Marketing

3 Ways Great Content and Digital Marketing Work Together to Grow Your Business

Content marketing vs. digital marketing—what’s the big deal? Are they the same thing, or do the nuances separate the good from the great? We have some ideas that we are sharing in today’s post.

Our previous posts covered digital marketing basics and essential digital marketing terms to help you successfully market your business online. But all of this knowledge won’t amount to much without great content.

Content is and always will be king. But even a king can’t thrive without his court. Digital marketing won’t work without great content, and content marketing won’t work without the power of digital marketing. Are they actually one and the same?

Since marketing went digital, there continues to be much confusion around the various tactics and terms involved in content marketing vs. digital marketing. Content marketing and digital marketing are two terms that seem to get a bit blurred in understanding and execution. Small business owners may have questions:

• What’s the difference between digital marketing and content marketing?
• Which is more important?
• Can you be successful with one and not the other?
• How do digital marketing and content marketing work together?
• How do you execute both strategies successfully?

You need a strategy to integrate both into one cohesive campaign that attracts leads and grows your business. Here are some best practices to help you develop a thorough working knowledge of content marketing vs. digital marketing so that you can use both to your advantage.

Content Marketing vs. Digital Marketing What’s the Difference?

Digital marketing and content marketing are two terms that are often used interchangeably. And while there certainly are some key differences between the two, there really is no way to do one well without the other.

That said, a simple definition of digital marketing includes all online marketing activities from website development and search engine optimization (SEO) to social media marketing and pay-per-click advertising. We unpacked this extensively in our post: Digital Marketing 101: Invest Heavily in These Tactics for Big Long-Term Payoffs.

Content marketing refers to the actual content you create. This includes the topics you choose to address with your content, the medium you use to communicate (video, blogs, podcasts, etc.), and the platforms you use to disseminate the content.

In other words, digital marketing is all about driving traffic and converting leads into customers, while content marketing is all about creating valuable content that attracts and engages your target audience.

As you can see, there is a massive overlap between digital marketing and content marketing. Rather than thinking of these as content marketing vs. digital marketing, consider them as content marketing AND digital marketing. They’re like two sides of one coin. They complement each other, and you really can’t do either well without the other.

We want to get across in this post the importance—urgency—of high-quality content. Because not all content is created equal. In fact, there is some really, really, bad content out there. Just because it’s optimized and gets traffic doesn’t mean it will convert.

Your content still has to be helpful, engaging, and somewhat entertaining in order to produce leads. This is a case where “something is better than nothing” definitely does not apply.

Create Content That Works For You (Rather Than Against You)

To get ROI from your digital marketing efforts; you must have great content.

There is so much noise online today. People are sensitive to fluff and look to do business with brands that genuinely care.

Creating great content accomplishes this (and more) as you cultivate and nurture ongoing relationships with your audience. Take the time to think through this process and develop messages that your audience actually wants to read.

Read More: 5 Must-Haves for a Successful Content Marketing Campaign

Create Content that Answers Your Customer’s Questions

When developing a content plan to marry up with your digital marketing strategy, start with your sales team or customer service reps. What are the most common questions they receive from prospects and customers? Brainstorm a list and get writing!

The most common questions prospects ask before making a purchasing decision are the basic “who, what, when, where, why, and how” questions. Don’t shy away from content that addresses subjects such as “cost” or “best in class,” as this is the type of research consumers are doing before they ever contact a salesperson.

Read More: Fundamentals of a Successful Social Media Content Plan (and How to Follow Through)

Do Keyword Research

After brainstorming with your sales and customer service teams, it’s wise to conduct keyword research. This content marketing best practice helps you track the data behind specific search terms people use to find your products and services and discover untapped content writing topics for digital marketing.

You will almost certainly find search terms that your internal teams missed. This is to be expected, which is why the keyword research really separates the rookies from the pros in the great content game.

The funny thing about keyword research is that your ideal customer is rarely searching for something the way you think they are. So it’s important to have that research on hand when crafting headlines and content outlines. The right keyword in the right places on your website will win you valuable organic traffic and page one placement on the search engine results page (SERP).

Create Content Using Multiple Mediums

Blogging is usually the first stop on the content marketing express. It makes sense to start here because it’s easier and relatively more accessible as compared to other mediums such as video marketing or podcasting.

As accessible as a content marketing blog can be, don’t stop here. Consumers prefer video to the written word and are more likely to watch your video content than read your blog. That doesn’t mean you should skip blogging.

The immense SEO value of written content justifies the effort to publish written content. But when it comes to engagement, you’re more likely to engage audiences on a deeper level using video content.

Think of it this way, optimized written content attracts leads to your website, and engaging multimedia content (such as brand videos), keeps them there longer. This approach to content marketing is effective because you can repurpose video content in multiple ways to share videos across social media channels and formats.

Read More: This Brand Video Looks So Good You Can Practically Taste It!

Digital Marketing + Content Marketing = An Unbeatable Lead-Generation Machine!

Maybe you’ve come to the end of this post realizing that you have digital marketing tactics but sub-par content. On the other hand, you may have fantastic content that isn’t getting the traffic it deserves because your digital marketing strategy is lacking.

Wherever you may find yourself on the digital marketing vs content marketing spectrum, if you need help with any aspect of digital marketing, we are here for it. We specialize in digital content strategy, video production, content development, social media management, and implementation for small businesses, nonprofits, schools, churches, and more.

We would love to help you amplify your important messages to the audiences that need to hear them. Get in touch with us today to schedule a meeting, and we will get started ASAP!