What is content marketing used for? [4 examples]

Updated August 2021

As a marketer or business owner whose organization has yet to leverage content marketing, you’ve likely asked the question, “what is content marketing?” This field can seem complex in theory and heavily focused on search engine optimization (SEO). 

In practice, content marketing is all about building solid customer relationships — and it’s highly effective at generating leads and sales, which is why 91% of B2B companies currently use content marketing. In this blog post, we’ll answer the question, “what is content marketing?” We’ll also explore how it can help you:

• drive organic website traffic

• grow your email list with helpful how-to content

• build credibility as an industry leader

• expand your brand’s reach

A definition of content marketing

Content marketing is a strategic marketing approach that focuses on the consistent creation and distribution of content that is relevant and valuable to a specific audience. This strategy involves much more than sharing content on your social media platforms, though. It typically includes creating blog posts, case studies and ebooks, as well as video content, to educate your target market on your industry, products and services, and the results you deliver for customers. 

To get the most value out of the content you produce, your B2B company should have a content strategy based on audience and competitor research, as well as a content creation plan, to guide your marketing efforts.

Why is content marketing important?

Content marketing is an excellent business activity for getting more of the right people on your website (for example, to sign up to your email list) and getting them to buy from you — without spending a ton of money on advertising. It’s no surprise that 56% of companies want to increase the amount of money they spend on content creation. 

Content marketing builds customer loyalty and enables your organization to increase your sales as a result. The key to strong content marketing is offering relevancy and value, rather than salesy spam.

When it comes to evaluating a company, 95% of buyers take the content you produce into consideration, so it’s important to show up consistently and build trust with your audience through content that helps them learn something useful or solve a problem.

What is content marketing capable of doing for your company?

You now have a definition of content marketing in your toolkit, and we’ve answered the question “why is content marketing important?” Let’s dig into four of the ways content marketing can support your organization. 

1. Boost your organic website traffic 

You need to know your audience well and understand what keywords they’re searching for online so you can guide them to your product or service through blog posts or landing pages that use those keywords.

SEO drives 1,000% higher traffic to your B2B company’s website than organic social media, so it’s crucial to adhere to best practices like conducting keyword research and optimizing your content for search engines. This will enable prospects and customers to find you online when they search for specific terms.

However, this process isn’t simply about checking keywords off a list. You need to create genuinely helpful and interesting content to establish your credibility and spark an authentic connection with readers.

2. Grow your email list with helpful how-to content 

When considering the question, “what is content marketing doing for your company?” keep in mind that marketing requires some give and take to build a relationship with your target buyers. Creating and publishing a lead magnet — for example, a checklist or how-to guide that is free but valuable enough for your audience to download — will encourage readers to sign up for your email list. Your audience receives answers and solutions in return for their email address, which allows you to increase your subscriber count and begin nurturing new leads.

Pardot’s ebook, “The B2B Marketer’s Guide to Account-Based Marketing” has a clearly defined market and promises coverage of a specific topic that’s of interest to the software company’s audience, so the reader knows exactly what they’re getting before they give up their email address:

3. Build your credibility as an industry leader 

Don’t just tell your prospects how innovative and progressive your B2B company is — show them! You don’t have to produce the latest viral LinkedIn video, but you do have to prove that your organization has original ideas. This tactic, called thought leadership, will solidify your place as an expert in your customers’ eyes and keep them returning to you for information. 

Creating content like white papers enables you to position your company as an authority, while also growing your email list and providing your audience with industry insights. In this white paper example, the technology company Tealium shares key details about leveraging customer data with readers in the financial sector.

4. Expand your brand’s reach

What is content marketing capable of doing for your brand awareness? It’s no secret that B2B buyers are bombarded with information and pulled in multiple directions at any given time. This means you need to create content in multiple mediums (the written word, video and audio) so you can stand out on crowded digital platforms. Try to borrow other companies’ audiences by writing guest blogs or appearing on podcasts.

An exemplary display of thought leadership in B2B podcasting comes from the Dell Luminaries podcast. With new episodes up until 2019, the podcast featured internal experts from Dell, influential entrepreneurs and executives from the tech industry who presented thoughtful, fascinating and useful information for listeners to learn from.

Leverage content marketing to help your company grow

When you invest in content marketing, you solidify your expertise in your industry, improve your search rankings, and grow your website traffic, email list and sales pipeline. Another bonus? The shareable content you create enables your audience to spread the word about your brand all on their own.

Are you wondering if the content you’re producing is up to par? Get Scribe National’s essential content checklist to find out the four critical elements you need to cover before you publish any piece of content.