People want solutions to their problems, plain and simple, and they’re willing to seek them out. What’s actually happening is that they’re becoming increasingly inundated by thousands of irrelevant marketing messages that attempt to pull them in different directions, which they typically ignore. As someone seeking to grow their business, you’ll have to do more than just create content. You’ll need to become both authoritative and engaging. It’s a necessity that you and your brand strongly communicate your story, instill confidence and trust, all while building awareness and encouraging engagement among prospects and customers. The potential exists not only to solidify your position but also to increase your market share.

Sound easy? It’s not.

The majority of organizations are set up to develop, produce and sell products and services not to create and deliver weekly editorials and/or seek out potential customers to interact with in cyberspace.  That’s why content development seems so unnatural to most businesses. What this all comes down to is an opportunity to educate potential buyers about your product offerings, the industry at large as well as your company culture. Ultimately, the information you distribute should make it easier for your consumer to purchase your goods and/or services. For tips and considerations on improving your copy, click here.

As a sidebar, creating unique content might not be the appropriate goal for each and every business. Some companies should focus on engaging customers via social media sites and answering their questions as quickly as possible to spur them into action to quicken conversion and, ultimately, speed up the sales cycle. Remember, not every hit on your website is a potential customer. Think of it in the context of a department store. Of all the visitors who stop in, only some are in the market for actually making a purchase. Likewise, only some of you website traffic is considering purchasing goods/services offered. To leverage your online marketing efforts, you’ll have to discern where your business stands and which group of visitors you’re trying to reach out to (in this example, casual shoppers vs. the purpose driven).

Once you do have content, another hurdle that will inevitably present itself is placement. If you create content but aren’t effectively advertising it, you’re wasting your time. Successful content marketing requires a combination of interesting content combined with social networking, link building and public relations working together synergistically. Push your content through your social media pipeline and through your website. That doesn’t mean spam. You’re more likely to lose some, or all, of your following if you become too overbearing. At Bravo Design, Inc. networking with other professionals online has helped us nearly triple our Facebook following over the course of the last two or three months. Building genuine relationships with your end consumers along with professionals within your industry will help you gain the most out of your marketing efforts. It also helps improve the pipeline for expanded delivery options in the future.

Your ability to concisely define your brand and establish credibility, while standing apart from the crowd, will have a huge impact on your future success(es). If content is improperly targeted, your message is wasted on an audience that doesn’t care about you, your business or your news. Even worse is the possibility that if you use an affiliate website to host miscellaneous content, potential readers will be redirected there rather than to your own site. Not only do you lose that traffic, it devalues your news and your brand.