While almost every business owner or manager has heard the modern day marketing phrase ‘content is king’, the tech industry still seems to be on the fence when it comes to executing content and communications strategies that produce desired results. This is in spite of compelling statistics — such as this 2022 Hubspot Marketing report — that shows that companies, tech firms and startups included, can drive growth with solid content marketing.
If you’re a savvy tech firm/start-up founder or business operator, you’re probably considering content marketing to help promote your business, that’s if you haven’t made the leap already. But you might also be wondering if it’ll be worth the time, effort and money. We’ve brought you a few phenomenal benefits that will convince you that content marketing and communications in tech is indeed worth all the hype.
A brief foray into the world of content marketing
The Content Marketing Institute defines content marketing as “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 consumer action.”
In the content marketing context, ‘content’ would be different kinds of information that is valuable and relevant to a clearly defined audience which in this case would be prospective customers, clients or investors. The mediums used could be written articles, images, social media posts, infographics, videos and much more.
The game changing words that differentiates content marketing from any other form of advertising is valuable and relevant. You provide content that is of high value and relevance to your audience. It is tailored towards meeting your audience’s needs or pain points with a few bits and pieces about your products or services here and there. If they find your content pretty useful, then there’s a higher probability that they’d buy from you.
Content marketing and accurate brand communications in general, should be a significant part of any company’s marketing strategy but technology firms in particular, can benefit from exceptional content marketing. Investors and other major stakeholders will most likely spend some time researching a tech firm before engaging or investing. With the ever-widening information gap between the average person and new innovations in tech, buyers and tech solution users will go the extra mile in getting knowledgeable and gaining much needed insights from peers and of course, the internet before engaging with a tech firm.
Why content?
The tech industry is large, with more and more companies and start-ups being founded every day and each of these competing keenly for visibility and adoption by users. The tech market is jam-packed, dense and characterised by sheer noise. Companies that will succeed and stand the test of time have to really stand out. How can good content and communications make your tech firm or start-up distinct from the rest?
It increases visibility
As mentioned earlier, the tech industry is a hectic space, full of people vying for attention – from users, customers, clients and of course, investors. This can make getting found – by users and investors alike – difficult. While paid searches and advertisements can help you stay afloat for a while, adopting a more sustainable approach through good content is the way to go. Good content can be the boost your brand visibility and awareness needs.
If your company consistently creates valuable, high-quality and valuable content that are relevant to your target audience, you not only become the go-to person for them, you stand apart from your competitors. Consistent content creation and distribution is a fantastic way to establish your business as an authority and thought leader in your industry or specific niche. That’s a pretty powerful benefit. Knowledge sharing is key to help your business grow in prominence especially if you are in a saturated industry.
Content aids PR
If you’re keen for the attention of local and international investors, you’d want them to be met with fascinating stuff when they check your company out right? An array of exciting content can help your tech firm with that.
Another benefit is the fact that your tech brand’s content marketing strategy can serve as a tool to build exceptional public relations and disseminate company information to the public. New developments upcoming at your company? Post it on your company blog.
Your business showcased at an Industry event? Place the video highlights on YouTube/social media. Had a particularly rewarding customer experience or received a great review? Put it on your blog. Planning to host an event? Your blog/video channel is a great place to post the press release and stir up interest. Let your email list know about it too!
More than selling, your content and content channels can help humanise your brand and tell your company’s ongoing story.
Content is key to brand messaging
Brand messaging is critical for modern day tech startups because at first glance, tech products and services almost always come across as too technical or complicated for users to understand. A recent Hubspot research found that 47% of buyers look at three to five pieces of content before they make a direct contact to the company and if the content they see isn’t engaging or useful to them, they probably won’t. Beyond the technicalities of a tech product or service, users want to get acquainted with the company behind a tech product or service. Great content is a fantastic way to provide help and support information for people looking to use your products or engage your services and also solidify your tech brand’s voice and identity. It helps to refine and fine tune your tech brand’s messaging, such that prospects can find your brand relatable, friendly and welcoming, even if your products or service are a tad complicated.
It adds value and trust
By creating educational, useful and high-level content for your prospects, you’re doing more than just market yourself. You’re positioning your tech firm as a company that is knowledgeable, can add value and most importantly, that can be trusted. When your content fulfills your target audience’s curiosity or helps them solve a pain point, you’re more likely to stay top of mind when they need your service. 21st century tech solutions customers and users want to feel empowered, they want to feel like your propositions are highly valuable or relevant to their specific situations or unique needs before investing in your service or products. If your firm’s online channels stand out as a place to get exciting, valuable information, customers will view you as an industry expert and be more inclined to trust/buy from you.
Low cost & high ROI
In comparison to paid advertisements and other traditional forms of marketing, content marketing is relatively cheap. The cost might seem a little steep at the beginning, but the benefits span out into the long-run. Rather than a one-off approach to ROI, it delivers enduring and compounding results over the long term. For example, a regularly updated blogpost on your website can contain classic, informative content that helps drive prospective customers and users to your site months or even years after it was first written. Content marketing, when given adequate time to gain traction, can yield your initial Investments multiple times.
A consistent and consolidated content marketing and communications strategy can be the real stand out point for your tech company. It can position your brand as an authority in your niche, attract more qualified leads for your sales or user engagement pipeline as well as improve your position on search engines and improve your brand’s general visibility online.
How about jumping on the leverage content marketing and brand communications provides to fast track your tech company’s growth? We recommend hiring a great content creation company like Contentloft to get you started. Contentloft specialises in exceptional text content that connects your brand with intended audiences — creating awareness, driving engagement, and conveying the brand essence. We provide a broad range of writing solutions including business writing, script writing, transcription, content writing, proofreading and editing, content development consulting — that are of high-quality, well researched, SEO optimised and unique for local and international brands who seek to inspire their audiences to take action.