In the chaotic battlefield of modern global economy, business owners need to be on the lookout for anything that can give them a competitive advantage over their rivals. A slightly lower price, faster delivery, better reviews, etc. are relatively small factors that can have an oversized effect on a business’s profits. While it’s important to constantly review a business process to see if there is any room for improvements, many businesses have an under-utilized tool in the form of their content. This article will show why the content a business produces should be one of their sharpest edges when they fight the competition.
According to the Content Marketing Institute, 79% of B2B marketers use content marketing to achieve brand awareness goals. So how can content be an advantage if everyone is doing it? Though most businesses use content marketing in one form or another, it is often treated as an after thought or chore. Many people simply create content or post things because they feel they are supposed to do so (i.e. if you have a website or social media channel, you have to post something). This is better than posting nothing, but it is leaves a majority of the content’s marketing potential untapped.
Business owners and marketers need to be sure they aren’t underestimating the importance of content. Creating original content positively affects the way consumers view a business. According to a TMG, 90% of consumers find custom content useful and 78% of consumers believe that organizations providing custom content are interested in building good relationships. From an SEO standpoint, blogs give websites 434% more indexed pages and 91 percent more indexed links, according to Content+. These are significant advantages for businesses who make the effort to start blogging and producing content.
Obviously, a business will need to have many different competitive advantages they use to attract customers such as good customer service, low pricing, and other special touches. However, it is through the content that the business produces that people learn about these features. If the only way a customer can learn about these perks is to buy the product or service, many people will never get the chance to see the factor that would have inspired them to buy. Sharing pictures of completed projects, posting customer reviews, or writing blog posts are all good ways to share these features with those who have yet to buy the service.
Clear, well-written content can be an asset in itself. A lot of information on the internet is aimed professionals and written in a way that may not be easily understood by everyday readers. Being able to write in a way that accessible can increase search traffic to a page. Understandable and accurate information is a commodity.
“So you see this sort of revival of people who are interested in things like ‘explain it to me like I’m a 5-year-old’,” said Google’s Matt Cutts in a recent video. “You don’t have to dumb it down that much. but if you’re erring on the side of clarity, and on the side of something that’s going to be understandable, you’ll be in much better shape because regular people can get it, and then … feel free to include the scientific terms or the industry jargon, the lingo, or whatever it is.”
One thing to keep in mind that anything that a business intends to use as an edge must be done with great care and in some cases, outsourcing. It’s counter productive for a business owner to produce their own content if it’s not compelling enough to draw readers attention. In fact, according to Mashable, more than 60 percent of business already outsource their content creation. If a business owner is already a fantastic painter, electrician, baker, etc., there’s no need for them to also become an excellent writer. Remember, only one out of three business to consumer marketers considers themselves good at content marketing. There is clearly room for a savvy business owner with good content writers to press the advantage.