Bill Gates, in his essay “Content, is King” wrote, "Content is where I expect much of the real money will be made on the internet, just as it was in broadcasting." Written more than twenty years ago, the write-up totally makes sense in the contemporary world. Much of the digital world has changed over the past two decades, with one thing remaining constant, which is “significance of content in the domain of online business.
According to Statista, the global digital population is more than 4 billion, including 3.7 billion mobile internet users. Reportedly, 92% of B2B marketers use content marketing to reach out to their target consumers. 82% of B2C marketers consider content marketing as a key strategy to drive conversions.
If we are to look at the stats and the revelations as mentioned above, it goes without saying that content marketing is and will be a major driving force for the digital businesses in 2019 and beyond.
Wondering how? Here is everything you should know about.
Consumers desire to stay up-to-date with the industry buzz
In an interview with Joe Rogan, Elon Musk mentioned that humans are already cyborgs (someone whose physical abilities and memory retention power are extended beyond normal humans). He further stated that our ability to recollect a vast amount of information comes not solely from our brains, but from the search engine platforms and mobile devices on our hands.
This clearly indicates the fact that digitally extracted information has a unique presence in today’s world. It goes without saying; online business platforms are expected to leverage the potential of online content to educate their customers with the latest industry trends, product descriptions, blogs and more. It is said that today’s customers have a hunger for Omni-channel communication (interactions that are carried out via blogs, audio/visual content and the likes). Reportedly, 45% of buyers are spending more time researching prior to making a purchase as compared to last year.
Here’s a detailed graphical demonstration of different steps involved in the research-based buying process.
With 32% of the B2B buyers speaking to a sales representative for information, and 26% of them conducting anonymous research on potential solutions, it is evident that the consumers are open to knowledge acquisition. This is exactly where content marketing would come into play.
Content marketing delivers personalized value to the customers
Are you aware of the term “Cornerstone Content”? When a business house produces a long article or blog addressing all issues for a specific set of problems faced by the target audience, cornerstone content is created. These are often available as downloadable files on the website.
When an online business produces and sends across such valuable content tailored to meet consumer requirements, the potential buyers persona appreciate the effort of the business for understanding their struggle. As a result, the possibility of converting a casual visitor to a promising client increases ten times.
In addition to it, content marketing is said to support buyers’ journey in the following ways.
Consumer-oriented content marketing identifies all prospective buyers and figures out the pain points.
Analytically evaluated data and client statistics help businesses to explore and commit to the possible solutions.
Finally, the user-generated data justifies the decision of an individual purchasing the product, resulting in successful closure of sale.
Here’re a few statistics displaying how customers push companies to do better.
Thus, if we are to look at the statistics mentioned above, 84% of customers are of the opinion that they want online businesses to treat them like a person, understand the product needs and service usage. This is again a gentle reminder of the fact that informative content based on consumer needs and queries will only drive more businesses for digital entrepreneurs in today’s world.

Content marketing stimulates the organic search
SEO or Search Engine Optimisation is a buzzword in today’s online world. For example, when you open the browser and type the keyword “assignment expert” into Google, the search engine works hard to bring you the most relevant and informative results.
If the keyword typed and the results generated remain in sync with each other, the website enjoys the possibility of attracting maximum organic searches made by its prospective users.
As a result, the site’s credibility is enhanced with a firmer online presence, reputation and the maximum Click-Through-Rates.
Most interestingly, the cost per click for organic search is nil. Thus, it would give your company an edge over competitors who are still grappling with the limitations and complexities of Pay-per-Click strategies.

Your business gets to secure an ideal social media presence
Merely sharing a few blogs on Facebook and twitting about your product and services on rare occasions won’t solve the purpose of securing social media exposure. You got to embrace constructive content marketing in order to share your content on social media over a consistent period of time.
Since social media is rapidly catching up with search engines as a promising platform for content to reach the target consumers, one must leave no stone unturned to leverage its potential to the fullest.
According to a survey, 95% of young adults, between the age group 18-34 are most likely to follow a brand on social networking sites. 71% of consumers who have a good social media service experience are likely to recommend the brand to others.
These stats make it evident that social media-driven content marketing efforts would fetch the coveted ROI. As a matter of fact, Domino’s brand innovation strategy included the “tweet to order” campaign.
The pizza lovers were able to tweet their orders to the restaurant, instead of going through the complex order placing procedure over the phone. This is another classic example of how one can expand and explore online avenues in business by marrying content marketing with social networking sites.

Content marketing builds backlinks successfully
Earning high-quality backlinks is another way to improve the website’s ranking in search engines. When you are successful in acquiring multiple links pointing to your business website, the search engine considers your website important.
Thus, in order to acquire quality backlinks, you need to create valuable content. Here are a few methods that will come into play.
Newsjacking: Simply put your own spin on any trending news and buzz around the topic in the form of articles and blogs.
Trending pop culture topics: Tap into trending pop culture topics and create linkable content based on web series, superhero characters, and TV shows.
Original data and facts: Frame guest blogs based on new and original data to attract the reader’s attention. Remember, publishers and audience love to share and read interesting content based on real-life case studies and facts.
So, invest time in creating engaging content and target authoritative sites to post the content. Put a step forward to harness the potential of backlinking to the fullest.

Author's Bio: 

Author Bio: Kady Smith is an experienced assignment expert, associated with the digital brand MyAssignmenthelp.co.uk. Apart from that, Kady is an enthusiastic digital marketer and content strategist, working on behalf of a leading firm in Glasgow, United Kingdom.