Hidden Advantages of Content Marketing
Content marketing has obvious benefits, such as increased customer engagement, relatively low costs, and so on, but it has other, subtler advantages as well. Here are four of them:
Content marketing aids recruiting
When top talent looks considers switching employers, one of the first steps they take is a web search. This exposes them to all of your marketing material – rather than just that which is tailored to potential hires. While you may want potential employees to demonstrate their expertise to you, the best employees will also demand that you demonstrate your expertise to them – nobody seeks to be a lion led by a donkey. Therefore, content marketing that illustrates your company’s keen understanding of the industry helps bring in not only customers, but also top employees.
Content marketing boosts internal morale
Digital content marketing tends to include fairly easy to track metrics such as likes, shares, and page views. Consequently, employees can watch their work succeed in real time, providing rapid, almost video game like feedback that makes them feel valuable and successful. Print content marketing lacks this advantage, but seeing your work in a major publication feels just as good.
Content opens up lines of communication within your company
Marketers tend to know more about what your company actually offers, and its relative benefits, than anyone else. Since they have to promote it and identify points of difference with respect to competitors, they become much more educated about it than, say, Accounting or IT. When employees are exposed to your content, they learn about what it is their company really does and why it’s important. Content marketing educates both customers and company insiders, creating greater cohesion between teams.
Content generates trust
Creating content that is so good your customers ought to be paying for it, then giving it away at no charge, fosters trust and friendship. The public isn’t as likely to see the commercial motives behind your content as suspect. They tend to perceive honest goodwill when a firm gives away free information.