Content Marketing Truths to Help Business

http://moz.com/blog/the-greatest-misconception-in-content-marketing-whiteboard-friday

Content marketing takes time but it can be one of the best ways to boost your brand, increase website traffic and ultimately heighten conversion rates.  However, the myths surrounding content marketing can negate the benefits of this powerful technique.  It is important that clients and SEO experts alike understand the power of content marketing and how to make it work for them.

The biggest myth out there is this:  content translates into direct sales.  This is probably one of the most pervasive myths about content marketing and it exists because people want a simple answer.  They want to hear that if they improve their content, more people will come to their website and more people will make purchases.

That is not the entire purpose of improving content, however.  The process goes much deeper than that.  Some people will visit your website for your content such as blog or social media posts and will not make a purchase.  However, what will happen is you will begin to embed your brand in their brains so that they not only think of you but they recommend you to others.  This brand recognition building is the real power behind content marketing.

In fact, it is likely that a visitor will come to your website several times before making a purchase, particularly if you are in a service field.  Lawyers and others who are giving up time to free consultations already understand that not everyone they consult with will become a client.  However, many have a hard time making the mental transition to content marketing as a similar tool. 

What you are really building with content marketing is trust.  You are teaching potential clients to see your website as a resource.  This builds their confidence in you and your brand.  It makes you valuable in their eyes and has a ripple effect for future business and clients you have not even met yet.

However, many people give up.  They try to measure the effect of content marketing directly and do not give it enough time to work.  Remember that not all metrics show the actual effects of content marketing.  Sometimes, you simply have to give it time in order to see the full benefits of your content marketing efforts and trust that what you are really doing is establishing yourself as the resident expert on a topic and the person clients will turn to when the time comes.