What happens to your funnel if you stop creating and distributing valuable content via inbound marketing? You may not have thought being in the publishing business was important, but the lack of engagement and commitment can create problems for your brand and business. Consider the following:
- Your SEO will decline. Without new and ongoing content, your page rankings will lower. You become less relevant because of a lack of new, fresh content. Static is not rewarded.
- Your sales process becomes harder. Instead of being in a conversation around value and buying, you end up having to sell. The shift happens because you are not perceived or positioned as a thought leader. Content positions you.
- Google will stop visiting. Content that is optimized and substantive gets indexed and crawled by Google. If they stop visiting, then you are missing out on the search results your business needs from those looking for what you have to offer.
- Social media becomes disconnected. The work you put into your Twitter, Facebook, Google+ and other outposts become less about value and more about cuteness. Content anchors your posts and tweets. It’s a large part of why people engage in social media.
- You limit your lead conversion. When your content pieces get found, the experience should lead to a buying process. The opportunity to position and offer a call to action is enhanced for each piece of substantive content you post. This sets up your funnel. No content, no funnel.
Building an audience that is engaged relies heavily on you publishing and broadcasting content that helps. It is continuous and dynamic. A pretty brochure approach is not enough. It has an immediate half-life, as does anything that is published today.
Your funnel extends beyond what you can capture internally. The inbound marketing funnel starts with content that gets found. Getting found means that you are relevant to search engines and fresh for social media.
Because it is hard, continuous and strategic, many will quit over time. It’s a shame. Your process for building the one valuable asset for your business relies on the long road of commitment to helping others.
Do you have a continuous process for content creation and distribution? How can it be built for the long haul?
