What’s on your agenda for the new year? Popular goals we’ve heard include:
Tackling a major new product launch
Fostering more innovation from marketing staff or an agency partner
Turning up the dial on productivity for your marketing efforts in light of the economic recovery
Looking for a new career challenge that really drives your passion
The Heinrich Report’s “What We’re Reading” series is a great resource that can help focus your priorities and clarify your 2011 goals. Here’s a list of our top choices, ones that we think can help you dive into the New Year with confidence.
Books
1) Do More Great Work: Stop the Busywork. Start the Work That Matters
by Michael Bungay Stanier
Why we like it: A quick read with helpful insights on how to jumpstart your passion for the work you already do — or hope to do.
2) Click: What Millions of People Are Doing Online and Why It Matters
by Bill Tancer
Why we like it: It’s a great big Internet out there, and it’s always in flux. This book helps you understand how people keep up, and how they harness the Web as a resource.
3) UnMarketing: Stop Marketing. Start Engaging.
by Scott Stratten
Why we like it: Engagement has been a big theme for us the past year, and Stratten keeps us motivated.
4) Making Ideas Happen: Overcoming the Obstacles Between Vision and Reality
by Scott Belsky
Why we like it: It’s one thing to have a great idea. It’s quite another to make it a reality. And that’s something almost everyone can relate to.
5) Switch: How to Change Things When Change Is Hard
Heinrich clients continually ask, “What is content marketing and why do we need it?” Content marketing, according to Joe Pulizzi, co-author of Get Content, Get Customers and publisher of the Junta42 blog, “is a marketing technique of creating and distributing relevant and valuable content to attract, acquire, and engage a clearly defined and understood target audience — with the objective of driving profitable customer action.”
To put it more simply, content marketing isn’t about selling. Instead, it’s about offering your prospects and customers information that’s relevant to them — in their jobs, in their personal lives, or both. This is one reason social media has become so huge: It’s the one place where content is all about “me” the individual versus “you” the company.
Does content marketing work? Yes! According to a statistic cited by Pulizzi, Roper Public Affairs posted data that shows:
80% of business decision makers prefer to get company information in a series of articles versus advertisements
70% say content marketing makes them feel closer to the sponsoring company
60% say that company content helps them make better purchasing decisions
Here at Heinrich, we’re dealing with the content marketing revolution too. Many of our clients don’t know that we can develop and implement both their content and social marketing campaigns, so instead of telling you what others are doing, I thought I’d show you how we’ve been incorporating content into our own marketing mix:
1. Turned our e-newsletter into a blog.
Like direct mail, email marketing is the workhorse for many companies. Email is wonderful because you can measure response almost immediately, and because performing A/B split tests on headlines, images, or copy is cost-effective. However, email lacks social’s engagement. And as you know, our inboxes are overflowing, which has lead to reduced open and clickthrough rates.
For all these reasons and more, we turned the Heinrich Report e-newsletter into a blog. (Lucky for us, we implement and manage blogs for our clients, so this process wasn’t difficult.)
A blog offers many advantages over an e-newsletter as it allows:
People to subscribe via RSS, which reduces inbox overwhelm.
Marketers to produce content very quickly, an important consideration if you’re in an industry where you need to comment on current events or breaking news.
Prospects and customers to engage with you through direct feedback.
The third point is the most important because it’s this engagement that builds trust over time. People who read your blog learn how you think, as well as how you handle positive — and not so positive — feedback. As the marketer, you have the opportunity to get to know people and, over time, turn those online relationships into business.
2. Became more engaged on Facebook.
For those of us who didn’t grow up with the Internet, using Facebook for business-to-business purposes has been a challenge because it’s just so . . . different from what we’re used to; however, that doesn’t mean you should ignore it.
Because Facebook is all about conversations (and definitely not about selling), it allows companies to show their personality — much more so than is possible with email or even a blog.
On the Heinrich Facebook page we’ve been experimenting with posting pictures of some of our office events and using questions and polls to conduct research. (Pay us a visit and give us a “like”!)
How does using Facebook help build trust? As with a blog, Facebook is a place where prospects can engage with you one-on-one. You can use the platform to ask questions — the way Netflix does about movies — or you can deliver information related to your products that your audience finds relevant.
Cabot Creamery Cooperative in Vermont, for example, posts recipes that incorporate its famous cheeses. In a recent post, someone asked the company to bring back its sliced cheddar “without animal rennet.” Gail from Cabot responded by saying the company uses a “microbial-based enzyme” in its cheeses. The customer replied, “Good to know!”
