There are many ways to help customers find you online, but not all of them are free. Content marketing is a cheaper option than paid advertising. Content marketing is democratic. If you are willing to work hard, you can be successful without having large financial resources.
Let’s first define content marketing and then look at three ways that it can attract your ideal customers.
What’s content marketing?
Content marketing is fundamentally about solving problems.
Your target customers are looking for answers to a question or problem. Your product or service solves their problem. You can make your offer more appealing if you provide them with timely and valuable information about their problem. Content marketing is what you provide to them.
There are many forms of content marketing, including:
- Blog posts
- Tutorials
- Webinars
- Guides, eBooks, and Checklists
- White papers
- Reports of special interest
- Infographics
- Videos
The goal is the same regardless of the format: To provide potential customers with answers, clarity, and solutions.
These are three ways content marketing can help you grow your online shop.
1. Attract leads
Your website is dependent on product pages and not content such as tutorials or posts. Not everyone is aware they even need your product. People don’t search Google for products; they search for answers. This is why content marketing and search engine optimization go hand in hand.
Let’s say your online business is new. A friend asks you if liability insurance is necessary. The friend asks why liability insurance is necessary. Your friend simply replies, “Because all businesses have it.” This is not very helpful. What do you do? You search online for “Why do businesses need liability insurance?”
Although you are not looking for the “best liability insurance providers”, your question could lead to insurance purchases. If you feel that you require liability insurance, you can start looking for providers.
This question is answered by some insurance companies, while others don’t. What companies will appear in search results?
This is how content marketing attracts leads.
Watch it in action: eCommerce stores with efficient content marketing
Dog owners
Dog owners can find winter difficult. It can be difficult to take your dog for a walk in the rain, so it is best to stay indoors and stay warm. Your dog needs exercise. You might be asking, “How can I keep my dog active during winter?”
, a company that sells collars and leashes for dogs, wrote a blog post that highlighted five ways to keep your dog active in the colder months.
You might also look around on 2 Hounds Design’s website to find out what products are currently available. You can purchase if your furry friend requires a collar or leash.
What if you had not read this article? It is highly unlikely.
2. Nurture leads
With your new leads, you have two options:
1) Sell them immediately
2) Get their contact information to start nurturing them
This is for leads who are not ready to purchase but still want to be informed about your products. They will happily give you their email address and follow you on social media if you provide them with valuable content, such as an eBook or a guide.
You can now contact your leads, so long as they are on your mailing list. You can continue to create new content, such as blog posts, videos, and PDFs, and send it to your email list.
People trust you to provide valuable information and solve problems. They will choose you when they are ready to purchase.
3. Convert leads to buyers
Some content can be used to sell the solution, and also link to the appropriate product pages depending on the problem. It solves a problem by selling specific products that readers can use to invite others to their wedding party.
Blog posts that aren’t directly related to your products can still be converted into customers.
Gorilla Printing is a large format printing company based in New York. A blog post explains the process of large-format printing. They provide details and show examples. You’ll see a chatbot at the bottom of the page. Readers may have additional questions that they would like to ask. They can do so directly from the post, without needing to navigate anywhere else.
Gorilla Printing uses content to generate leads and then offers additional ways for them to interact with us. The blog post should include a step-by-step guide for the reader. You should give them at least a means to contact you, such as a chatbot or a link to your contact page. Or a free offer in return for their email. Although it might not lead to a sale immediately, engaging potential customers will increase the likelihood that they will become regular customers.
eCommerce content marketing is easy.
Both yes and no. Yes and no. While accurate, truthful information is important, you don’t have to create award-winning articles every week to achieve your goals.
However, you must publish content regularly. This is often the most difficult part. It is unlikely that a few blog posts a week will have a significant impact on site traffic. Plan to publish a set number of blog posts per week.
Write about topics that are important to you and can be applied to your business. Listen to your customers and note the most frequently asked questions. Answer them in writing.
What is the most important thing? Get started.
