Selling items on your website?
We congratulate you on this courageous stunt. As eBay, Amazon, Facebook, and other platforms become more disagreeable and greedier by the minute, any sound entrepreneur would be compelled to go solo.
One of our first SEO clients who has been dubious about these eCommerce giants from the get-go has this to say:
"Why spend time organizing our outfit's products and allocate ad money to nurture an online property that isn't ours?"
While we can tell that their brand has zero knowledge about the overnight rewards of using these online channels, a big part of us agrees with them.
Don't get us wrong; Amazon is still a decent platform for hustlers who want to earn a fortune quickly. On the other hand, eBay continues to be a lively selling hub for collectors who've been using this digital venue for decades.
However, we've seen businesses that overlooked the importance of "building their own home" because they were too busy chasing the promise of a faster ROI.
This complacency and unwavering dependence on these platforms could lead to the possible death of brands after their seller or ad accounts have been deactivated for reasons unknown.
As we all know, not even a heartfelt letter to their support team could revive your account once their stupid bots have decided that you can no longer sell or run ads on their platform in the guise of "protecting" their users.
No, they couldn't even give you a full explanation despite filling their bellies with thousands of dollars worth of advertisements for years!
We have said too much, so this is where we stop bickering. Let's talk about these scenarios in another article.
From the point of view of a firm that appreciates long-term hauls more than instant candy treats, our client actually nailed it.
Your property, your rules.
There would be no apathetic bots or pseudo-customer service practitioners who'd judge you out of a few or a one-off unintended oversight.
For a minute, we're happy to realize that our stars seem aligned. But our delight was short-lived when we introduced a crucial process that made them feel like we were talking in a different language — SEO and content strategy.
If your eyes also squinted while understanding the relevance of an intimidating content strategy formulation with selling a piece of jewelry online, this is a good chance to learn more about it.
Content Strategy Overview
In the contemporary business landscape, information saturation is a ubiquitous phenomenon. Amidst the clutter of the digital world, a robust and well-planned content strategy becomes the beacon that guides customers to your business.
The digital world shenanigans and black hat ops will be gone, but the power of content will remain forever. Hence, obsessing over outlines, copywriting, technical writing, and social media content isn't a regrettable thing to do.
A content strategy goes beyond merely putting words together. It entails a comprehensive plan that focuses on managing, creating, distributing, and measuring content in all its varied forms. Its goal is to persuade Google that your business is the best answer or solution to the inquiries of billions of people utilizing the search engine.
In layperson's terms, your overall content quality translates into many glowing and convincing fairies that lead the unknowing target audience to your website.
That's quite a juggle of basic words with a hint of fantasy. If they make sense, let's delve deeper into the content strategy's importance.
Why is Content Strategy Crucial for a Business?
Content strategy plays an integral role in today's dynamic business ecosystem. It's a compass that helps businesses navigate the labyrinth of information while driving meaningful engagement with their audience. It molds how a company interacts with its customers, bolstering brand image and cultivating lasting relationships.
The more you talk about your brand and discuss a topic relevant to your brand, the easier it is for a search engine like Google to determine that your website is one of the best recommendations for a specific group of keywords.
Read more about: Why Do Content Strategy
Thus, a well-devised content strategy enables a business to communicate its value proposition effectively, ensuring the brand message resonates with the audience. It is your guiding star, so you can spread the word about your brand systematically.
By delivering relevant and valuable content, businesses attract and retain a clearly-defined audience, leading to profitable customer actions.
In other words, there are multiple benefits to a perfectly crafted and executed content strategy. The next article section will expound on these rewards.
The Benefits of A Well-Defined Content Strategy
Implementing a comprehensive content strategy offers a multitude of benefits. Hence, corporations hire SEO experts, particularly those specializing in keyword research, competitor analysis, and copywriting, to help them build a million-dollar, multi-channel content structure.
But before you count your potential yield, let's continue with the advantages of a carefully designed content strategy.
Increases Brand Visibility and Recognition
By consistently delivering high-quality content, your business can establish itself as a thought leader in its niche, garnering greater audience trust.
With the confidence of a chunk of the internet's population, there will be an organic spread of word about your brand, and you will be left with an easier job of maintaining your reputation by focusing on R&D, quality, and genuine customer service.
Effective Content Strategy Drives Organic Traffic
High-quality content and how you parade it in the digital realm would sway numbers in your favor. Building authority on a specific niche and how algorithms determine rankings from your responsible keyword usage lead to increased website visibility.
As your content resonates with the audience, engagement improves, creating a feedback loop that informs and optimizes future content strategies.
