8 Reasons Why Creating Content is Even More Important During a Crisis

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Drive revenue

If your business is struggling financially, you’re not alone. You’re all for creating content to help your community but you need to ask yourself a pragmatic question: will it help you move the needle on sales?

The answer is yes. According to the Content Marketing Institute, 75% of successful content marketers have generated sales ftom their content efforts.

These days, stakeholders at businesses that are struggling to survive don’t need your hard sell. For them, you’ll need a gentler, more thoughtful approach to sales. Here are a few quick tips for creating content that sells:

• Write for your ideal customer and the problems they face.
• Create content that answers the questions they have on their path to purchase.
• Produce content that addresses the sales objections you often face with prospects. 
• Invite and share user-generated content about your brand, which instills trust and reduces your burden of content creation. 

And of course, creating content is only one part of the equation, you’ll also want to promote your content and optimize it for conversion. For more detailed information, check out my article, “How to Use Content Marketing to Drive Sales”.

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Market to existing customers

It’s both easier and more profitable to sell to existing customers than to new ones. Studies confirm it but it also just makes good sense: your current customers already trust you and are more likely to buy again.

That’s true under normal circumstances, and even more so at a time when prospects might be a little skittish about investing in an unknown quantity. Consider deepening your relationships with existing customers, instead. Creating the right content can help you do just that.

In fact, studies have shown that 84% of the most successful B2B content marketers have used content to build loyalty with existing customers.

5

Maintain brand awareness

Even under normal circumstances, creating quality content is an effective way to stay top of mind. 

According to the Content Marketing Institute, 86% of B2B marketers have successfully used content marketing to create brand awareness.

And maintaining your brand presence is all the more important now, during this chaotic time.

According to Chris Brogan, CEO of Owner Media Group:

Maintaining your visibility now has an added advantage: It gives you the opportunity to stand out against competitors who may be cutting back on their marketing efforts. Just take it from Kellogg’s who, by doubling down on their marketing during the Great Depression, became and remained the industry’s dominant player.

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Build trust

Under normal circumstances, publishing quality content can help position you as an authority and boost the credibility of your brand. According to the Content Marketing Institute, 75% of B2B marketers have successfully used content marketing to build credibility and trust.

During the pandemic, continuing to produce helpful content while others are being less consistent can project stability and position you as a reassuring presence in your industry.

7

Create an emotional connection

Studies have shown that we make decisions (including purchasing decisions) based on our emotions. That’s why using emotional storytelling in your content creation can be one of your biggest B2B marketing superpowers, even under normal circumstances.

But this crisis is making people feel more vulnerable, and intensifying the need for comfort and emotional connection:  

• A recent study of Canadian adults showed that 37 percent of respondents feel lonely as a result of the coronavirus and 75% feel anxious about what is happening.
• Other studies cite boredom, frustration, isolation, and fear as factors that can cause distress and even long-lasting effects.

Now is the time to produce content that provides comfort and support to your community. 

In his article about how to market during a downturn, John Quelch, Charles Edward Wilson Professor of Business Administration at Harvard Business School, tells us that “reassuring messages that reinforce an emotional connection with the brand and demonstrate empathy are vital.” 

And here’s Mark Schaefer’s take on the importance of dispensing hope, in the whiteboard video we produced for him during the early days of the pandemic:

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Give your efforts time to bear fruit

Content marketing is effective but it can take time to yield results.

If you publish a blog post today, the benefits of incoming links, rankings, and referral traffic will multiply over time.

Create a lead magnet today, and it will slowly help you grow your email list, so that you can slowly nurture your relationship with subscribers until they’re ready to buy.

All these tactics can make a huge difference for your business, but they also take time. 

Put in the effort now, and you will continue to reap the rewards long after the crisis is behind us.