How businesses are investing in content marketing services in 2021
Content marketing continues to grow and evolve. Just within the past decade, content marketing has taken off at such a rapid pace that it’s now become the #1 fastest-growing line item in the CMO budget. .
From businesses capitalizing (successfully) on TikTok trends to individuals sharing their perspectives as subject matter experts, content marketing isn’t just about whitepapers and webinars anymore..
The good news is that with the rise of content marketing,there are many ways to generate great content on behalf of your business.So while you focus on your products and services, content marketing can help get new customers coming to your business.
How content marketing helps businesses
Content marketing has longer term benefits than many other means of marketing. Why? Because it lives on, and good content marketing can be evergreen.
Blogs live on your website, and can even be updated as new information or content becomes available. Whitepapers can be shared repeatedly. Podcasts are stored in libraries so that people can “binge listen”. Social media content lives inside each business’ account, there and ready when an interested prospect wants to get to know what your company says publicly.
That’s why content marketing has a higher ROI than many other marketing activities. In fact, it costs 62% less than traditional advertising, but has as much as 3x higher return when it comes to leads or traffic.
The good news is that a good content marketing agency has a wide range of services.
They can help with everything from content strategy to written content, to video or audio content (did you know that podcasting is a form of content marketing?)
Read on to find out just what services a content marketer provides and how it could be a good move for growing your client base.
Start with content marketing strategy
A content marketing agency can help you figure out how to organize your objectives using a roadmap that includes your company’s marketing funnel and goals for gaining clients and customers.
When Kafen8 creates a content strategy, we start by looking at your website. Some of the questions we seek answers for are:
What’s working, what’s not?
What keywords are driving traffic to your site?
What keywords are driving traffic to your competitors’ sites?
What questions are your customers or prospective clients asking when they’re seeking your product or service?
Finding answers to these questions will inform our content strategy.
Written content marketing is still king
Despite the hype around new forms of media, the written word is still king.
Think about it this way. When you’re looking for more information about a topic, or seeking step by step directions on how to do something, do you want to watch a video only? No, often you’ll want to read through something that you can easily refer back to.
What services do content marketing agencies provide?
Content marketing agencies provide services across the board, all the way from content marketing to the development of original content itself.
Content Writing
Blogs, eBooks, whitepapers, and website content are all commonly needed types of content. Ideally, blogs should be updated with new articles frequently.
Sitting down to write this amount of content can seem daunting, which is why many businesses invest in getting outside help in order to keep up with the need.
SEO
SEO, or search engine optimization, should be familiar to all business owners in 2021. Google is king here, with 96 percent of organic search visits stemming from the search engine.
No wonder everyone keeps a constant eye on Google and their often-evolving algorithms. Fortunately, a good content marketer stays on top of these trends and can ensure they’re maximizing content creation to appeal to Google’s algorithms.
SEO is all about writing and presenting content in a way that will present your content as an answer to targeted queries. There’s a lot that goes into this practice, both on your website and off of it. Smart content marketers know how to identify and use SEO to increase the right kind of traffic to your site.
Analytics
Businesses will also often use analytics services offered by content marketing agencies. Many agencies analyze data like conversion and click-through rates for high-level calls to action on your site or store.
Marketing analytics teams are often certified in Google Analytics and other similar tools and can help you make the most of your data and new trends.
Along with the other services they provide, marketing agencies can help you draw customers and incentivize clicks with eye-catching content.
Videos
Video content is another avenue for attracting new potential customers. Video content can help quickly show off your service or product, either using glossy, professionally shot and edited videos or more natural videos meant for social media sharing.
Video content is becoming more and more important within the world of content marketing. Here are a few stats to illustrate this:
86% of marketers say video has helped them increase traffic to their website. (Wyzowl)
84% of marketers say video has helped them generate leads. (Wyzowl)
Video ads were the #1 way consumers discovered a brand they later purchased from. (Animoto)
The great news is that due to the rise in popularity of content shared on Tik Tok and Instagram Reels, it’s become acceptable and even expected that marketers use self-filmed video that has not been professionally lit or produced. So, while there’s still a large time investment, content marketers aren’t having to break the bank on video production.
Social Media Marketing
There's a reason so many companies have employees whose full-time jobs are to run social media accounts. It’s a big job to stay on top of social media trends, create new content, analyze metrics from previous posts, and to plan future content.
That’s why it’s so common for businesses to outsource their social media management to a content marketing firm where their social brands will be in the hands of an expert.
How Content Marketing is Different in 2021
There's no doubt that content marketing, just like everything else, will be different in 2021. Aside from the continued focus on emerging social media like TikTok, the best content marketers will focus on being flexible and innovative.
Businesses that invest in content marketing will see results.
You Need Content Marketing
Put simply, content marketing drives sales. When you have a content marketing service creating and executing your content marketing on your behalf, you can spend your time focused on other important parts of running your business.
Outsourcing saves time - saving you money and frustration.
Ready to let an expert take over your content marketing? Learn more about Kafen8’s content marketing services.