Not only is Cabot positioning itself as a company that cares about its customers and building trust, it’s also learning what its audience values, which allows it to develop products that meet people’s needs — and thus increase sales over time.
3. Developed a special report.
When I meet with my banking clients, I hear their pain with regard to content and social media marketing. As Pulizzi says, today’s customer expects a brand to be a resource of relevant information, not just sales messages, which is why Heinrich developed a new special report about content marketing specifically for financial services.
Whether or not you’re in financial services, download the report to see how we used nine real life examples of banks, credit card companies and insurance firms using content and social media marketing to reach out to their audiences. (Another report about how to incorporate social into direct mail is in the making!)
Special reports like this one help you build thought-leadership and trust. If the content is particularly valuable, others will pass it around to their networks (think Twitter and LinkedIn).
Content marketing is important because it allows you to communicate with people who have learned how to tune out overt advertising messages.
If you’re ready to develop or need help managing a content marketing campaign, Heinrich can help you. From blogs and social media to special reports and landing pages, we have the big picture perspective plus the tactical know-how to help you grow your business.
Feel free to give me a call at 303-239-5213. In addition to replying to blog comments, I also love talking to people on the phone.
Heinrich financial services clients ask lots of questions about content marketing:
“What exactly is ‘content’?”
“Why has content become so important?”
“How can we make content marketing work for our firm or bank?”
In this new Special Report developed by Heinrich Marketing for financial services firms, we answer these questions.
As a financial services marketer, creating content that helps you attract and retain customers must become a priority, especially now that educated, savvy — and connected! — consumers can quickly get up to speed on banking industry news, as well as shop for banks, credit cards and insurance, all with the click of a mouse.
Content developed by your firm lets you enter into these conversations with people, whether it’s through a blog post, Tweet or Facebook page. Content helps you communicate your message and educate prospects about changes in your industry, what’s happening at your firm and why you’ve had to make difficult decisions (e.g., cutting your rewards program).
When it’s done right, authentic and engaging content helps build trust in your company and turns prospects into customers — who then tell their social networks about why they like your brand.
But how can you make content marketing work when your company has yet to take a first step? Or, maybe you’re wondering how to integrate your Facebook page and Twitter presence into a more comprehensive content marketing strategy. Relax. We’ve got the answers!
In our Special Report, you’ll find 9 real-life examples of financial services firms, large and small, that are successfully using the following content marketing tactics:
Article research libraries
Special reports for lead generation
E-newsletters
Social media — Twitter and Facebook
Blogs
Video
Customer reviews
Community forums
Our goal is to inspire and excite you by showing you how your peers in the industry are reaching out and building relationships.
Content! It’s not just a buzzword. More than two-thirds of marketers are using some form of content marketing to grow their businesses (for B2B marketers, it’s 90%). And for good reason, too. Today, businesses and consumers look for trusted content (rather than sales pitches) to help them solve problems and make purchase decisions.
Not surprisingly, businesses increasingly use content as part of a marketing strategy to help them find customers, persuade prospects to action and turn customers into repeat buyers. But at Heinrich, we still hear plenty of companies asking questions, such as: Can content marketing work for my business? Can I measure the impact?
Yes, and yes. A great content marketing program can help you generate revenue. Here’s why:
Reason #1: Attract and retain customers
Finding new customers isn’t a challenge unique to 2011, but it might seem like a more formidable one than ever before. Potential customers just aren’t where they used to be. As Joe Pulizzi quite bluntly puts it in his book (co-authored with Newt Barrett) Get Content, Get Customers:
“They aren’t surfing aimlessly, hoping to be influenced by marketing messages that arrive from out of the blue. And they aren’t sitting around waiting to hear from you. They have no time to waste, and they deeply resent unwanted advertising messages.”
That’s an assessment of what consumers aren’t doing. So what are they doing? They’re becoming students of what they want to buy! With access to research tools like price comparison sites, apps, customer reviews and blogs, consumers can find a wealth of information before they even set foot in a store.
In 2008, Yahoo! Search Marketing, in partnership with ChannelForce, confirmed this. During a study of TV and digital camera shoppers, they discovered 70% researched online before they went to a store. Today, mobile makes it possible to research while in the store. According to The Wall Street Journal (in an article whose title we can’t ignore: “Phone-Wielding Shoppers Strike Fear Into Retailers”),customers consulted apps for price comparisons right from the aisles.The paper also cited a study by Accenture that found “73% of mobile-powered shoppers preferred peering into their phones for basic assistance over talking to a retail clerk.” Now that’s redefining customer service!
