Did you know brands using content marketing have 7.8x more organic traffic?
Content marketing starts a conversation with your audience and keeps that conversation fresh, helpful, and engaging. I like to think of this marketing strategy as the first step to building a friendship and community around your equine business.
As horse professionals, we are always talking to our clients in person. Content marketing lets you have the same conversations in the digital world, which leads us to the first (and top) benefit of content marketing.
BENEFIT #1 – BOOST WEBSITE TRAFFIC
One of the top ways to increase your organic website traffic is through search engine optimization (SEO). In fact, effective content marketing is one of the easiest ways to improve your SEO website ranking.
SEO on a website has three parts: technical (think coding), on-page (think content), and off-page (think backlinks). After fixing technical SEO issues, it’s time to focus on your on-page SEO. You need to publish high-quality content that excites your audience continually. When you produce helpful content for searchers, Google rewards you with better rankings on the search engine results pages (SERP).
Backlinks from high-authority websites will also boost your website in the SERP. This might mean submitting an article to a horse publication or blog. The SERP wants unique, data-driven content that excites, intrigues, and informs the audience, so make sure to submit something interesting.
Content marketing also builds up the keywords on your website with every piece of content you produce. Those keywords will help pull a wide range of traffic and build your website traffic.
Great content marketing is not fleeting or just a blog post here or there. Consistent content leads to engagement and relationship-building.
This is where industry expertise comes in! Working with a content marketer experienced in the equine industry is a make-it-or-break-it situation. Can you imagine someone writing a blog for your horse business and adding statements like “the girl horses” instead of mares or “the brown horse” instead of the chestnut?
These statements will not establish your small business as an expert and, in fact, could hurt your reputation.
Did you know content marketing costs 62% less than other marketing channels?
We’ve already discussed one of the top benefits of content marketing, SEO. Now we will dive into the second benefit—Trust.
Equine business owners everywhere need to establish trust with their customers. Whether you are a tack store, a trainer, or a horse publication, your prospects will not buy from you or use your services if they don’t trust you.
But, how do you establish trust with people you’ve never met in person in an online world?
Benefit #2 – Establish Expertise and Trust
Google tells us what it wants to see from websites in one nice acronym: EAT or Expertise, Authority, Trust. Content marketing works to establish these elements on your website.
Most people are familiar with Birchbox, an online beauty retailer, and if you search makeup or beauty tips online, Birchbox is likely to show up on page one of the SERP (search engine results page).
We know Shopify isn’t a teaching platform, so why would they write articles teaching people about makeup and skin care? Birchbox’s goal is to help people understand makeup and skin care in an easy, beginner friendly way.
So instead of relying entirely on a sales page, Birchbox provides helpful, data-driven blog posts that solve the pain points of their target customer.
These blog posts (and videos!) can earn trusted brand mentions from authoritative websites (remember backlinks!). This enhances EAT, which strengthens your SEO.
So, envision yourself researching skin care tips and looking for something to help clear acne/reduce wrinkles/etc. After gaining invaluable knowledge from Birchbox, you will likely click through to one of the recommended products because of its established expertise and authority.
Authority isn’t just about ranking on the SERP and improving your SEO. If you are working to be an industry leader, everyone who reads the article will view your brand as a credible, high-authority source of information.
Do you have a marketing strategy to establish authority and trust for your brand online?
Did you know content marketing delivers 3x as many leads as other marketing channels?
By this time, you’ve probably noticed a pattern in my emails. Content marketing works!
It is one of the best ways to organically get your business in front of potential customers.
Unfortunately, prospects can’t become customers if they have never heard of your equestrian business.
There are a few ways to expand your brand awareness—paid advertisement, word of mouth, and content marketing.
Benefit #3 – Create Brand Awareness
Different types of content help build brand awareness.
Magazines offer sneak peeks into the industry, fun stories, images, and articles on featured professionals. An article in an industry magazine could be one touch point for a potential customer to learn about your business. A well-written, exciting article could drive prospects to your website or social media platforms to learn more about your service or specific products.
That’s the definition of brand awareness. Whether someone sees your content on the search engine results page (SERP), an industry resource, or a link from a friend, they are exposed to your horse business. And, before you know it, you have some fantastic customers and brand advocates.
Benefit #4 – Develop a Brand Personality
Content marketing is an incredible way to let your brand personality shine through.
Are you silly? Are you an introvert? Are you struggling with something?
Successful brands reach deep into their strengths and values to show the customer who they are, what drives them, what they do for their customers, and how they do it differently.
In my experience, horse professionals are AMAZING at creating a brand personality in-person, but struggle to relay the same message online.
From upbeat and energetic to authoritative and straightforward, your brand voice lays the groundwork for your company’s story. Letting your brand personality shine through on a product or about us page can be challenging.
Using social media and blogs, you are free to express your brand and get potential customers excited about witnessing and being involved in your journey.
