Hardwood Flooring February March 2018

CONTENT Give them what they want — and get results. In September 2017, the Content Marketing Institute released its annual B2B Content Marketing report with information about benchmarks, budgets, and trends in North America. A whopping 91 percent of B2B (business-to-business) marketers surveyed are using content marketing (compared to 89 percent last year). And of the 9 percent that aren’t, more than half plan to start in the next year. Last year, 86 percent of B2C (business-to-consumer) marketers used content marketing, leaving them a little behind their B2B counterparts. Still, that’s an overwhelming majority.

Why is content marketing so important? Because buyers are proactively researching their options before even contacting a brand or salesperson. Today’s savvy buyers are anywhere from 66-90 percent through their buying journey before they even contact a service provider, according to Forrester Research. That means they’re looking at websites, checking prices, and forming an impression of companies before setting foot in a store or picking up a phone. A well-planned and well-executed content marketing plan enables a company to build a relationship with a customer before they call or walk through the door. So when customers are searching for your products or services, they’ll find you first! What is content marketing, exactly? First, let’s define a few terms – content, content marketing strategy, and content strategy.

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Content , in marketing terms, is information that is relevant, useful, and valuable (rather than sales-focused), to your customers or potential customers. Good content helps them perform their jobs better, saves time or money, or offers some other real benefit – while subtly promoting your brand. Content can take the form of an article, blog, newsletter, video, e-book, infographic, tip list, or even a captioned photo.

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