We’re not saying you need to create an app — we’re pointing out what your next customers are doing, and where you can find them. Apps, blogs, customer reviews…these are their trustworthy authorities. When you create content to answer their needs in these mediums, you’re creating touch points that can start a relationship. You might not get the next sale, but you might get the one after that.
Reason #2: Position your brand as a credible expert
With content in the right places, your brand and your business can stay viable in the social-media-driven, consumer-empowered marketplace. Go where the consumers are looking, and put yourself directly in their path. Sounds easy, but getting there is half the battle. That’s why you need a strategy!
Good strategy can help you with the other half of the content equation: creating relevant content consumers care about. We’re not saying you have to pretend you’re not selling a product. But today’s customer also expects your brand to be more — to be a viable resource in your product category.
In the end, maybe it comes down to good old competition: If your rival is establishing itself as a presence through content (and more will be in 2011), you need to be there, too.
Reason #3: Motivate and drive purchase action
What keeps your customers coming back to buy? For 2011, you need to know: It’s not you. On his blog Junta42, content guru Joe Pulizzi explains:
“New content marketers…like to talk about ourselves all the time. Our products, our services, features and benefits…[But] successful publishing is all about the reader…your customers. If you are not solving their pain with relevant and compelling content, you are adding to the noise, the clutter.”
As a result of the “me-focused” consumer marketplace, the emotional attachment your current customers feel to your brand is more tenuous. But fear not. Relevant, informative content can reinforce that bond, provided you have a strong vision for your brand and content with social currency. As Marketing Profs put it, it’s time to ask yourself tough questions:
“What’s your position on things, your point of view? Where’s the evidence that you’re serious about content? What’s your story? What’s your purpose? Why should people care?”
“What value does your content deliver directly to people? What value does it deliver indirectly (i.e., the payback you get for telling someone else about it)?”
When you can answer all of these questions succinctly, and deliver your message consistently, you can create content that helps your brand become a trusted resource for your customers, not just a place to buy things. It requires a serious change in the way you do business. Steven Van Yoder’s compelling headline for Marketing Profs says it best: “Stop Selling and (Instead) Help Your Customers Buy.”
Make time for content
The value (and profits) content can bring make it a necessity worthy of your attention and ideas. Heinrich can help you produce engaging content, and find a way fit it into your already full schedule for 2011. Let’s talk!
What’s on your agenda for the new year? Popular goals we’ve heard include:
Tackling a major new product launch
Fostering more innovation from marketing staff or an agency partner
Turning up the dial on productivity for your marketing efforts in light of the economic recovery
Looking for a new career challenge that really drives your passion
The Heinrich Report’s “What We’re Reading” series is a great resource that can help focus your priorities and clarify your 2011 goals. Here’s a list of our top choices, ones that we think can help you dive into the New Year with confidence.
Books
1) Do More Great Work: Stop the Busywork. Start the Work That Matters
by Michael Bungay Stanier
Why we like it: A quick read with helpful insights on how to jumpstart your passion for the work you already do — or hope to do.
2) Click: What Millions of People Are Doing Online and Why It Matters
by Bill Tancer
Why we like it: It’s a great big Internet out there, and it’s always in flux. This book helps you understand how people keep up, and how they harness the Web as a resource.
3) UnMarketing: Stop Marketing. Start Engaging.
by Scott Stratten
Why we like it: Engagement has been a big theme for us the past year, and Stratten keeps us motivated.
4) Making Ideas Happen: Overcoming the Obstacles Between Vision and Reality
by Scott Belsky
Why we like it: It’s one thing to have a great idea. It’s quite another to make it a reality. And that’s something almost everyone can relate to.
5) Switch: How to Change Things When Change Is Hard
Video marketing is on marketers’ minds, fueled by the popularity (and phenomenal sales success) of the Old Spice campaign back in July. And it’s not just a trend. Recent comScore stats note that 177 million U.S. Internet users watched video content in June. Inevitably, that means more marketing messages get absorbed from a computer (and, increasingly, mobile) screen than a print piece. David Hallerman, of eMarketer, is more blunt:
“At this point, the audience is expecting to see video, whether it’s ads with a video for packaged goods where they’re trying to make it more interesting, or video that explains more about a product. Video has become a common denominator that people expect to see.” Read the article.