Your Content Greatly Influences Website Conversions
A strategic content plan directly impacts customer actions which could lead to excellent conversion rates. Relevant and engaging content nudges visitors towards making an action like sharing the article with their peers or checking their carts out, effectively driving sales. It's essential for nurturing leads and turning prospects into loyal customers.
There are more underlying edges to making use of a good content strategy. However, these three biggest benefits may be sufficient for companies that are dead serious about growing their digital presence.
If these benefits aren't enough, nothing else can convince an entrepreneur about nurturing their website with content strategy apart from scientifically-backed case studies.
As a legitimate content strategy firm, we'll tackle these real-world success stories publicly available for validation.
Real-World Examples of Successful Content Strategies
Many successful businesses owe their growth to their effective content strategies. Companies like HubSpot and Airbnb are prime examples.
HubSpot
HubSpot was founded by two MIT graduates who found the jackpot in inbound marketing, a solution discovered out of irritated customers who want to get away from pushy sales callers.
Their tech background created undeniably top-notch software for inbound marketing back in the time when no one knew about it. However, their target audience, the business owners and marketing managers, are unaware of the fundamentals of this new commercial concept.
Thus, HubSpot focused on a content strategy around its blog and educational resources, which attract a massive audience, and then nurtures these leads through a well-structured content funnel.
To educate a wider audience, they leveraged a diverse mix of content, from blog posts and white papers to webinars, all focused on delivering value to their targets, consequently establishing HubSpot as an authority in the marketing domain.
Airbnb
Similarly, Airbnb's content strategy is primarily centered on storytelling. They harness the power of engaging narratives to showcase their listings, creating a unique and immersive experience for their audience. Their neighborhood guides, user-generated content, and innovative campaigns, like "Live There," speak volumes about their exceptional content strategy.
Glossier
For new online sellers reading this piece, here's a case study close to heart.
A beauty brand that was born on Instagram, Glossier leveraged a content-first approach that led to its meteoric rise. They primarily used social media platforms to build a community, engage directly with their customers, and promote their products.
The brand consistently encouraged customer feedback and engagement, using their customer’s opinions to drive product development and promotions. Their content strategy has made customers feel a part of the brand, leading to a dedicated fan base and substantial organic growth.
HD360x: A Client's Success Story
Here's a story of our client's content marketing success back in 2016. HD360x is a brand that sprouted out of the dropshipping model. They sell mobile phone attachments to satiate the market's hunger for a more advanced and affordable photography device.
While the product choice is a clever marketing trick on its own, the marketers defeated HD360x's competitors and dominated the niche with its excellent content marketing strategy.
HD360x used a picture of the moon to demonstrate the power of the product, and the internet went crazy with their ads. They also used Facebook videos back when no one considered them for their content lineup.
While there were skeptics and detractors, the company countered them with positive product reviews from customers who bought the product. Our team networked some publications and created some of their social media content. Their product's fame lasted less than two years, but the company made real money from their strategies.
Being ahead of its time meant millions for the owners of the brand. Do you think you can do the same in terms of content?
How Content Strategy Works
The content strategy begins with defining clear business goals and identifying key performance indicators to measure success. It involves thorough audience research to understand their needs, preferences, and challenges, allowing businesses to tailor content that addresses these aspects.
The next step involves creating a content calendar for planning, organizing, and scheduling content. It ensures a consistent flow of content and helps track what's working and what needs improvement.
SEO is intertwined with content strategy. The use of relevant keywords, alt text, meta tags, and link-building methods optimizes content visibility on search engines. Finally, promoting and distributing the content through suitable channels maximizes reach and engagement.
Content Strategy Resources for Business Owners
For business owners looking to delve deeper into content strategy, here are some resources to check:
Content Marketing Institute
Books:
"Content Strategy for the Web" -- Kristina Halvorson
"Epic Content Marketing" -- by Joe Pulizzi
Find content marketing courses in:
Coursera
LinkedIn Learning
About DigiSenpai
DigiSenpai is a digital marketing firm specializing in SEO services. We offer content marketing consultations and overall management of content strategy implementations.
DigiSenpai believes in the power of content quality and why every marketing effort should focus on genuine and human-generated content. While the Artificial Intelligence era introduces us to many powerful tools, the human experience, commitment, and flair remain to be more valuable, authentic, and irreplaceable assets.
For content marketing strategy formulation and other digital marketing services, contact us to get pricing and more details on how we can assist you from the start to the end phase of your campaign.
Conclusion
A well-executed content strategy is more than a powerful tool for businesses – it's a necessity in today's digital era. It's a strategic approach to creating, distributing, and leveraging content that captivates your audience, drives growth, and enhances brand value. By consistently delivering valuable and relevant content, businesses can build meaningful relationships with their audience, leading to sustained growth and success.