This article was written by Yael Warman, Content Manager at Leverate.
In the olden days of brick-and-mortar businesses, the three most important factors determining a business’ success were location, location, location. In today’s digital world, not much has changed in that regard; the three factors remain location, location, location (on the Google results page, of course). Being found online when a user types in a keyword in a search engine can determine the success or failure of your company.
Having a top ranking site on Google can bring your company tremendous benefits, including:
- More than 90% of buying decisions begin online. Having your website rank at the top of search engine results will provide your brand visibility.
- Top positioned sites get more traffic. In fact, research shows that the first 10 results on Google, which make up page one of the search results, receive close to 90% of all click-through traffic.
- Increasing your ranking will not only bring you more traffic, but it will bring your business more authenticity and trust.
- Having a top search engine ranking position (SERP) will help your company reduce inbound Marketing and advertising costs effectively and impact your social media marketing.
If you’ve gotten to page 1, congrats! You’ve done a great job, but that doesn’t mean you get to rest on your laurels. Maintaining your top ranking status is just as difficult as making it there. This is where content marketing comes into play. 'Content is king' has become somewhat cliché, but only because it is true. Marketers around the world and across almost every industry have embraced content as a way to improve branding, loyalty, web traffic and lead generation.
But that is not all - content marketing can do wonders for your company and you should be focusing on it to grow your brand. Here are the top 10 reasons why you should focus on content marketing:
Search Engine Optimization
I am no SEO expert, in fact, Google’s algorithm to me is some kind of black voodoo and its crawlers, while not creepy, scare the bejesus outta me because hey, one day they crawl on this side and the next they change direction and you need to adjust.
What I am an expert in is content and as a content marketer I know that publishing relevant, valuable and quality content is key. Search engines are smart and they work hard at trying to deliver users the right information when they type something in the search bar. For this very reason, producing results that are seen as relevant by search engines cannot be overlooked.
The more unique, well-written, engaging, socially shared and buzz-worthy your content is, the higher your ranking will be.
Build trust
A recent study by Nielsen revealed that 90% of consumers trust brand recommendations from friends and users online.
Content marketing has been categorized as some form of word of mouth, so putting your brand in front of your audience in a way that THEY value can help you showcase your expertise and become an authority on a subject.
In financial trading, where clients are giving your company their hard-earned money, building trust is particularly critical. Show your audience that you care by providing them with information that will help them in their trading career. Educational materials in the form of videos, white papers and blog posts will help you build loyalty and lengthen a client’s lifetime value.
Branding
Branding is one of the top KPIs set for content marketing.
Simply put, the more content you put out there, the more recognition your brand will get. Producing useful, original and quality content is one of the best ways in which your business can position itself as a category leader, and promote and reinforce its brand.
With most FX brokerages having virtually the same offerings in terms of platforms, compensation structures, bonuses and such, content can be that added value to help position your brand and differentiate yourself from the bunch.
Increase web traffic
Content marketing is a key ingredient in gaining organic traffic to your website.
The content you produce gets indexed by the search engines, which turns into greater chances of getting organic traffic, so the more content you produce, the higher your organic traffic will be and because organic traffic is earned, not paid, you will keep reaping the benefits as long as you keep producing good content.
Aside from your self-generated organic web traffic, if you produce valuable content, other website owners may find it valuable enough to share with their audience, which will boost your web traffic even more. Inbound links from sites belonging to influential people, such as bloggers and industry experts, will convey to users that you are an expert in your field and will let search engines know that your site is qualitative.
Social distribution
Your content marketing pieces are great material to distribute through your social media channels.
Update your social media presence with your content by creating posts, tweets, snaps, pins, etc that can be shared by your audience with their friends, family and colleagues, helping your content reach a wider audience and in some lucky instances, become viral.
But don’t stop at just posting. Today’s marketing is not a one-way street. Listening to your audience and engaging in real-time interactions can help you build your brand and obtain valuable insight into the way your customers think and act, giving you key information about the best ways in which you should be communicating with them.
Engage
Great content that is designed to help, entertain and inspire your audience will keep readers engaged and coming back for more.
Every time a user comes back to your website, your social media page, reads your newsletter, etc, is a chance for them to be exposed to your brand and an opportunity for them to buy your products or services.
Great ROI
Pairing great content with the correct calls-to-action will improve your company’s conversion process.
Content has proved to be so effective that some researchers have made claims as bold as the fact that content marketing produces 3 times more Leads for every dollar spent than SEM. Even if half of the numbers in that statement are true, content still gives other pieces of the marketing mix a good run for their money.
Your investment in developing content does not only prove worth it as soon as you develop and publish a certain piece, but it continues to be relevant for a long time since good content stays. Moreover, if you create great content, other media outlets and influencers may decide to mention it and share it, thus exponentially increasing your reach, producing thousands of dollars’ worth of 'free' brand exposure.
Influence decision making
Studies show that over 92% of the purchasing process today happens before the client even talks to anyone at your company, so providing customers with information that can help them make a decision in favor of your brand is important.
As customers begin their research process, they’ll talk to friends, read reviews, visit forums and ask on social media about your products and services. Give them the opportunity to come across your content, let them find value in it, so by the time they contact your company, they have already been convinced to buy from you.
