networks! It will work if you take the time and create quality content regularly!
Also Read: Developing New Perspectives for Your Content: What’s Your Point of View
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