Irish businesses need to embrace content

Oct. 18, 2013 - PRLog -- Irish businesses need to get serious about their online content says bestselling digital marketing author and online content specialist Calvin Jones.

The Irish-based co-author of “Understanding Digital Marketing” and “The Best Digital Marketing Campaigns in the World” is urging businesses here to make strategic, engaging content a priority as they strive to compete in the rapidly evolving digital marketplace.

“The online world moves very quickly,” said Jones. “Businesses face a constant battle for buyers’ attention -- something that’s becoming more fragmented all the time.”

Businesses can’t buy that attention any more, explains Jones, they have to earn it.

“It’s a question of adding value,” he said. “By offering advice, guidance, hints, tips, news, recipes, how-tos… whatever… you’re making a connection and fostering trust. Effective content addresses a buyer’s needs, and delivers something they appreciate. It positions your business as a go-to-resource for valuable information, building relationships and positioning your products or services front and centre in your prospects’ minds.”

The days when successful digital marketing involved choosing a few keywords, optimising for search engines and running a parallel Pay Per Click campaign are over, says Jones. Most people still find the products and services they’re looking for using search engines like Google… but search engines are getting much better at sorting out the wheat from the chaff when it comes to delivering relevant content. Add the magnifying effect of social media sharing into the mix and you have a pretty potent combination.

“To be successful online today companies need to understand the critical role content plays in the buying decisions their customers make,” said Jones. “They need to develop a strategy that puts content at the centre of their marketing efforts, then create compelling content that aligns the needs of their customers, the mission of the search engines and, crucially, their own business goals.

“It’s a difficult balance to strike, but one that businesses need to get right if they want to compete and thrive in an increasingly  content-centric digital world.”

Calvin Jones is the co-author of the bestselling books Understanding Digital Marketing and The Best Digital Marketing Campaigns in the World. He helps businesses get to grips with content-focused digital marketing through his online coaching and training programmes at Digital Marketing Success (www.digitalmarketingsuccess.com) and consulting and copywriting services at CJ Writing (www.cjwriting.com).