Whether you love marketing or look at it as a chore, a key question you should be asking is: “How effective is my marketing?” Your marketing plan should be reviewed and updated every few years at the bare minimum. You have to be clear in identifying your desired result. Then analyze your marketing performance against your key performance indicators (KPI’s). That includes your sales, leads, conversions, retention, loyalty, etc. Until you evaluate the effectiveness of your current marketing strategy, don’t just keep trying something different. In this article, we’ll be sharing the value of content marketing, and the power of using content to nurture leads into paying customers.
You’ve likely heard that potential customers (especially of costly services like interior design) need to interact with you several times, and be “nurtured” into making a sale. When analyzing your marketing performance, ask yourself if your marketing has been focused with this idea in mind. Or have you been investing too much of your valuable marketing budget in advertising, just to be disappointed with the results? What if there was a less expensive way than using traditional methods to reach your ideal clients and build a long-lasting relationship? Content marketing and advertising share the same goal — promoting a product, service, or brand to your ideal clients. However, the aim of content marketing is to attract and connect with your ideal clients by providing valuable and relevant content, as opposed to ads which generally ask for a lead to take an immediate action.
Effectiveness of content marketing
- According to Semrush’s 2023 State of Content Marketing, 97% of respondents found some level of success with content marketing.
- To increase the effectiveness of your marketing, you should utilize a variety of content marketing across multiple mediums and platforms (more on that later).
- Content marketing can be used to both show and tell customers your unique value proposition by providing valuable information in your brand’s voice.
- Content marketing gives you the opportunity to show how much value you place on your clients rather than just on making the sale.
- Content marketing isn’t always fun or easy. But it can be! Writing articles, creating videos, and recording podcasts can all be fun, and if you make sure you’re enjoying the process as much as focusing on creating valuable and quality content, you won’t lose the passion you have for creating.
6 essential types of content
There are a variety of types of content to use for marketing. Rather than trying to incorporate too many, choose several that you feel will work best for your brand. These are some of the most effective for interior design businesses.
- Blog posts – Sharing focused, up-to-date, quality information on a reliable schedule is a cost-effective way to reach your ideal clients. According to Orbit Media the average blog post is 1,142 words long. However they state that a longer form article (over 3,000 words), may have a better chance of answering what the searcher wants to find.
- Videos or podcasts – According to Content Marketing Institute, 73% of marketers say videos have become more important to their business in the last year. Consider behind-the-scenes videos to show a glimpse of a remodel or building process. You might have fun with it! Podcasts (listen to our podcast here!) could involve interviewing experts in the design industry – painters, furniture manufacturers, lighting experts, and more. You are “pre-educating” potential ideal clients, and probably entertaining them too.
- eBooks – eBooks offer the opportunity to capture information about prospective ideal clients such as a name and email address through premium gated content. You offer information directed and of value to ideal clients, and they “pay” you by giving them permission for you to email them in the future (and nurture them with more content!)
- Case studies – Show how your expertise has previously solved problems for others. Case studies are effective ways to showcase yourself as an expert in your field and prove why your services are perfect for your clients.
- Testimonials and reviews – You should always be asking for testimonials from your ideal clients – then be sure to use them. Posting them offers a cost-effective way to increase content on your website while validating your expertise.
- Tools, guides, and checklists – People always like getting something for free (or maybe for exchanging their email addresses). They can also offer valuable information to prospective clients and encourage them to search for more information from your firm. If you offer one good resource, then your other resources and services must be good, too!
Benefits of consistent quality content marketing
There are valuable benefits of consistent, top-quality content marketing.
- Both potential clients and existing clients will connect with you more often and for longer.
- You will generate more traffic and ideal leads to your website even when you’re asleep.
- Improve your search engine ranking and visibility.
- Build trust through valuable information.
- Put your firm in the position of an authority in your field.
- Build brand awareness by writing confidently about topics that are relevant to your clients.
- You may develop loyal fans of your brand. They then may become brand advocates without ever working with you.
- Save money on your marketing strategy! By hiring freelancers and taking advantage of free or cheap tools, you can create content on a budget.
How to get started with content marketing
- Define the goals you want to achieve with content marketing and prioritize them.
- Identify your ideal clients, as they determine your target demographics.
- Determine your key performance indicators for marketing, and set measurable goals that you want to achieve with your content efforts.
- Decide how much effort should be put into your content. Creating content still takes time, and your time is valuable. Set a maximum amount of time you want to devote to content, or a budget for paying other people to create that content.
- Organize a plan and schedule to manage your content marketing. Look at different content scheduling tools to find one that fits your needs.
- Determine the type of content marketing you plan to create. Evaluate what best will reach your ideal clients on the platforms and using the mediums that they prefer.
- Brainstorm ideas. Use your team, current and past clients, industry partners, or look at what competitors are doing with their own content in order to get inspiration for you own.
- Make a plan to stick to your plan! Decide who is responsible for different tasks and when results are going to be tracked. Use your KPIs to determine what’s working and what should be reconsidered.
Growing successful content marketing strategy doesn’t happen overnight. It takes time, organization and creativity. But remember it can be extremely effective and cost-effective. And the whole while, you are planting the seeds to attract your ideal clients and build lifetime loyalty.