Content marketing isn’t just about web traffic

I am going to make an assumption that everyone reading this has heard of content marketing and why they should use it. If not, well then maybe you should consider giving this a read first. Every brand is getting into it and investing quite a lot. Just look at Grab and their push into customised content.

However, when we think about the benefits of content marketing, we always seem to focus on traffic generation. There’s so much more than that to content marketing we sometimes overlook.

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We cannot deny the importance of web traffic for businesses, but that’s not the only reason you should be investing in great content for your business. In fact, here are five other ways you can benefit as a startup.

It ups your social game

Every single brand has some form of social presence. Even your neighbourhood ‘mamak’ stall might have a Facebook page. So when you produce your content let’s not sit idly by for organic traffic and be proactive – post it on social media, encourage conversation and try to drive shares.

Brands often drive a significant portion of relevant traffic to their website by engaging people on social media. This is a free (most of the time) and easy way to engage potential customers and drive them to your website.

Quality content engages people better

One of the most frustrating aspects of content marketing is the insistence on pushing backlinks and churning out SEO content to drive your page rank. This generates traffic, but what else does it do. Do visitors to your page feel like you’ve added value?

If you write something truly impactful that readers feel has added value to their lives, they will share it on their social media channels, engage with you via that post, and even become advocates for the brand. This will boost your credibility while driving traffic to the website.

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While your digital marketer may disagree with this approach, it is far more effective than producing a lot of high SEO content without focusing on adding value.

Proactive communication win

Let’s not waste the opportunity to leverage an article for all its juice. Most companies send out hundreds of emails a day, why not add a few more with a link to your content and sharing it with your network of potential customers.

From personal experience, an email from a person in my network sharing an article they wrote is something I would click on and read. It gives me an opportunity to assess them as a contact and to see if there’s anything relevant to me and my brand.

It helps you tell your brand story

Every brand needs a story because your customer, employees and investors need to believe in your company to be part of your journey. The last thing any company wants is to have someone else own their story, whether that’s the press or people speaking negatively about the brand on social.

Through effective content marketing, you are laying the foundations of owning your own brand story in the future. You control the narrative of your brand, which is crucial as your scale.

Websites suck without great content

A static website explaining your product can only do so much. It doesn’t generate a lot of traffic and those who do visit your website have no reason to come back – ever. Now imagine that same static website with one small change – regular awesome content being added to the website on a regular basis.

The website becomes more engaging and gives a reason for a visitor to come back to your brand.

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This post originally appeared on Tech Collective with the title “Benefits of content marketing beyond traffic“.

Last updated 10 June 2020.