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As the old saying goes, content truly is king. What you say, how you say it, and where you say it is what will set you apart from your competitors, will engage your target audience, and draw your customers in.
Although you hopefully already know good content is imperative, you may not have the time or resources to create it yourself. In this case, it may help to hire a content marketing consultant to help create content that generates quality leads.
What Is a Content Marketing Consultant?
A content marketing consultant is an individual hired to develop a content marketing strategy and create that content. Sometimes they may hire others to write blogs or edit photos, but they oversee the process and ensure your business projects a cohesive, targeted message.
These consultants are experts at creating content that drives an action. They write blogs, make videos, create infographics, schedule social media, and more. Their content is made with a purpose in mind: to increase your web traffic, generate more newsletter signups, bring people into your store, or any other goal you set with them.
Generally, you work with this individual on a high-level basis. You’ll meet to discuss overall goals for your business and their strategic plan, but then they will oversee the actual content creation.
You’ll be able to take a backseat for the actual tweets, blogs, and other day-to-day postings, saving you time and money while you focus on growing your business.
Consistent, valuable content is essential to SEO and generating new leads. And a content marketing consultant can help you create it.
Not sure if you need a content marketing consultant? Here are 8 reasons why you might consider hiring one:
1. You’re Not Sure How to Differentiate Your Brand
In many cases, business owners and entrepreneurs look too closely to their own story to really be able to hear it objectively.
A content marketing consultant will ask you very specific questions that can help craft your story. They will help you define what makes you and your brand unique and important so you can convey your brand message in the appropriate way to your audience.
They will also analyze your business objectives and assess how your online presence is currently set-up to recommend a solid course of action.
2. You’ve Run Out of Time to Create High Quality Content
When you’re short on time, it’s easy to forget about certain social media platforms or have a disjointed message across your accounts. This is confusing for your audience and might leave them wondering why you have inactive accounts.
A true content marketing expert will help you develop content that is engaging and worthwhile to your audience. They will analyze your brand’s message across a variety of channels to ensure that the message is consistent through the various touch points, and help you decide where to focus your efforts.
This way, they can tailor a specific story online and off, specifying which channels are most appropriate for telling your story. They will also create a baseline report so you can see your progress over time to ensure you’re moving in the right direction.
3. You Need Fresh Ideas
While you may have assembled the best team of in-house marketers, it’s always great to get an outsider’s opinion — especially if you think that it’s time for a change.
No one likes change; however, sometimes change is needed. A consultant may be brought in to implement the changes without worrying about corporate culture, employee morale, or other issues that get in the way when an organization is trying to go in a new direction.
A 3rd-party perspective also helps you identify problems your team may have overlooked. They bring in new backgrounds and new skill sets, supplementing the expertise on your team.
4. You Haven’t Defined Your Buyer Personas
For most marketers, defining a buyer persona is crucial. It can make or break the entire content creation process.
Consider these statistics:
Developing a buyer persona to define your audience can be a bit tricky. If you’re not sure where to start, it’s probably a good idea to enlist the help of a content marketing consultant.
A buyer persona is a highly detailed profile of current and desired customers, using a combination of demographic and psychographic information. These personas will provide your team a clear illustration of your buyers, with their various pain points and problems, so that you can effectively guide them through the buying process.
The sooner you understand your buyer or audience personas, the sooner you can improve your content marketing strategy. A content marketing consultant can help get you there faster.
Take a look at Mod Girl’s Client Personas
5. You’re Not Sure Where to Post Your Content
Simply blasting your message everywhere is ineffective and can even turn your audience off. Furthermore, low-quality curated content can reflect badly on your brand.
There are a number of different platforms you can utilize to get your story out there. But with all of these options, it can be difficult to figure out where to start. A content marketing consultant can help you decide which tools to use, what messages to communicate, and which channels to take advantage of.
They’ll help you tailor your content to each platform, and some can even help you with SEO and paid search to ensure your target market finds you online.
6. You Need Someone to Keep you Accountable
It’s easy for business owners and entrepreneurs to lose focus of their content marketing goals. They’re busy growing their business and serving their customers, and without accountability, marketing falls to the backburner.
When you choose to work with a content marketing consultant, accountability suddenly reenters the picture. The content marketing consultant will establish meetings, set goals, and provide objectives so that you can reach your content marketing goals. These checkpoints will help you stay on track so you can reach your goals faster.
7. You Want to Grow your Network
A content marketing consultant will help you spruce up all of your marketing channels, allowing you to grow your presence online. They understand how each platform operates and can recommend exactly what you should be doing on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and more to grow your presence on each.
With their unified and strategic content marketing approach, you’ll find your network growing in no time.
8. You Want More Bang for your Buck
Even with the initial added cost of hiring a content marketing consultant, chances are good that you’ll actually save money in the long run.
Those who don’t have a content marketing consultant are forced to settle for a trial-and-error system, where they are trying to discover what works for their brand. This usually involves playing around with different tools, tactics, and websites, without having a clear pathway for the consumer or true content expertise. It takes time and resources, and the mixed messaging leaves your brand looking unprofessional.
Plus, if you don’t accurately track results, you might have no idea what’s actually effective.
Since content marketing consultants have a clear understanding of what customers are looking for and how to measure results, they can get the job done in a fraction of the time. As the saying goes, time is money, so utilizing the resources of a content marketing consultant is truly the most cost-effective option.
Does Your Content Strategy Need a Tune Up?
Enlisting the help of a strategic partner is the fastest way to strategize and optimize powerful inbound marketing campaigns that exceed your ROI expectations.