Gone are the days when shoppers decide what to buy based on commercials, billboards and print ads. Now, people are more likely to learn about your business from a post on social media than they are to sit through a commercial–shout out to ad-free streaming. That’s why 80% of marketing professionals consider content marketing a high priority for brands.
Whereas traditional advertising aims specifically to sell a product or service, content marketing seeks to cultivate lasting customer relationships through blogs, videos and social media posts. Content offers useful advice, answers common questions and ultimately helps consumers solve their problems. In the process, customers come to view your brand as a helpful resource. Through content marketing, businesses generate more leads and spend less money.
Before we discuss why content marketing is more effective, let’s get into the differences between the two:
| Traditional Advertising | Content Marketing |
| Interruptive: ads interrupt other activities | Permissive: audiences choose to engage with it |
| Your audience is borrowed | Your audience is yours to keep |
| Transactional and one-sided | Conversational and relationship-building |
Here are 3 reasons why content marketing drives stronger conversions and brand loyalty than traditional advertising methods.
Content marketing is more cost-effective.
For every dollar spent on content marketing, you can expect to get three times as many leads on average than you would from traditional advertising. And you’ll spend 62% less to get those leads. So how does content marketing deliver high-quality leads? Content marketing is successful because it targets customer needs.
When people have a question, want to learn how to do something, or just want to learn more about a particular topic, they go online. Through content marketing, your business provides valuable information about the topics your most likely customers are interested in.
Here’s an example of a blog we created for our client 20/20 Onsite. 20/20 Onsite offers mobile optometry services–often to businesses who bring them in to deliver convenient eye care to employees. This how-to guide provides readers with strategies for building employee wellness programs.
So why does this content work?
- It speaks to targeted customers: business owners, HR professionals and other business leaders looking to support their employees.
- It offers useful advice about a relevant topic: employee wellness programs.
- It weaves in how our client can help address their needs: by providing a unique wellness benefit that can amplify a hybrid working environment.
As a result, potential clients of 20/20 Onsite will view the company with credibility, may sign up for their mailing list to get more helpful information, and (hopefully) reach out to 20/20 Onsite’s sales team to schedule an on-site eye exam for their team. That’s a perfect example of how one piece of educational content can drive sales.
Shoppers like learning about businesses through content marketing.
Content marketing is more than just a great way to boost brand awareness among likely customers. Shoppers also enjoy interacting with businesses through content. In fact, they prefer to learn about businesses through social media, video and blog content.
The reason people prefer interacting with content marketing over traditional advertising is that content marketing provides something of value. People don’t always enjoy being on the receiving end of a sales pitch, but they do like learning new things. Content marketing helps audiences learn while you generate greater awareness and credibility for your brand.
In this example for our client TalkingTree Creative, we offered advice for how businesses can get involved with video content. As a video production company, TalkingTree Creative helps businesses create cinema-grade video with ease. The quick video clip offers useful advice about video content creation, but also highlights the video production services our client provides.
Through this post and other posts like it, we’ve helped TalkingTree Creative increase impressions (the number of times a post was seen) and reach (the number of unique viewers) on their Instagram account. During the month this video was posted, the TalkingTree Creative Instagram account saw a 162% increase in reach and a 285% increase in impressions.
Content marketing builds great customer relationships.
Perhaps the most important benefit of content marketing is that it reminds your audience of the people behind your brand. When deciding whether or not to make a purchase, people consider a number of factors. One factor that’s of growing importance to people is a company’s character. More than their credibility, prices or reputation, shoppers want to be able to trust that their money is supporting good people.
According to the Edelman Trust Barometer, 81% of people say that they need to trust a brand will choose to do the right thing before they’ll make a purchase. What’s more, over half of those surveyed said they expect businesses to take action on social issues.
Content marketing enables you to not only offer valuable information, but also demonstrates what your brand values. Our client 20/20 Onsite recently partnered with Boston Public Schools to deliver free eye care to students in need. We helped them document this experience in a blog post and on social media.
Create attention-grabbing content with help from Agency 102.
The digital space is saturated with users. Agency 102 helps clients stand out from the crowd with impactful content. Contact us today!
