Should You Do More Content Marketing in 2017? These 5 Signs Point to 'Yes'

When trying to grow your business, coming up with a marketing strategy that actually works is of the utmost importance. As you probably know if you’re a regular reader of the Big Marketing Insider, we’ve been talking about the virtues of content marketing for years. Slowly, even smaller businesses are learning about content marketing and trying it out, and that’s a great thing. Some of the hesitation toward adopting content marketing could stem from the fact that:

• It’s (relatively) “new.” Anytime a new concept gains popularity, skeptics abound. But though content marketing has only recently gained popularity in the online medium, the truth is that great brands have been using content marketing for as long as there has been marketing. “Word of mouth” is, after all, the original type of content marketing, and it’s still coveted by businesses everywhere.

• It’s challenging. Content marketing isn’t as simple as paying someone money to run your ad. Instead, businesses have to think creatively about how to make the customers come to them, and some are intimidated by this challenge.

• It takes time. Content marketing usually doesn’t pay off immediately. Instead, results tend to start slow and then pick up critical mass until they hit a tipping point, when business owners are surprised to find their blogs or social media channels have a life of their own and are growing rapidly.

Nonetheless, overcoming these objections and doubling down on your content marketing strategy is worth it. Here are five reasons you should be doing more content marketing next year:

1. It gives you an alternative to running ads.

Consumers have learned to ignore ads. One report found that nearly 200 million Internet users are using some kind of ad blocking software. In the future, getting new customers won’t be as simple as flashing a few ads—instead, you’ll have to capture their attention with genuine and interesting content.

2. It has a high return on investment.

Email marketing, a type of content marketing, offers the highest ROI of any known marketing method, with a return of $38 for every $1 spent on it.

3. It helps your search engine rankings.

The days of keyword-stuffing are over—search engines are now smart enough to measure what pages are actually useful to visitors, and these pages tend to be ones that feature quality content.

4. It’s the new standard.

88% of B2B marketers currently utilize some form of content marketing. And while this popularity doesn’t in and of itself prove the effectiveness of content marketing, the number likely wouldn’t be as high unless companies were getting some spectacular results from their efforts.

5. It’s only picking up steam.

70% of marketers plan to create more content in 2017 than they did this year. If you’re thinking about trying content marketing sooner or later, the earlier you start, the better your chances of capturing an audience before a competitor steps into the same space. Has content marketing made a difference to your business? Or are you one of the companies who have never actually tried it? We want to know about your experience! Shoot us an email, or get in touch with us on Facebook or Twitter!   [templatera id=”10394″]