Content marketing. You’ve likely heard that term thrown around a few times – maybe from your favorite brands, an informative how-to, or the marketing experts you’re paying to create content for you. Whatever the case, you’ve probably asked yourself:

• What is content marketing?
• Why is content marketing important?
• What’s the value of content marketing?

We’ll be the first to tell you that those are fair questions. We’ll also be the first to give you straightforward answers that all come to one conclusion: Content marketing is valuable as fuck. Let’s begin, shall we?

What is content marketing?

Instead of bogging you down with a jargon-y answer, we’ll keep this one simple. Content marketing really comes down to one thing: high-quality content. And that content should be:

• Engaging
• Well-written (with a strong brand voice)
• Consistent
• Relevant to your target audiences
• Accessible

Content marketing isn’t about old-school techniques that tell you to shit out a bunch of content for the sake of search engines. It also isn’t about getting hard and fast results; content marketing is often a long game that requires meeting audiences where they are.

Why is content marketing important?

Again, without dragging out this answer to make it sound more complicated, we’ll keep this one simple, too: Audiences expect high-quality content from you. They want to be informed, enlightened, and confident in what they’re reading. And if they aren’t? They’ll jump ship to another brand that can do all those things for them.

Content marketing is often overlooked by flashier (and sometimes faster) tactics like paid search, SEO, and paid social. But guess what all of those tactics include? Content. And guess what all of those tactics lead to? More content. 

We know you’re probably getting the point by now, but just to really drive home the importance of content marketing – AKA: high-quality content – let’s look at some other tactics businesses might prioritize first:

• Social posts
• Emails
• Landing pages + sales funnels
• Advertisements + promoted posts
• Freebies + downloads
• Websites
• Etc., etc., etc.

But you know what every single one of those tactics has in common? 

Mother. Fucking. Content. 

And if that content is crap, it won’t get you anywhere. You know what will get you somewhere? 

Mother. Fucking. High-quality. Content.

What is the value of content marketing?

Okay, okay – so we’re a little bit passionate about content. And yes, we tend to get a little soap-boxy when it comes to talking about the importance of it. Hopefully by now, though, you see why. 

And if not, allow us to clear our throats and step back up on our wonderful soapbox (while holding our hands out for you to join us up here), and let’s talk about the real value of content marketing.

Better engagement + more (quality) leads

As we mentioned before, content marketing doesn’t technically have hard-and-fast results. But there are KPIs (key performance indicators) you can monitor over time to determine whether your high-quality content is paying off. Spoiler alert: It will. And you’ll start to see that in things like more:

• Followers
• Subscribers
• Return customers 
• Views + impressions
• Organic site traffic
• Referral site traffic
• And any other KPIs you use to measure success

How? Through high-quality content. As audiences begin to understand the value of the content you produce – no matter which channel – they will:

• Follow you to see more
• Subscribe to your emails and newsletters because they’re actually helpful and informative
• Return to your website, social profiles, etc. because they trust your expertise
• Stay on your site longer because they’re actually reading your content
• Share your content with others because it might help them, too

All of which equates to better engagement and higher-quality leads. Funny how that works, huh?

Organic visibility

Buckle up, because this is where you’ll start to see the domino effect from content marketing. Because all of those KPIs we mentioned above? They’re crucial to enhancing your organic visibility. 

Sure, SEO plays an important role in organic visibility too. But the more that audiences engage with your content, the more it signals to search engines that your content is relevant and helpful. 

As a result, the algorithms will assign a higher value to your brand, leading to more visibility. (This theory should also apply to social media, but we all know what a dick those algorithms can be, right? Regardless, keep producing high-quality content!)

Brand loyalty and trust

While you’re enhancing your engagement and visibility, there’s also something really incredible happening behind the scenes: building brand loyalty and trust. According to a 2019 report, a bonkers 81% of consumers say they have to trust a brand before becoming a customer. This is especially crucial in a time when misinformation spreads faster than we can say, “What the actual fuck?” Which, if you know us, is really heckin’ fast.

Anyway, consumers need to know they can trust your expertise and your values. And how do you earn that trust? Through high-quality content, of course. Remember: We’re all engaging with one another through screens, so your voice has to stand out. 

Then, as you establish credibility and reliability, that can also turn into brand advocacy. Which can look like:

• Customers who share testimonials + reviews
• Audiences who share your stuff simply because they love it
• Affiliates who advocate for you on their platforms
• Customers who refer their family and friends
• Clients who refer more clients

If you ask us, all of that sounds pretty fuckin’ valuable. 

Market expertise

So with better engagement, more leads, more visibility, and brand loyalty under your belt, it becomes hard to deny that you’re a go-to, trusted expert in your field. Even if someone doesn’t want to buy something from you, they may turn to you for further opportunities like:

• Being a guest speaker at a conference or retreat
• Hosting a course, webinar, or challenge
• Partnering with other small or large businesses
• Highlighting your content, products, or services
• Asking you to become a brand affiliate
• Being a guest on a podcast
• And so much more!

In other words: You can never underestimate the power of showcasing your expertise through high-quality content.

Quality connections

As the domino effect continues, you’ll start to develop quality connections with, well, everyone. Audiences that regularly engage with your content, customers who share their successes, clients who invest even more in you, other entrepreneurs you can share with and learn from…the list goes on and on. 

And yes, we’re ending this on a cheesy note, because we’ve experienced first-hand the type of quality connections you can build through content marketing. No matter what brought you to this article today – a social post, our newsletter, organic search, a referral, or because you’re a loyal fan of our GIFs, pets, and foul-mouthed blogs – we are connecting with you. (Ew, feelings.)

Does this blog help grow our brand recognition? Yeah. Does it enhance our impressions? Of course. But – most importantly – it helps you. Because that’s our end goal in anything: to share our knowledge, help our clients and followers, and find joy and success in producing high-quality content. 

Thus, our aforementioned conclusion stands true: Content marketing is valuable as fuck.