Content marketing is an essential part of any successful advertising strategy for professional services firms. Unlike product-driven companies, you must convince customers and clients to hire you for your expertise. Legal, engineering, design, accounting, and many other industries must create relevant and persuasive content to convince their target audience to hire them.
If you’re not convinced you need a solid content marketing plan to succeed, you’re selling yourself short and missing out on sales. You’re also forfeiting opportunities to build rapport and trust with your audience. Here’s what you should know about this strategy and key ways your professional services business can benefit from it.
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What Is Content Marketing?
This type of marketing is a calculated advertising approach that revolves around consistently creating and publishing relevant content. The primary goals include attracting customers, earning their engagement, and driving them to profitable action. Specific goals may differ based on industry. For example, lawyer digital marketing may focus heavily on publishing educational information that establishes authority and trust. Interior design services, on the other hand, may focus more on publishing creative articles and videos that capture attention and inspire change.
Content marketing comes in four primary forms: written, video, audio, and image. It’s wise to use a combination of these to engage your target audience. You can publish using many different channels too, including your website, industry publications, email, and social media. You can even hire guest bloggers to write about your services to build your reputation and attract more business.
How Content Marketing Benefits Professional Services
Now that you know what content marketing is and how it works, you may be wondering what it can do for your professional services business. If you learn how to do it well, it can help you experience unprecedented success.
It takes time, research, and effort to build a solid marketing strategy. You may even need to consult one or more professionals to make sure you do things right. But all that work will pay off in the long run. Here are some of the top ways professional services can benefit from a strategic content marketing plan.
Improves Search Engine Visibility
Published articles, videos, and images can improve the online visibility of your business, provided they’re optimized for search engines. That means they’re of high quality, use relevant keywords, include meta tags, load quickly, and are mobile-friendly. Search engines prioritize optimized content, which means if you do it right, you’ll show up higher in online search results. That’s where you want to be because people rarely visit the second page of Google results.
You can always use paid advertisements to help customers find you online. But why not generate organic (free) traffic as well by consistently creating and releasing optimized content? Many professional services companies use a multi-pronged approach to enhance their overall visibility online.
Generates Leads
Lead generation is the process of gaining consumer interest in your professional services. The ultimate goal of lead generation is to drive sales by turning potential clients into paying customers. A good lead generation system brings sales to you so you aren’t constantly chasing them.
A quality content marketing strategy can address the pain points of your target audience and present solutions. For example, once you know what common problems or challenges your customers face, you can write articles or produce podcasts around that knowledge. Explain how you can solve their problem (or show them with a video). At the same time, you’ll be showing them why they should trust you. This strategy can generate high-quality leads and rapidly convert them to loyal clients.
Builds Client Relationships
Content marketing can also help you build strong relationships and rapport with existing clients. It can give your business a personality and a voice that attracts new customers. People are more inclined to shop with professional services businesses that seem personable and likable. You can build that type of persona through your various communications.
In addition to marketing publications, you can also build client relationships through informative emails and social media posts. Take the opportunity to inform your customers about cutting-edge industry developments and how you’re keeping up with trends. And don’t be afraid to show them who’s pulling the strings behind the curtains. Introduce clients to your team, so they can put faces with names. Regular communication can enhance customer satisfaction and build loyalty.
Establishes Authority
Another way content marketing can benefit your professional services business is by establishing you as an industry authority. You undoubtedly have competitors who want to earn the business of the same customers you’re targeting. It’s important to stand out by releasing content that generates consumer trust and confidence. When customers perceive that you know what you’re talking about, they’re more likely to trust you over less knowledgeable competitors.
Top businesses often use high-level, professional content to establish authority. Examples include white papers, ebooks, and long-form articles. These types of publications, with research you conduct, allow you to go more in-depth on specific topics and enhance your credibility. They can help you be a thought leader who your target audience refers to before your competitors.
As a professional services provider, it can be challenging to gain the attention and loyalty of your target audience. Fortunately, a solid content strategy can help you achieve your goal. If you’re currently weak in this area, make a change today. Focus on regularly producing and publishing relevant materials and get ready to reap the above-mentioned benefits.
