Your desired outcomes are at the heart of the answer to the question “why should we do content marketing?”
But first, what are outcomes?
They are broader objectives or goals for your business vs. more granular measurables like email opens, website visits or leads, according to business.com. Here are the key outcomes that content marketing helps drive.
Awareness
Do your target audiences know you exist? Developing content that resonates with them and placing it where they will see it helps fulfill this outcome, often without spending media dollars. Then other complementary content can increase its exposure.
Brand Appeal
Your target audiences are aware of you but what do they think of you? Creating an authentic image of you and your business is a top three outcome for most companies and content marketing plays a key role.
There is a famous quote by former Disney CEO, Michael Eisner, who said that a brand is “…the product of a thousand small gestures.” Each piece of content you provide is another gesture that communicates who you are and what your business stands for.
Market Position
Content helps articulate those things that differentiate and elevate your business vs. competitors. What value do you add that sets you apart? Service? Training or education? Expertise? Better systems that add speed, options, style? Craft your content around them.
Relationships
Cultivating relationships with target audiences is one of content marketing’s sweet spots. If engaging with and learning what matters to your potential customers and partners are important to you then content is a proven way to engage them and invite their responses.
Growth
Growth is often a euphemism for increased revenue and profit, but it can also mean an increase in users, followers or subscribers.
Sales is probably the ultimate outcome you want for your business, and content marketing helps persuade people to buy what your business is selling by building trust and credibility and showing proof like case studies, testimonials recommendations.
Satisfaction
Content can play a big part in appreciating your customers and strengthening their bonds with your business. And the more you know about why they use your products or service—what jobs they’re trying to do or what problems they’re trying to solve—the more relevant content you can create that helps them leverage your business in ways they may not have thought about before.
Loyalty
Customer loyalty has several facets and good content marketing can add luster to all of them. Show customers how much you value them by continuing to provide useful information, perspective and suggestions. And simply sharing news that reflects well on your company reinforces your customers’ decision to buy from you, and makes them more likely to buy from you again.
Advocacy
Another key post-sales outcome is when customers recommend your business to others. There are several ways they can do this where content is a catalyst for sharing information, solutions, knowledge, etc. Your content can be a gateway to referrals like these, especially when it is done well and reflects positively on the sharer.
Content marketing is integral to achieving your desired outcomes because it:
- Drives communication and engagement with targets and customers
- Delivers on your business’s value proposition for the customer by relieving pain points and helping to get the job done
- Extends the perceived value of your product/service, helping lead to sales, resales, up sales, cross sales, referrals and recommendations.
The content strategy for achieving each of your desired outcomes depends somewhat on what your business sells and how it sells. Find more information and insights about how content drives outcomes on our resource page.