Let’s get serious…   content marketing

Believe it or not, content rules. It inspires. It yields the best result. It builds an audience and it can change you.

When it comes to predicting business success, there will be hardly anyone who will bet their dollars on a business that doesn’t use content marketing as one of its marketing strategies.

The importance of content marketing has grown manifold as over the course of past one year it has really taken the spotlight.

A recent survey conducted by Content Marketing Institute to measure B2B marketer’s content marketing efforts showed that 86 percent of respondents use content marketing, but only 38 percent believed that they were doing it right.

This reflects two facts; one, most businesses understand the importance of content marketing and two; there are not enough people who are expert at it.

This obviously means that expert content marketers are a rare commodity and that’s why highly sought after by recruiters.  Here are 5 more reasons why you should become one:

Content remains the King

Google’s search algorithm experiences 500 major or minor changes every year.

In 2013, it completely revamped its search algorithm with a new one called Hummingbird, which further propagates the importance of good content.

Having good on-site content and effective content marketing through multiple channels is a sure shot method of creating sustainable and long-lasting high search rankings.

Content is where businesses are investing

In April 2013, the Custom Content Council announced that the content marketing industry has grown to a $44 billion industry.  Tech companies are investing in content marketing and venture capitals are finding companies that create content hot.

Buzzfeed is rapidly expanding as it recently raised $50 million in funding from Andreessen Horowitz at $850 million evaluation while Vox Media has raked in $80 million in venture capital.

Business Insider got a $12 million boost in March 2014, while Upworthy raised about $12 million since its launch two years back. (Adrienne LaFrance, qz.com)

So those who say that content doesn’t attracts money should double-check their facts.

However, while tech companies have the money, and the engineers, & designers to create an inspiring product, what they lack is a pool of talented content marketers and authors. If you could fill that void nothing better than that.

A person smart enough and looking to make the most of the digital domain should be able to understand the importance of content marketing.

Content will help you build/scale your own business

The bottom line of all the tasks in this model is to market the business so that it results in higher website traffic and sales conversion.

Search engines love good quality content.  If people think that your site is important based on the content it has, then Google will also think the same.

This will help your business rank higher in the search results and gain greater authority over competitors. Good quality content is the biggest attraction for visitors many of whom eventually turn into potential buyers or publicists for your brand.

Therefore, content marketing can really help you scale your business to the next level.

Here are some business objectives that you can accomplish with content marketing:

Achieve greater brand recognition: Everything from your blog to social media can help you build the brand.

You might be apprehensive at first about providing general advice and online education that has little relation to sales conversion.

However, you must understand that content marketing is more about gifting people with knowledge and then offering solutions to do something with that knowledge.

Information: By using content marketing for your business, you let go of the absolute need of having a separate customer support to answer many questions as you can provide information to users through the content channels itself.

Hire new talent:  Creating and sharing quality content will not only get you customers but you will also find new job applicants knocking at your door. Your content marketing efforts will outshine your competitors.

With blog posts like “Why choose XYZ?” or “Work with Us” you can describe how cool place your organization is to work.

Thus along with customer acquisition you can also fulfill talent acquisition with content marketing. A perfect example is this Life at Yahoo blog, which does a phenomenal job at promoting at its workplace benefits.

 Red Bull is the most famous case of content marketing going to next level.

It’s quite easy to dismiss Red Bull’s sponsorship of Felix Baumgartner’s jump as nothing more than a media event and PR stunt. However, it is a perfect example of clever content marketing.

The death-defying jump from the edge of the space captured hearts and minds beyond boundaries and cultures.

The $30million that were spent on making this feat possible paid off with over 8 million live viewers and more than 37 million views on the YouTube video of the event giving the Red Bull brand unmatched exposure.

Content marketing has spawned multi-million dollar businesses such as Hubspot. Used by many Fortune 1000 companies, Hubspot is undoubtedly one of the market leaders.

It has ended up making its CEO Brian Halligan and Dharmesh Shah Multi-millionaires.

You can also be the next millionaire, all you need to do is to embrace content marketing and come up with your own innovative ideas.

What you should do to become one?

Content marketing specialists help businesses with solid shareable web content, offering customers a legitimate reason to revisit the site and make a conversion.

These are the creative visionaries who propagate the mission, vision and idea of the business through their content to attract new customers and retain the existing one. The primary qualification to have a successful career in this field is creative drive.

If you are out applying to a content marketer job make sure the resume is formatted as per the current industry trends.

To ensure best results it is advisable to take the help of your network. People who are already engaged in this field will be in the best position to assist.

Make sure your CV lists skills like a strong, consistent and clear writing style, and proper understanding of grammar.

Typically these professionals will have a bachelor’s degree in marketing or journalism before entering the field.

Such educational qualifications or certifications should reflect in your resume. Those who are yet to start with a career in this field should pay special attention to their CVs.

For the same, they can take the assistance of professional resume writing services  available in the market.

What you can expect to earn?

As a content marketer you can expect to earn at least between $5,000 and $20,000 per month.

This is the cost that most small to medium sized business generally incur on consultants content marketers.

However, as you move to bigger organizations, which generally have greater marketing budgets you can expect the monthly earnings to grow to around $50,000 per month.

How long have you been doing content marketing and what is your experience so far?

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