What is Custom Content and Why is it Important?
Tap into your creative side, it’s time to talk about content marketing! Content marketing describes a strategy that employs the use of blogs, video, infographics, and other materials to promote a brand and drive traffic to a business.
The goal of these materials isn’t to just convert web users into customers (though that’s certainly a perk!). Custom content helps a business build authority online, generate interest in the brand, and provide genuinely valuable information to its audience.
Let’s take a closer look at how custom content can provide value to your audience and grow the visibility of your practice online.
1. Improves Your SEO
Original content posted to your website and social channels can improve your practice’s search engine ranking. The better your search engine ranking, the more likely you are to be noticed by prospective clients online.
Blog marketing is particularly popular because it enables you to implement keywords into your content that will help you rank for a particular search query.
When searching for keywords that will help your target audience find your content, we suggest focusing on specific, long-tail keywords that clearly describe your content. As a local business, you don’t want to compete with big industry names for broader keywords.
A long-tail keyword targets a particular search query to ensure that your audience finds value in your content.
For example, if you were writing a blog for a veterinary clinic about pet vaccinations, you may want to research a longer keyword term like “pros and cons of puppy vaccination” or “when to vaccinate your puppy” as opposed to a term like “pet vaccinations”.
When you use more specific language, it increases the chance that a user will actually click on your page and get the information they’re looking for. Long-tail keywords are also known to target web users that are further down the sales funnel. In our example above, the person searching for pet vaccination information may need to schedule a veterinary appointment for their new dog soon. Finding this veterinarian’s blog post could cause them to make an appointment with that clinic.
Read On: How to Brainstorm Keywords and Improve Your Google Ranking
2. Builds Your Authority
Creating custom content enables you to establish yourself as a knowledgeable leader in your industry. As you begin to produce more content on particular topics, both your audience and Google’s algorithm will begin to see your practice as an authority on those subjects.
Posting valuable content regularly will cause your audience to increasingly rely on you for information. Think about it. When you search for information online, are there particular sites that you visit first?
For example, if you were looking for business news, would you search for the New York Times? Or maybe you look to a particular healthcare site when you want to Google your symptoms. These brands have made a mark in your mind by providing good content and establishing themselves as an authority on a particular set of topics.
Google also takes notice when your content is valuable to web users. Backlinks to your content signal to Google’s algorithm that people are sharing your pieces online. This tells the algorithm to rank your content higher for related search queries because other users are demonstrating its usefulness.
Remember, the better the search engine ranking, the more likely you are to be noticed by prospective clients.
3. Creates a Community
Did you know that 90% of people like to engage with brands through custom content?
As our digitally native generations begin to enter the workforce and increase their buying power, businesses must adjust to their needs. Millennials and Gen Z have grown up with prime-time television commercials, clever billboards, and paid internet advertising. They know how to spot a company that is just out to make a sale and when a company is providing genuine value.
Original content enables you to do more than grow an audience; it allows you to create a community. Content marketing requires you to tune into your audience’s needs and create content that targets those needs. As web users begin to rely on your content, you are better able to foster relationships with them and move them further down the sales funnel.
Share your content on your practice’s social media platforms to increase its visibility.
Social media is the perfect place to maintain these relationships. Post original content to these channels consistently to encourage shares and generate interest in your brand. Be sure to reply to comments and messages promptly so that your community comes to know your brand as reliable and personable.
Content Marketing for Small Businesses
As a local business, content marketing gives you another avenue to make a name for yourself within your community.
When you go to create content for your practice, keep these things in mind:
- Pay attention to your audience’s needs and create content around their interests.
- Research and implement keywords into your blog and on-page content.
- Create content that your audience will want to share on other websites or social media.
- Interact with your current and prospective clients online to foster a community.
Let Us Help You with Your Content Marketing Goals
Have more questions about content marketing? Give us a call at 800.792.8384 or click here to talk about your content marketing goals.
