Content marketing is very much alive and well in every market from medical supplies to psychic readings. If your goal is to create brand recognition with staying power, you need a supply of fresh new content that consistently represents your company’s voice, tone, and values.
In a competitive and technical industry like GPO IDN healthcare sales where expensive advertisement campaigns abound, relatable and helpful content that connects with consumers on an emotional level is what builds a long-term bond that converts. Whether your company’s goal is business-to-business (B2B) sales, business-to-consumer (B2C) sales, or both, you need more than high-pressure salesy ad campaigns to build a well-known and trustworthy brand image. You need content that creates the face of your brand.
Content versus Copy for GPO IDN Healthcare Brands
Brands that decide to get serious about their digital marketing campaigns often face confusion around the differences between content and copy. Marketing copy is advertisement – its purpose is to make a sale as soon as possible and as often as possible. The descriptions of the products and services you sell on your website, for example, are created using copywriting.
Content, on the other hand, plays a comparatively long game. Both content and copy marketing campaigns are imperative to the success of your business. The importance of content, however, tends to be overlooked. A solid content campaign does more than draw in quick sales. It utilizes repeated exposure to build your brand’s authority and recognition over time, while also telling the story of your company. Content creates the kind of familiarity, trust, and loyalty that pays off in repeat clients for years to come.
5 Types of Content to Increase Brand Recognition
Online content comes in all shapes and sizes and each one plays a unique part in your brand becoming renowned, recognized, and trusted by your potential customer base.
1. Email Newsletters
Source: Superoffice
Despite what some of the trendier self-proclaimed marketing gurus may insist on, there is no denying that email is still king when it comes to profitable, fast, direct, and effective communication with medical suppliers. Email marketing is the most reliable method for converting leads into sales during all stages of the sales funnel.
The average return on investment (ROI) for email marketing is $42for every dollar spent. This beats every other form of content marketing. For that reason, all other forms of digital marketing you use should drive your audience to subscribe to your email list. Sales announcements, discount codes, and exclusive early product launches are some of the most effective ways to gain and retain subscribers to your brand’s email newsletter.
2. Blog Posts
Company blogs provide several opportunities to advance your brand while also providing useful, informative content to your potential clients or consumers.
- Informative, news, or how-to articles establish your brand as an authority on industry-related topics
- A subscription option on your blog page serves as another way to build your email list
- Direct communication with your audience through your blog post’s comment section
3. Videos
Every single day over a billion hours of video content is viewed on YouTube. The latest short-form viral video platform, TikTok, is experiencing rapid growth with users averaging over 850 minutes per month spent watching videos on the app. Even though your company is selling to other manufacturers and distributors, there are human beings at the helm of those businesses. Video content tends to be incredibly effective at connecting with those fellow humans through the use of humor, connection, and empathy.
4. Social Media Accounts
In 2021, brands are expected to maintain a presence on mainstream social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest. The right content posted on your company’s social media accounts combined with the perfect amount of direct witty banter with your audience can lead to massive boosts in brand awareness and social approval. An entertaining social media presence is the new “street cred” for brands Additionally, social media accounts offer invaluable analytical tools for tracking the types of content that resonate with your brand’s audience.
Source: Twitter
5. White Papers
White papers offer a unique opportunity for your brand to be seen as an absolute authority on the products and services you provide. These long-form content marketing tools can be divided into three main types of documents:
- Problem-solution white papers promote a specific product or service as the solution to a long-standing problem for the business you’re attempting to sell to.
- Listicle white papers list features, tips, or questions pertaining to a specific business issue and your product’s unique ability to provide the best solution.
- Background white pages are in-depth, long-form descriptions of a product or service’s features, evaluations, and price points.
Leverage Meaningful Storytelling
Effective content needs more than just helpful tips and entertaining commentary to cement your brand in the minds of your audience. Human connection is the most powerful sales tool of all time. Stories can bring people together and bring their eyes, ears, and trust directly to your business’s products and services.
Your content is where you can share the story of how your company was founded. Post a photo of your great grandfather, who paved the way by inventing the first disposable exam table paper. Take the time to reveal behind-the-scenes snippets of the process with your audience during the development of a new product. The people calling the shots at the companies you want to sell your products to are bound to relate to other people putting in the work to make their company a success.
Content and Conversion Rates will Always go Hand in Hand
The sales industry comes down to human connections, even if you’re selling to massive corporations. That human factor cannot be removed from the equation and that means content can’t either. Your content is what makes your brand unique, trustworthy, and relatable to consumers of any size, and that is worth its weight in gold.
SMM can help you with all of these types of content. Please email Scott Adams at sadams@sharemovingmedia for a free content marketing evaluation.