Qu'est-ce que le marketing de contenu ? Et pourquoi est-ce important ?
Masterclass sur le marketing de contenu : Première partie
How do you make sure you’re marketing your business in the most effective way? In today’s world, traditional forms of marketing have become far less persuasive than they once were.
C'est là qu'intervient le marketing de contenu : un moyen de fournir à votre public un contenu attrayant tout en augmentant les conversions, en renforçant la notoriété de la marque, en stimulant le chiffre d'affaires et bien d'autres choses encore.
But what IS content marketing exactly? And where do you even start implementing? 🤔
If you’d like to learn how your business can benefit from content marketing, keep reading. You’ll find out everything you need to learn in this comprehensive, step-by-step guide.
This post is Part One in a brand spanking new Masterclass Series on Content Marketing. We believe it’s an incredibly important topic – and according to a little survey we did, you do too. Trouble is: there is so much content on content marketing out there (talk about meta) and a lot of the intel is conflicting.
We bring this Masterclass to you in partnership with Anouck Meier, Chief Storytelling Officer at Ampersand. Anouck is a conversion copywriter and a content marketing strategist who has worked with numerous brands, big and small, to help them achieve their business goals through strategic content. Let’s get the story on content straight once and for all in a comprehensive guide. Ready to dive in?
- Jeroen Corthout, Co-Fondateur Salesflare, un CRM commercial facile à utiliser pour les petites entreprises B2B
Qu'est-ce que le marketing de contenu ?
Bien que le concept même de marketing de contenu existe depuis des siècles (littéralement, regardez cet exemple de 1672), il semble qu'il y ait encore beaucoup de confusion sur ce qu'il implique exactement.
I’m reminded of this fact pretty much every single holiday period, when random family members ask me for an update on the job front. My response is consistently received with a quizzical look. “So what is it exactly that you do”, my uncle asks after I’ve explained what I do for a living.
What usually does the trick is contrasting content marketing to the traditional marketing he knows all too well. 🙂
Traditional marketing revolves around bombarding your audience with a sales message over and over and over again. It’s Mad Men-style marketing: hitting prospects hard with a promotional message (“BUY. ME. NOW.”) on mass media, like print, radio or TV. Because it’s hard to target a specific audience or differentiate the message, it’s like marketing with a bazooka (which comes with a hefty price tag too).
And there are more problems on the horizon for the classic approach to marketing: audiences have become more wary and critical. 🧐
People are just not that into ads anymore. According to Nielsen’s Global Trust In Advertising report, people trust text ads less than any other content medium, especially on mobile.
Moreover, the noise has increased dramatically since Don Draper’s heydays, making it even more difficult to make your message heard. Let alone convert customers.
Enter content marketing. ✨
Définition du marketing de contenu
According to the Content Marketing Institute (you’d figure they know what they’re talking about), the definition of content marketing is:
“Content marketing is a strategic marketing approach focused on creating and distributing valuable, relevant, and consistent content to attract and retain a clearly defined audience — and, ultimately, to drive profitable customer action.”
So instead of pitching your products or services, you’re providing relevant and useful content to your prospects and customers to help them solve their issues. It’s is a long-term strategy that focuses on building a relationship with your audience.
When it eventually comes to making a purchase decision, the loyalty of your audience already lies with you. You’ve already shown them that a) you have the relevant expertise and b) you care enough to share that knowledge with them.
Un contenu de qualité vous permet de faire progresser les clients sur la voie de la connaissance et de la confiance (et éventuellement de l'achat) sans leur forcer la main.
Think about it like dating: if traditional marketing is like popping the question on a first date (good luck with that!), content marketing is like pulling out all the stops to woo your object of desire customer bit by bit until they feel weak in the knees. 🥰
Comme je l'ai déjà mentionné, le marketing de contenu n'est pas un concept nouveau. Il y a des siècles, les marques publiaient déjà du contenu dans des magazines et des journaux. À l'époque, comme aujourd'hui, l'objectif était de renforcer l'engagement des clients, l'acquisition et la notoriété de la marque en fournissant des informations pertinentes et attrayantes.
Of course, in recent years, content marketing has exploded. The reason is obvious: the internet, and arguably even more, the smartphone. 📱 There are even now content generators that enable you to produce content at scale.
With the rise of digital and the possibility for brands to speak to prospects even when they’re spending time in the tiniest room of the house, brands are using content marketing as an advanced method to attract high-quality leads, nurture their engagement down the funnel, and convert them into paying customers.
Pourquoi le marketing de contenu est-il important ?