Every business could benefit from a video marketing plan. It’s a channel with plenty of opportunity, one still in need of video marketing leaders for key categories. To succeed, you can follow the same principles that Heinrich advises for any marketing campaign:
Align your video marketing with your business goals.
Create a strategy to market your videos.
Rule 1: Align your video marketing with your business goals.
The viral success of the Old Spice campaign seemingly set the video marketing bar high, both in terms of consumer engagement and sales. In it, the commercial figure, “Old Spice Guy,” directly responded to tweets and Facebook posts via videos on YouTube. During the campaign window, Old Spice sales went through the roof, rising a whopping 107%.
More importantly to Old Spice, video marketing helped them achieve their rebranding goals. Old Spice gained mainstream attention and became attractive to a new, younger audience. Put simply: They wanted to make it cool.
Your video marketing can learn from Old Spice, and it doesn’t need the same budget, or to go viral. It does need to satisfy your business goals through relevant, meaningful content. As Jeremy Scott at Reel SEO, The Video Marketer’s Guide, puts it, “Before you pick a type of video to create, you need to know what your goals are…Like any piece of online content, the chances for success increase exponentially when the video is created to fulfill a specific purpose.”
Video can break down barriers for you when it comes to content possibilities that engage consumers. Here are just a few ideas that could work for your business.
Educational/informative videos
Categories like financial services can benefit greatly from creating informative, educational video content for consumers and promoting it up front on their website. This is especially true in challenging economic times like these, when consumers struggle to navigate rocky financial terrain. Topics like budgeting, retirement planning and even checking account advice get clicks, and video adds a human touch that makes the subject matter even more accessible. Over at MSN Money, you’ll find online videos that offer money-saving tips, “real people” interviews and business updates, all right from the home page. It’s all on-topic, and in support of other non-video content on the page — contributing to a richer, more engaging website experience overall.
Product demo videos
Showcasing a product and demoing it online can boost your sales. Just look at eBags.com. On their YouTube channel and through 200 videos across their ecommerce website, eBags employees show products in-hand. They open zippers, reveal the insides of purses and backpacks, and zoom in for close-ups to highlight quality. According to the ecommerce blog Get Elastic, the results have been staggering. To quote:
138% higher conversion rates on product detail pages when a customer clicks on the video
Significant increase in time on-site (measure of engagement)
Reduced customer complaints. When eBags received a complaint on a product the customer was confused about how to assemble, the designer created video the next day. Now eBags emails that video to each one that receives that product.
The kind of video content you decide to promote will of course depend on your business. With all the recent hype, you might feel a sense of urgency to get started. Instead, it pays to take time to define your business goal so you can create a video campaign that helps you achieve it.
Rule 2: Create a strategy to market your videos.
One of the most common assumptions about video is that you can just put it online and people will find it. But, in truth, the rules of marketing still apply. You have to promote your video to your existing customer base using all of your offline and online channels, where you already have an interested audience. Here are just a few ideas.
Enrich your website or blog with video content.
We’ve written before about building a customer base through content marketing. Articles only have to be one part of that content. An educational video can add value to the blog, lift engagement — and even drive more consumers to your content via organic search. TechCrunch cites findings from Forrester Research that determined “videos were 53 times more likely than traditional web pages to receive an organic first-page ranking.” The result can be a longer-lasting marketing campaign, one that endures thanks to strong search placement.
The Dove brand found rebranding success in this way. For a few years now, they’ve promoted videos through a rich blog channel on their website and an easy-to-find features section that includes video — and it almost always supports one of their ongoing campaigns. For example, viral video success (11,938,653 page views) has kept their Campaign for Real Beauty front and center — and helped broaden their brand message. Their latest campaign, “Dove Hair Care Brush with Greatness Sing4All” puts video at center stage; in it, they invite customers to submit a video performance of “My Favorite Things” from The Sound of Music.
Dove uses video not only as a way to inform customers, but as a way to engage and interact with them, too. The end result is a marketing effort that builds a strong emotional connection between customer and company.
Support social media efforts with video.
In 2009, Nielsen reported that time spent viewing video on social networking sites increased 98% year-over-year, “from 503.8 million minutes in October 2008 to 999.4 million minutes in October 2009,” with Facebook as the leading destination.
Just as social media offers your business the opportunity to engage in a dialogue with your customers, video on your social media platforms gives you the opportunity to personalize your brand, deepening customer engagement and presenting your company as one that’s accessible and helpful to its customers.
