How Content Marketing Leads to Sales

Content marketing has witnessed a meteoric rise in the business sector over recent years. In a study conducted by the Content Marketing Institute, it was evident that 91% of B2B organizations improve their sale levels through content marketing. What is more interesting is the fact that marketing is currently getting a more significant portion of the budget. For such a huge investment, content marketers have been asked to “prove” that content marketing is actually the real deal. Thankfully, there are several ways by which we can measure the impact of content marketing on sales.

Content before Technology

There exist several tools which can be used to improve sales including database managers, business intelligence integration, and marketing automation platforms. However, none of these could fix your broken sales if you do not have great content and good strategy. In an interview with Robert Rose and Joe Pulizzi, renowned marketers at the Content Marketing Institute, it became apparent that no amount of technology can support an irrelevant, outdated content. Keeping your site current with valuable content helps attract and retain an audience. When you are trying to drive sales, you must develop a sound content strategy as a starting point.

Measuring the ROI of Content Marketing

Many businesses rely on the effects of content on the SEO value and organic traffic to measure sales. This involves reviewing the level of influence content marketing has on the organic traffic and calculate the cost that would be paid for the similar amount of traffic. Based on this approach, many businesses have been able to recoup content cost within a year and even double their traffic in few months.

Content Marketing In The Process Of Sales

Businesses love to use organic-traffic approach to improve sales, and this makes sense to many clients. However, content marketing is more than dynamic since the content could be applied directly to influence sales. A typical sales cycle usually takes 3 to 4 months; if more time is spent on the consideration stage, more sales could be generated. Developing case studies, eBook or blog is essential to answer the questions posed by prospects essentially. This way, you can shorten the cycle of sales dramatically.

Some of the common questions your prospects may want to be answered during the stages of the buying journey may include:

• Should I look for an external solution?
• How can I improve the current tactics?
• Which tools are necessary to enhance my performance?
• How could I make a significant impact on my budget?

Overview

Content marketing is becoming a norm for businesses, but marketers are continuously forced to prove how they are impacting sales. As a business, all you need to know is your audience and invest greatly in the content resources that would help meet their needs.

To see how VA Gladiator can meet your needs, contact us today!

References:

Brandpoint | How to Be a Better Content Marketer with Joe Pulizzi and Robert Rose

Meltwater | 9 Keys to an Effective Content Marketing Strategy

Medium | The 7 Signs of Truly Effective Content