Apprendre à vos clients et leur donner les moyens de vous connaître, de vous apprécier et de vous faire confiance, tel est le nouveau marketing. Sur la liste des supports de confiance, le contenu éditorial surpasse les publicités diffusées sur tous les canaux traditionnels, y compris la télévision, la radio, les panneaux d'affichage, les journaux et les magazines.
All the leading brands are doing it. Your competitors are too. In fact, over 91% of B2B companies are using content marketing. And marketing guru’s with yellow glasses have been claiming for over a decade now that it’s really the only marketing left. 😎
But you shouldn’t even think about adopting a content marketing strategy because it’s what the cool kids do. You should because the benefits of content marketing will knock your socks off.
So what are some of these benefits of content marketing? Let’s take a closer look.
1. Le marketing de contenu est au service des besoins de votre public (et il est payant de donner la priorité à votre public).
Content marketing addresses a shift in the needs of audiences across industries. When consumers change, marketers need to apply different strategies. At least: if they want their messages to stick. 😏
Or as Virgin Media’s Head of Digital Marketing, Gill Worby, said:
“Previously we always thought about what we wanted to talk about and now we talk about what our audience wants us to say. This is against a backdrop of people wanting to be educated, entertained, and stimulated every minute of every day, and it is harder than ever to grab people’s attention.” (source : Comment Virgin Media a obtenu l'accord de la direction pour le marketing de contenu)
Il suffit de jeter un coup d'œil à certaines de ces statistiques clés :
- People want content from brands. According to Havas Group’s Meaningful Brands study, 84 % des gens attendent des marques qu'elles créent du contenu.
- 70 % des internautes veulent s'informer sur les produits par le biais du contenu plutôt que par les publicités traditionnelles. (MDG Advertising)
- Consumers can smell a sales pitch a mile away – and they think it stinks. Vous pourriez penser votre publicité trouve un écho auprès de votre public, mais 71 % des lecteurs déclarent avoir été rebutés par un contenu qui ressemble à un simple argumentaire de vente. (Economist Group’s “Missing the Mark” report)
- 96% of B2B buyers want content with more input from industry thought leaders. (Demand Gen Report, 2016)
- Nearly all of the most successful B2B content marketers (92%) prioritize the audience’s informational needs over their promotional message. (Content Marketing Institute, 2018)
2. Le marketing de contenu alimente le parcours du client
So just imagine that you’re in the market for noise-cancelling headphones (good call, by the way, it should help you focus on getting all that content out of the door).
Now what is the first thing you’re going to do? My guess is that you’ll head on over to Google and type in some sort of query: “best noise-cancelling headphones” or maybe “comparison noise-cancelling headphones” or even “what noise-cancelling headphones should I get to look like the office hipster?”.
Well, guess what, if that’s your strategy, you’re not alone. According to research by GroupMun nombre impressionnant d'acheteurs (86 %) commencer leur parcours client with non-branded search queries. 🖱️
What’s more: users put their trust in the (non-promotional) content they encounter along the way. When researching a buying decision, 85 percent of users ignore paid ads and focus on organic search results.
Mais non seulement les consommateurs lisent avant d'acheter, mais le contenu contribue également à façonner l'expérience du client. Le contenu peut alimenter une expérience cohésive sur plusieurs canaux, ce que les consommateurs attendent tout simplement à l'ère du numérique.
3. Le contenu renforce la notoriété de la marque, la confiance et la loyauté
Research findings strongly support the importance of customer-first marketing: when brands create valuable content that educates and informs consumers, it’s a win-win situation for both consumers and brands.
Le contenu détermine ce que les gens pensent de votre marque. Content strength accounts for 71 percent of how a brand performs on “improving personal well-being,” which determines how meaningful people feel it is. And customers are willing to pay more for meaningful brands. According to Groupe Havas, “meaningfulness” in brand marketing can increase wallet share up to nine times. 💸
Enfin, la consommation de contenu augmente considérablement l'affinité et la confiance, et ces sentiments positifs à l'égard de la marque s'accroissent avec le temps. (Source : Pouvoir du contenu : How Content Marketing Impacts Purchase Decisions, Brand Affinity, and Trust)
4. Vous voulez des prospects plus nombreux et de meilleure qualité ? Le contenu peut faire l'affaire !
Les publicités qui sont diffusées aux consommateurs, qu'ils le veuillent ou non, sont perçues par ces derniers comme insistantes, interruptives et intrusives.
Turns out, people today generally don’t respond to this type of product-pushing. 😩
Or are you one out of very few people who don’t hit the fast forward button when commercials come on and interrupt your favorite TV show?
