What if I told you that your very best content marketing should NOT live on your website? That it doesn’t even matter if it’s sending all the traffic directly to your site?
Crazy?
Maybe not…
Don’t think of content marketing only in terms of driving eyeballs to your website. Marketing is a long game now. Unless you’re solving an immediate problem for them, Customers expect to get to know you a bit before buying. Here’s how you can use content that builds those relationships.
On Bikerumor, my cycling tech blog, we work with brands to produce content that provides real value to our readers AND positions them as the expert in their category. Maybe it’s suspension, or tires, or some other part, but the goal of the story is to share information or stories that solidify their brand position in the customer’s mind.
This is not advertorial.
This isn’t some fluff piece written by the brand and placed like an ad. This is custom editorial content we develop in partnership with the brand that’s tailored specifically for that our audience. And it provides real value to both the reader and the brand.
There’s two things you need to notice about this:
First, the content doesn’t live on the brand’s website, nor is it designed specifically to drive traffic to their website.
Second, it’s not promoting a particular sale or product.
Instead, it’s positioning the brand as a category leader in an organic way that customers actually WANT to consume. It’s there gaining long term search value as evergreen reference content and builds authority by living on a top-ranked website.
How is this relevant to me?
Hmmm…so you’re not a bike brand. Is there a news or entertainment website that covers your industry? Do they reach your target customers? Does their website probably get a million times more traffic than yours anyway?
Chances are those sites, or magazines or podcasts or video channels, would be very happy to work with you on paid content pieces.
Content marketing might not send more people to your website right away, and that’s OK. The important thing is that it’s building your brand for the long term.
Want help figuring out a good content partnership for your brand? This is what I specialize in, and I’m happy to help. Just shoot me a message.