What’s the Market Doing to You? Why Content Marketing Is More Important Than Ever

Marketing during a pandemic? It was possible! Your reward? Record inflation and the challenge to market in a down economy that feels uncertain.

You're not the only one who is frustrated as a marketer or business owner.

The past few years have been hard on us all. As the economy slows down, it is understandable that companies are trying to find ways to be financially more conservative. In many cases, marketing is the first thing to be cut from the budget.

However, I can tell you that putting a pause on your marketing efforts will not help your business get through this difficult time.

Eric Boggs, a fellow marketer and CEO of RevBoss (a B2B prospecting service provider), sent me an email newsletter that inspired me to explore this topic.

Eric shared his thoughts about the tweet pictured below.

Image Source: RevBoss

He explained RevBoss’s plans to continue with their marketing efforts, while taking smart actions in the interim like cutting travel costs and creating more conservative forecasts. Also, monitoring the pipeline for slowdowns.

Why? Because the market will not stay down forever. Consumers will spend again. You'll get the ROI from your consistency when they start spending again.

Like RevBoss, who took their own advice and continued to focus on outbound and inbound activities, Marketing Insider Group has kept its content strategy active and lead generation efforts at the same or higher level.

This article will explain why and how content marketing can be your Swiss army knife in times of uncertainty. It can be used even when there is uncertainty to keep your pipeline moving and increase ROI for markets that are on the rebound.

Quick Takeaways

• 
  Content marketing has 62% less cost-effectiveness than traditional marketing strategies.
  
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  Companies that do not cut marketing expenses are the ones that rebound best from economic downturns.
  
• 
  The key to content marketing success is momentum. You can't stop marketing efforts in a downturn and then play catch-up once it's over.
  
• 
  Focusing on lead generation and nurturing will position you for success in markets that are on the decline.
  

Why Content Marketing is Important in a Down Economy

In 2022, marketing will look completely different than in the past. Marketing used to be about avoiding expensive tactics such as billboards, radio and TV commercials, magazine ads, and newspaper advertisements.

You can now execute a complete marketing strategy online.

You probably know by now that content marketing is 62% cheaper than traditional marketing methods and generates 3X as many leads if you have read our blog.

Image Source: Viisme

This is crucial in times of fiscal responsibility. This allows you to continue marketing even when your company is cutting costs.

Content shows potential and current customers that you are consistent. Content keeps your brand visible while providing value to your audience even when they aren't ready to buy.

When things are improving and buyers are willing to spend again you can be sure they will choose your brand over others. Marketing cuts will lead to a void in the pipeline and customers being lost to your competitors when the economy improves.

The Momentum Factor

Content marketing is not a quick process. You will not see results overnight if you don't publish often and maintain consistency. Marketers must have a long-term view of success and be willing to work hard for the ROI.

Even more so in times of economic decline.

The thing is that consumers might not be purchasing, but they still need solutions. This means that they continue to research, learn and search for possible solution providers.

Your momentum will suffer if you stop marketing in order to cut costs. It's not possible to earn new keyword rankings, generate new traffic, or create content that can be shared in other places.

Your audience might not be able find you even though their needs are similar to yours. If they do decide to purchase, they won't include you on their shopping list. You'll need to build new momentum for months before you can see any results.

Consistent content marketing in a down economic environment can reduce the downturn in leads and conversions.

Image Source

Five Things You Can Do Instead Of Cutting Your Marketing Budget

Reduce costs wherever possible

Marketing is not on the budget list, but that doesn't mean it can't be cut. Instead, find non-mission-critical budget items that can be cut and save money.

Eric mentioned that RevBoss reduced their travel expenses — an intelligent move in a world where Zoom is the norm. Other areas to consider are reducing supplies and pausing the purchase of new equipment.

Keep an eye on your pipeline

Do not rush to cut costs and reduce business activity before there is a real dip. The industry and customer segments that consumers spend and the demand for them vary greatly. It is important to not make drastic changes without real evidence.

Watch your pipeline for changes in trends. To track customer, lead, and user behavior, use data-driven tools such as your CRM, email platform, SEO tool, or Google Analytics. You should base your decisions on the data that you collect, not what you read in the media.

Make adjustments to your forecasts

It is crucial to keep your team happy by reaching sales and marketing goals. Frustration will result from trying to achieve targets that are not realistic. You and your team should not be disappointed by unrealistic forecasts. Adjust your forecasts if you are experiencing longer lead conversion times like many others so that you know what to expect.

Concentrate on lead generation

You must convert paying customers to earn revenue. It's tempting to increase conversion efforts during economic downturns. It is important to pay attention to leads that are already in your pipeline, but it is equally important to have a solid lead generation strategy.

Although leads you generate now might not convert as fast as you would like, they will eventually. Keep up your efforts inbound and outbound. To keep your pipeline full, you must implement a strong lead nurturing strategy that keeps your leads engaged until they are able to purchase.

Repurpose and refresh old content

Your existing content library can be a great place to start if you need to cut down on content creation costs. Repurposing and refreshing old content can boost your traffic in any economic environment. Here are my recommendations:

Google Analytics and other data tools can help you identify the best and worst performing content

You can refresh your most successful content by adding statistics, visuals or other relevant information to the topic.

Take a look at your least-performing content and remove any that are not necessary. Make the necessary changes (such as better keyword usage or new visuals) Make necessary changes to improve the performance of the rest

Old content can provide a great source of leads, despite what you might think. HubSpot conducted an internal study on this topic and discovered that 76% of page views were from old content and 92% of new leads are from it.

Image Source: HubSpot

The Long Game

One key commitment to content marketing in a down economic environment is to take a longer-term view of ROI. Harvard Business Review has found that companies that prioritize marketing continue to rebound the best after economic downturns.

It is possible to not see immediate results. You may not see results right away. However, if your brand is strong (which we hope you are), then you can be confident that leads will convert over time.

Even if buyers don't buy, they still need your brand's expertise, resources, information, and information about products and services. Your brand will remain visible and present no matter what, so that you are able to count on a boost in the market when things get back on track.

Do you need help weathering the storm?

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