There are other ways to find qualified leads – better ways: content marketing. And it’s not just us saying that. Here’s some of the research to back it up:
- 74% des entreprises indiquent que le marketing de contenu augmente la qualité et la quantité des prospects. If it’s sales-ready leads you’re looking for, nothing beats high-quality content based on an informed strategy.
Source : (Curata)
- According to Hubspot, content marketing gets three times more leads than paid search advertising (Source: http://www.demandmetric.com/content/content-marketing-infographic)
- Furthermore, 82% of customers have a more positive outlook on a company after reading custom content, and 70% of customers feel closer to a business after engaging with their content. As a result, lead quality and quantity goes up after introducing a content marketing strategy. (Source: https://www.demandmetric.com/content/content-marketing-infographic)
Finally, paid advertising on digital platforms often relies on good content as well. Or did you think your pushy “BUY NOW” ads would fare well on Facebook?
5. Le contenu stimule les ventes et les décisions d'achat
Content marketing may require more time, patience, and effort over the long haul, but the rewards are far greater. Just consider the impact on purchase decisions and sales: 👇
- Content marketing drives higher conversions. In fact, according to research, it has six times the power of traditional marketing for converting people into leads and leads into customers.
- 47% of buyers viewed 3 to 5 pieces of content before engaging with a sales rep. (Source: Demand Gen Report)
- Le contenu influence les décisions d'achat. Three-quarters of buyers said that the content of potential vendors had a “significant impact” on which one they chose. Additionally, 89 % des personnes interrogées stated that winning vendors “provided content that made it easier to show ROI and/or build a business case for the purchase.”
- La consommation de contenu éducatif augmente considérablement la probabilité d'achat. L'effet est le plus fort immédiatement, et diminue quelque peu une semaine plus tard. (Le pouvoir du contenu : Comment le marketing de contenu influe sur les décisions d'achat, l'affinité pour la marque et la confiance)
6. Le marketing de contenu permet d'économiser de l'argent
Traditional marketing methods like print, radio, and broadcast media are pretty expensive places to start your marketing campaign. And let’s face it: for some of us, prime ad space on mass media will never be a feasible option.
Content is much more cost effective. What’s more, it’s also easier to target the exact right audience. 🎯 (Source: DemandMetric)
Lorsque le marketing de contenu et la recherche payante sont mis en concurrence :
- Content marketing has both lower up-front costs and deeper long-term benefits (Source: a recent study by Kapost).
- Le marketing de contenu coûte 62% de moins que les canaux traditionnels et génère 3x plus de leads. (Demand Metric)
- A recent study took into account the cost of hiring a content marketing team vs. creating a paid search campaign. For medium- and large-sized businesses, content marketing cost up to 41% less per lead than paid search.
- Les spécialistes du marketing B2B les plus efficaces consacrent 42% de leur budget au contenu. Plus vous investissez dans le contenu, meilleur est le retour sur investissement. Source : (Institut du marketing de contenu)
Don’t Even Consider Content Marketing if You Haven’t Got This
If you want to provide a better experience for your customers all while making a positive impact on your business – both in terms of how it’s perceived and its bottom line – content marketing is a great bet.
In fact, with so many tangible benefits, you may be left wondering why everyone isn’t on the content marketing wagon? 🤔
The reality is: content marketing is hard work. It takes consistent effort (hey, these masterclasses don’t exactly write themselves, if you see my point). Moreover, the fruits of your labor are often only enjoyed in the long run. No instant gratification or dopamine shots to be had right here, right now, I’m afraid. 😔
And finally: it’s only companies who have a solid strategy who are able to reap the benefits of their content marketing efforts. Don’t even dip your tiny toe in the content marketing waters without doing your homework and developing a clear content strategy first.
And guess what? Content strategy is exactly what we have lined up for you in the next installment of this series. Talk about putting your customer first with content… (see what we did there?). 😏
Utilisez-vous déjà le contenu pour développer votre entreprise ? Faites-le nous savoir dans les commentaires !
And don’t forget to tune in next week for Part Two of our Content Marketing Masterclass: Building a Content Strategy!
Nous espérons que cet article vous a plu. Si c'est le cas, passez le mot !
👉 Vous pouvez suivre @salesflare sur Twitter, Facebook et LinkedIn.
- Mesurer le retour sur investissement du marketing de contenu : Montrez-moi l'argent - 10 octobre 2019
- Repurposing Content : 4 moyens faciles d'obtenir plus de votre contenu - 3 octobre 2019
- Les dix commandements de la distribution efficace de contenu - 26 septembre 2019.