The proliferation of content marketing compels marketers employed in various industries to consider and experiment with various types of media production. The goal: To create memorable web experiences that pull prospects in, not push them away via aggressive advertising tactics. People have had enough of the abuse, being subjected to various commercials in between their favorite shows and weeding through magazine ads to find the articles they care about most. Content marketing gives companies the chance to create their own compelling stories without third-party ads, and the practice works.
According to a new report from BusinessBolts.com, which surveyed 265 marketers, content creation has become an active component to promotional strategies everywhere. In fact, approximately 74 percent of marketers say they use branded content to increase website traffic and build brand awareness. To drive traffic back to websites, content writers must optimize their media using SEO best practices, and take a narrow focus to their creative processes. The survey noted that marketers’ biggest pressing question is how to leverage SEO content for greater site visibility and PageRank.
When evaluating the content types shown to provide marketers with the greatest benefits, BusinessBolts.com found that 74 percent use articles to drive traffic. However, the survey also discovered that an increasing number of brands will adopt video marketing over the next 12 months. Approximately 38 percent of marketers are creating video content today, but 53 percent expect to engage in video production by the end of the year. Social media marketing also plays a vital role in content distribution.
“SEO and social media are converging into content marketing optimization,” Lisa Parmley, founder of BusinessBolts.com said. “Businesses create content their prospects are interested in. Naturally they want to maximize the results they get from each piece of content they create. The best method for doing that is by optimizing the content for search engines and spreading the word to their existing fan case on social media platforms.”
The Content Marketing Institute already noted that 91 percent of B2B and 86 percent of B2C brands use content marketing to engage audiences, but BusinessBolts.com’s study highlights the fact that the practice remains paramount to web success in 2013.