On Facebook, COUNTRY Financial and MasterCard use video to engage their fans — and, interestingly, the content isn’t limited to financial advice. MasterCard offers entertainment, such as a Loretta Lynn tribute to highlight its sponsorship of the Grammy Awards, along with informative videos about non-financial topics like eco-friendly living. And at COUNTRY, you’ll find videos on fire safety tips, a report on auto safety standards and fans singing fight songs at a Colorado State University football game.
Video supports these brands in their social media efforts to improve customer relationships — and to do some image marketing. As they attempt to position themselves as lifestyle brands, not just as financial ones, video adds personal touch that supports their goal.
Is video marketing as a growth strategy right for your business?
With smart planning, video marketing can fit into your budget. Get a breakdown of potential costs right here. What’s more, the benefits can go well beyond increased customers, page views and sales. At the TED conference back in July, TED curator Chris Anderson offered inspiring words about the value of video, and suggested it can drive innovation in businesses and their customers. He summarized himself in an article on CNN:
“Hidden among all the cute kittens and pirated TV shows, online video is driving astonishing innovation in thousands of different fields ranging from the ultra-niche to the sharing of truly world-changing ideas.” Read the article.
You don’t have to start your video marketing campaign to change the world. Let’s get started with ideas that can help you reach new customers. Just email us at Heinrich Marketing.
Stay inspired! Watch the complete video of Chris Anderson’s TED speech.
As consumers ease their way back into spending post-recession, they’re more careful, both with their money and with the choices they make. In this cautious state, information is their friend — they’re hungry for it, and empowered by it. Is your business ready for them?
Honesty. Really the best policy. Great content opportunities can arise from the most challenging of business situations. For example, in a recent article in TheWall Street Journal, Robin Sidel highlighted banks’ efforts to replace old fees with new ones in their now strongly regulated industry:
“Making matters trickier, while the banks must disclose the new fees fully, they likely will do so only in the ordinary-looking correspondence that most consumers toss in the trash without reading. The result: Many people will learn of the new charges only after opening their monthly statements.”(The new Bank Fees: How to Fight Back” June 19th, 2010)
Instead of viewing fees as a hazard to customer retention, consider them an opportunity to engage in a meaningful dialogue with the customer. That’s what makes a great tweet, blog post or Facebook post.
Just think about the benefits that can come from prominently displaying difficult news in a more customer-friendly communication:
Build trust through transparency. Honest content can make a great customer retention tactic, and give you a venue to explain reasons behind a decision. It’s a way to control your message when it’s bad news.
Evolve your brand into a service that provides valuable information. Content that takes the customer behind the scenes of the industry could prove especially helpful to other consumers simply seeking information online — and subsequently turn them into customers, too.
Start with a strategy.
Creating content is not a creative process, it’s a strategic one. Make sure every communication you put out there supports your marketing strategy and states your brand message consistently. Here are a few helpful tactics:
Attract potential customers through search results. Whether it’s Google, Yahoo or Bing, customers rely on search engines to help them sift through the mountains of information out there. And that’s great news for you — an opportunity to connect with an already-interested audience.
Connect consumers to high-quality content. It’s information overload out there, but quality can be the differentiator. When potential customers reach your blog, website or Facebook page, give them content that’s knowledgeable, well written and relevant to what they’re looking for. You’ll set your brand apart online.
This newsletter you’re reading right now is content marketing in action! Spend an hour with us to learn more about how we can help you make your content king. Let’s talk.
In 2007, when Gaiam launched its GaiamLife.com content site, full of how-to videos, advice from experts and consumer stories, sales originating there began exceeding forecasts, and customer retention and purchase frequency jumped significantly.
“What Gaiam really sells is a healthy, conscious lifestyle,” says Mary Jo Cameron, former Gaiam Lifemanaging editor. “The content allowed customers a convenient way to get healthier and greener on their own. It underscored Gaiam’s position as not just a product brand, but a trusted resource.”
Content Is Catching On
The 2010 Content Marketing Survey from Junta42, a leading content-vendor matching service, reports that the majority (59%) of marketing professionals planning to allocate an all-time high of 33% of their overall budget to content marketing, including social media, blogs, articles and e-newsletters, up from 29% in 2008.
But it’s not just credibility. There’s another reason for content, too. Joe Pulizzi, co-author of the best-selling book Get Content, Get Customers, says that customers are finding more ways to block unwanted messages. “In order to get attention, marketers mustdevelop valuable, relevant, compelling content, without selling,so that prospects actually ‘opt-in’.”
