Bad content can be bought from just about anywhere. For cheap. Good content, though, is priceless. Outsourcing content to content farms may be good for the budget, but it could be bad news in the long run for your bottom line.
Being grammatically correct isn’t enough anymore. Websites only to push poor-quality content and a ton of self-promotion customers’ faces aren’t going to gain many leads. At all. Seriously.
The marketing world is changing. It sounds cliché. It sounds preachy. But it’s true. Here are our top reasons why it counts to invest in solid content.
Great Content Stands Out
The internet has a ton of content. There are an estimated 1.6 million blog posts written every day (Technorati). That’s a half billion new posts every year, 65% of which are written by complete amateurs. How are you going to make yourself stand out?
The sheer amount of competition for people’s ever shrinking attention spans means your content must be good to be successful. What makes it successful? Successful content gets your name out there and gets leads in the door.
Keep Up Or Beat Your Competition
Good content is a marketing strategy and can work to your advantage as much as a well-placed advertisement or sponsorship. If your direct competitors are pumping out really good content, chances are you’re losing leads to them. People feel more comfortable investing their time and money in a company that is smart, helpful, cares about them, and is a good listener. Yes, it’s a little like dating in that way. Show you care while keeping up with the competition by making content, and thereby customer communication, a priority.
Become a Recognizable Brand
Setting up your company to be recognizable as a brand that cares about its customers will not only improve your karma, it will boost your bottom line. There has been a big shift lately in the way brands represent themselves. The anonymous mega-corporation is losing interest to companies with a genuine human spirit who can reach their customers on a personal level.
They way your company represents itself outside of the product or service you offer is becoming increasingly important as well. In this age of instant communication, the personal message you put out there may be even more important than your corporate one. Take the recent Chick-fil-a news for example – what does gay marriage really have to do with a chicken sandwich and waffle fries? Check your Facebook wall if you’re not sure.
So, the take-home message here is, crappy content is easy and cheap. Good content can solidify relationships with customers and colleagues and ultimately help you sell your product or service. End of story.