Benefit #5 – You can connect with your audience through multiple formats
People are unique. They have unique ways of viewing the world, expressing themselves, and learning. There is no one magic format that suits everyone. Some people are visual learners, while others prefer to read. Other people want to head directly to the summary (TL;DR).
You’ve probably noticed the MASSIVE shift towards short-form videos with Reels on Instagram and the explosive growth of TikTok.
One of the benefits of content marketing?
You can keep your voice and values consistent across every format.
Content marketing applies to more than blogs….
- Infographics
- White papers
- Press releases
- Social media captions
- Videos
- Podcasts – especially a horse business podcast!
- Webinars
- Emails
- Interviews
- Q&As
And so many more. You can change the format most appropriate for the information and audience, but there is tons of room to experiment and see what marketing efforts work best for your equestrian business!
Benefit #6 – Content marketing fuels your social media engagement
Do you have a love/hate relationship with social media?
“Lack of time, don’t know where to start, can’t be consistent”
These are just a few reasons my clients didn’t use social media for their businesses.
This includes the account you started five years ago and posted on 3 times!
I’m sure you already know all the reasons you should use social media to market your equine business.
4.26 BILLION people used social media last year!
But, did you know content marketing fuels your business and saves you time?
When potential customers visit your site and find it helpful or entertaining, they become an advocate for your brand. Brand advocates can be transformative to your marketing.
Brand advocates love you, they follow you on social media and engage with your business. They will share with their online friends and recommend your company. This super powerful word-of-mouth marketing amplifies your reach!
But, these brand advocates cannot exist without great content. They can’t share your content or help build your followers if they have nothing to see and connect with.
Enter your PR Strategy.
Your PR strategy works with your content strategy to get your content out into the digital world. High-authority blogs and news publications love having quality information to share.
Those publications will link to your website, boosting your backlinks (SEO) and website ranking.
Benefit #7 – It supports your audience through the sales funnel
You aren’t the only one struggling with sales funnels!
Over the last few years, sales funnels have become more and more complex.
Sales funnels refer to any new customers and your ability to convert them to buying customers.
Sounds simple, right? Well, it is when you break it down.
Customers move through three stages when they think about buying from you or hiring you for a service: awareness, consideration, and decision.
It sounds like a job for email marketing! But what if you don’t have your potential customer’s email address?
Content marketing and SEO have the unique ability to reach your target audience with the right message for the right stage.
Knowing this, you can produce content that addresses their needs at the perfect moment.
Think about each stage of the journey and create content around it.
If you are trying to get more kids signed up for your lesson program, you could write about the benefits of horseback riding for kids, how your approach is different, and share the successes of your past students. Each topic would support the child’s parents in signing up for lessons!
Remember, a customer at the consideration stage is waiting to see why your lesson program is the best. A customer in the decision phase needs a reminder why they will feel great about signing up their child for lessons.
Benefit #8 – Improve your sales with demand generation
Are you constantly working and not getting the sales you need?
You have the website and social media, but no increase in sales.
This is super frustrating!
Writing content that converts sounds salesy, but that’s what you need. (Not in the way you think, though!)
Demand generation is different than lead generation. Demand generation involves creating a community around your brand.
Content marketing is one of the best ways to get your customers involved, ultimately increasing your sales.
Your content can:
- Give life to your brand
- Showcase new products, features, or services
- Create and grow a story people want to be a part of
- Build a community
- Answer questions
- Build trust
Content doesn’t have to be salsey, but it needs a purpose– educating, entertaining, connecting, interactive, etc.
Benefit #9 – Boost lead generation
Is your website generating leads for you? Are they the right people for your service?
When you offer a service, getting leads can make a big difference in your bottom line.
If you’re a farrier, someone thinking about buying a horse next year isn’t a great lead.
How can content marketing help bring in more leads?
Big tack and feed stores have quick sales cycles. But, converting a customer to a sale when you are a service provider generally takes more than a single phone call.
Your perfect customer needs longer to learn about you and your business before they will feel comfortable making a purchase. Depending on your product or service, this process can take months or years!
Valuable content is one of the best ways to nurture potential customers. (Remember, good content has a purpose.) The right content will keep people engaged with your brand and make them more likely to buy from you.
Benefit #10 – Content marketing builds brand loyalty
Community = Brand Loyalty
Great marketing doesn’t feel like marketing. It feels like a community. It feels like a trusted friend.
Does content marketing do that?
I would say yes!
What happens when you reach your customer with the perfect content at the ideal moment? It’s like having a friend show up at your door with the iced coffee you’ve been craving.
Valuable content gives your customer education, entertainment, interaction, and more. Soon people become emotionally invested in your brand. You can build a group of people passionate about your brand, your values, and what you do.
Remember, people want to be a part of a community. They don’t necessarily want to be “marketed to.”
Content marketing gives them the information they need, a brand they can’t wait to tell people about, and a brand they trust.
Are you struggling to market your equine business? I’d love to see if I can help!