So what’s the content catch? Seth Godin says that you are either remarkable or invisible. Sure, we agree. But what’s the formula?
Discover What Your Customers Need and Want.No, deeper.
We’re talking about research. Research too often drives small-scale decisions, helping an agency determine which headline to use instead of playing a more diagnostic role. John Almash, president of Stratcom, a leading marketing consulting firm, says it can be more powerful. “Research should contribute to long-term strategies about how marketers view the bigger consumer picture and how they should respond to the changing psyche of the American public.”
To Overcome the Curse of Knowledge
Once we know something, we find it hard to imagine what it was like not to know it. Our knowledge has “cursed” us. It becomes difficult for us to share our knowledge with others, because we can’t readily re-create our listeners’ state of mind. Made to Stick authors, Chip and Dan Heath, advise that to overcome this, your content mustbe:simple (stripped to the core), unexpected (destroying preconceived notions), concrete (no stats, no abstracts), credible (they gotta trust you), emotive and a darn good story (inspires connection and is easy on the ears).
Hire Experts
Confused on how to create content when you’re barely shouldering your current workload?That’s understandable, but the answer is simple. Hire a professional communicator to hunt, gather, distill and organize the most relevant and valuable content for your company.
“These statistics don’t surprise me,” says Ivy Hastings, interactive marketing strategist with Heinrich interactive marketing partner Fusionbox. “Social media is one of the fastest, easiest ways to reach an audience, and you can talk to people free.
“It doesn’t make sense for every situation,” she adds, “and you don’t want to go in without a goal or a strategy. But use social media. Use it to build trust and relationships. Use it to get feedback about your products and services. It’s true one-to-one marketing.”
In case you didn’t catch it, “Use it to build trust and relationships” is an operative phrase in terms of formulating your marketing strategy with social media.
“Don’t start out trying to sell to people on Twitter and Facebook,” says Heinrich Senior Vice President Sandi McCann. “Start by building valuable content that tells your brand story, and tell your social media followers about that content. After you’ve earned their trust, then you can sell to them sometimes.“
She says you might be surprised how deep the social networking boom runs — i.e., the number of industries getting on board. “Financial services marketing executives are using Twitter and Facebook not only for direct response campaigns, but also to build community with customers, do product research, get the word out about innovative new product launches and build brand trust.” One example: Mashable.com recently reported on the Citi Credit Cards Make a Difference, One Friend at a Time campaign that donates $50 to the charity of the user’s choice for every approved credit card application by friends they refer through Facebook.
Considering a content-based marketing program? It’s been a smart move for Country Financial. The Country Financial Farm and Ranch Customer Loyalty Program developed by Denver Advertising Agency, Heinrich Marketing has increased retention of farm and ranch customers so effectively, Country is continuing the program for the third year and expanding it to customers of a new subsidiary.
“There was no formal loyalty program in place for this vital segment before,” notes Heinrich Senior Vice President Sandi McCann. “As part of a multi-touch communication strategy, we developed a highly targeted publication featuring short industry news, pairing it with relevant information on how Country Financial’s products can help customers protect their most valuable assets.”
What made this program so successful? “Relevance, first and foremost,” says McCann. “This audience has very specific interests, challenges and needs. Besides being informative, useful and backed by Country’s respected experience providing financial security in the farming and ranching industry, the content Heinrich builds for this program is highly customized to this segment’s needs.”
“More than ever in today’s market,” adds McCann, “the better you know your customer and the more relevant you make your marketing messages, the better ROI you’ll see.”
The more content and pages you have, the higher your site ranks in the crucial organic (non-paid) results for a customer’s search terms. Google tries to match the user up with the authority on a topic.
Your content also shows thought leadership in your area and builds brand trust among your customers. Anticipate the questions, challenges and opportunities your customers have, and answer them in content on your website. And post information about your company’s innovative ideas, new programs that benefit your customers, and activities your company is involved in that show you’re a leader in your industry.
2. A lot of inbound links
The more sites that link to yours, the higher your site ranks in organic search engine results. You want high-quality sites linking to pages in your site; this is another reason you need a lot of high-quality content.
It takes a bit of time; it took about three months when I first starting working on this for our site, and I kept working at it (it was addictive!). Now I write articles all the time and add them to our site. We got to the top of Google results for keywords like
