Realize Your Brand’s Full Potential With a Content Publishing Firehose

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It’s never been more difficult to capture the attention of your target customers online. The digital landscape is constantly expanding, and internet users face hundreds — if not thousands — of online advertisements and marketing materials daily. 

Interruptive content that may have worked in the past no longer appeals to today’s shrewd internet users. To convert users into customers, brands need to connect with their target audience in more meaningful ways. 

That’s why publishing informative content should be at the heart of your marketing strategy. When you create content that meets your audience’s needs, brand trust and loyalty will follow. 

In this post, we’ll outline why brands should publish content strategically to grow market share and what leaders should consider as they invest in content strategy.

Why brands need to be content publishers

Large brands tend to focus a majority of their marketing budgets on bottom-of-the-funnel content such as advertisements and email campaigns. The Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) reported digital advertising spending increased by $50 billion in 2021 — which is 3x more than the previous year. 

But although spending continues to increase, the average click-through rates for search and display ads remain dismal at 1.9%. That means more than 98% of digital ads are never even clicked on. That’s billions of dollars spent on content that consumers won’t even interact with.

So why isn’t a greater investment leading to a greater return?

The reasoning is simple: customers who aren’t already interested in buying at that moment likely won’t engage with your content. Instead, brands should consider content strategies that naturally guide customers to your brand even before they’re ready to make a purchase.

To do that, brands need to become publishers that provide customers with the information they’re looking for throughout the entire buyer’s journey.

Form authentic customer connections 

To provide the value customers are looking for, brands need to connect with them long before they’re ready to make a purchase. They need to consider the entire customer journey and create content for each point — from awareness to conversion. This is called a full-funnel strategy.

For example, let’s say you own a running shoe brand. If you exclusively publish content about shoes, it limits opportunities to connect with potential customers. These audience members are likely seeking solutions to broader pain points. You’ll want to consider the problems runners face before they need new shoes.

You may create content about running culture or tips for runners’ health. When customers search for content related to their interests, they’ll find your brand. When they recognize you as an authority in the running space, their trust in your brand will grow, and so will their likelihood to convert down the line. 

Increase market share with full-funnel content

Aside from connecting more seamlessly with customers online, full-funnel content strategies can lead to impactful business outcomes. Publishing an array of customer-centric content allows you to increase your online market share and push out competitors that don’t provide the same value.

We know that customer journeys are non-linear. As they shift between exploration and consideration, your brand can consistently show up for them. When blog posts and articles rank in Google throughout the funnel, customer attention will focus on content that is front and center.

Through this approach, brands can be everywhere their customers are, and show up first with the information they desire. Before competitors have a chance, your customers have already formed a connection with your brand.

Amplify all your marketing efforts

Full-funnel content marketing isn’t a siloed approach that impacts one line item of your budget. It’s a strategic shift that uplifts all your marketing efforts. 

When you publish content that aligns with your audience’s interests, you can market that content through multiple channels and campaigns. No matter how customers find your website or brand, they’ll have access to the expert-level content you’ve published.

To get the full value of content marketing, brands need to see content as more than just a trend or a single campaign. Content strategy is an investment in your brand’s foundation and future goals.

How to achieve a content firehose

A well-oiled content strategy goes beyond just publishing content regularly. It requires brands to understand their customers and how they move across the internet. It also requires an investment in strategy, documentation, personnel, and technology.

But a content investment is a worthwhile one. Long-term, it’s less expensive and more sustainable than PPC advertising and may offer tenfold ROI. As you build out your full-funnel content strategy, there are some crucial points to consider.

Sustainable ROI requires an upfront investment

There’s a lot of work to do before teams should start executing content creation. You have to lay a foundation and build your strategy from the ground up.

Makeshift processes may work in the short term, but to see revenue growth and success at scale, you need to document and publish your strategy. This may require you to build out a cross-functional team, and invest time in creating content governance, customer journey maps, and more.

As brands begin this undertaking, the key is to put the customer at the forefront. Think about who your customers are and what they care about, and respond by creating your content strategy around their experience.

Go deep into the subject matter

Today’s internet users can see through thin content, and they don’t trust it. Providing surface-level information won’t communicate your brand’s value to your customers or to Google. 

To win them over, brands need to publish well-researched, accurate, and engaging content that answers the questions they didn’t even know they had. The content needs to be written by experts, concise, easy to understand, and interesting to look at.

To achieve success, companies should invest in the right team members and allow them to get comfortable with the subject matter. If you go deep on the topics they care about, customers will spend more time building a relationship with your brand.

Final thoughts

When executed at scale, a full-funnel content strategy is a valuable asset to amplify all other marketing efforts and grow brand loyalty, market share, and online revenue. Publishing content throughout the funnel allows your brand to show up first for your audience — no matter where they are in the customer journey. 

The more real estate your brand takes up in search, the less space your competitors can occupy. And the easier it is for customers to find your brand, the easier it is to form a lasting connection with them.

But to achieve valuable business results, brands need to shift their focus from themselves to their customers. Instead of pushing out constant brand messages, make your customer’s experience the focal point. When you truly understand your customers and the paths they take before purchase, you can capture their attention at pivotal moments and drive more conversions.