With all the changes to SEO strategies resulting from Google’s Panda and Penguin updates over the past year it has become more and more important to have excellent content on every page. Even major marketing companies and ad executives for big brands are using high quality content published not only on their own domains, but also other places throughout the web to attract and engage with customers. Many marketers have known for years that content marketing is an effective method, but only recently has it really become mainstream.
A survey from MailOnline last month revealed that 70% of brands and a full 77% of agencies use content marketing to promote products and services to their customers. These companies and agencies often get their content from a variety of sources to allow for added diversity within their campaigns. 37% of those surveyed said they get some or all of their original content from third-party companies which specialize in content creation. This last statistic is one of the major reasons why so many content agencies have opened up over the past couple years and why they are quickly becoming more and more popular with customers.
The content companies and agencies purchase is then posted to places like Facebook, Twitter, article directories and even third party owned blogs. They also post information on their own websites or company owned blogs to increase the total amount of content for visitors to consume. Posing this content to a variety of places on the internet helps build brand recognition.
The effectiveness of content marketing seems to be universal for all types of companies. Whether selling cars, promoting a website or trying to set a fashion trend, content marketing is among the most effective options. Companies and agencies are learning that the more the interact with their customers and potential customers the more successful they will be.
This study, and others like it, will almost certainly contribute to the increased investments companies are making in content marketing. This particular area of marketing will undoubtedly continue to grow in popularity for the next several years.
Do you use content marketing? Has it been effective for you? What types of strategies do you use for your content marketing?
