It’s not uncommon to outsource some of your marketing help. It’s a full-time job for most people, and when you’re trying to run a business—or run the marketing for several—the actual creation of the content can get to be a lot. Of course, before you actually go signing any contracts with an outside source, it’s a good idea to know what they do and how they operate. Let’s get a look at what a content marketing agency does.
Content marketing is a subset of digital marketing. It means you’re creating helpful, relevant, valuable information and distributing it to your audience via a wide range of media—usually that which you own, like social media outlets, YouTube, and your website or blog.
The content you’re creating could mean almost anything. It might be a blog post where you provide a little expert information. It could be a video where you provide a tour of the factory where your goods are made. There’s really no limit, as long as the audience finds your content interesting and helpful.
There can be several goals behind content. First, it helps cement you as a leader in your industry. The more expert information you’re able to share, the more likely people are to come to you when they have a question. Second, it boosts your website’s SEO value, making it more likely that people find your site through organic search. Third, content marketing pulls potential customers into your sales funnel, where you can start moving them along towards a sale with other marketing techniques.
Now, if you want to hire an agency to help you out, what can you expect? Like most businesses, every content marketing agency is a little different. Some will offer things that others don’t. Here are a few things you can expect.
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Whether you’re hiring an agency or looking for someone to do the work in-house, your content marketer will have specific roles you’re looking to fill. While they don’t need to be a jack-of-all-trades, there are certain things that are a must. In particular, your content marketer should be able to write, and write well.
Your content marketer will oversee your content marketing strategy. That means making sure that all of the content that’s being shared not only fits the strategy, but also falls in line with your brand message and identity.
Your content marketer will make sure you stick to editorial calendars, both from a production standpoint and a publication point of view.
A content marketer may also oversee social media accounts, and be responsible for responding to anyone who interacts with the brand’s account.
Finally, as overseer of content strategy, it’s also on the content marketer to crunch the numbers as they come in and make suggestions for how to change things if necessary, or prove that it’s the right move to stay on course.
Let’s be clear: a content marketing agency is not a full-service digital or traditional marketing agency. Their focus will be on content and making sure what you’re doing is working. And while you (or your employee) is definitely the expert, a content marketing agency can be a big help in the actual creation of the content. Let’s look at a few specific areas where you could benefit form a content marketing agency.
Whether it’s an in-house team-of-one or a full-blown content marketing agency, every marketer worth her salt knows the tools you need to make sure your content is performing to the best of its ability. Try a free trial of DemandJump and let us help you get your content marketing efforts dialed in.