Craig Wise

How Content Marketing Powers Demand Generation

Discover how aligning these two disciplines drives conversions in a crowded market.

The Big 3 Demand Generation Goals

Because demand generation encompasses content marketing, it makes sense to look there first. The following demonstrate the role content marketing plays within demand generation’s goals. 

1. Building Brand Awareness

First and foremost, demand generation marketing builds brand awareness. Customers rarely buy from a brand they don’t know and trust, especially within complex, B2B technology markets where an initial investment can exceed $100K. By putting your brand in front of prospective customers through channels like paid ads, social media, and organic web traffic, demand generation marketing helps your business become known. 

Content marketing plays a pivotal role in this process. Without content, there wouldn’t be any copy or images to share in online ads and on your web site. Content marketing provides the blog posts, videos, eBooks, and social media that inform your audience and introduce your brand’s value. For example, I developed this digital ad to provide a quick glimpse of an education company’s value proposition. The ad created awareness in multiple channels and drove traffic to the product’s web site. 

By creating engaging, educational, and persuasive content, you can reach potential customers who might never have heard about your brand. Your value-driven blog post, for example, should appear on search engines when your target audience types a question relevant to your business. 

2. Developing Customer Loyalty

Demand generation is about more than attracting new customers–it should also nurture relationships with existing ones. By developing customer loyalty, demand generation marketing helps ensure customers stay engaged with your brand and continue to purchase from you in the future. 

Content marketing effectively fosters loyalty by consistently providing valuable content to address customer needs. Case studies that highlight the customer’s concerns or pain points can showcase your brand’s understanding, care, and solutions for their interests. You can follow up your customer’s purchase with personalized emails, tutorials, or blog posts that educate them on methods to make the most out of their investment in your business. 

Valuable content demonstrates that your relationship with the customer extends beyond their purchase, engendering loyalty. Additionally, you can then ask loyal customers to participate in testimonials and case studies that drive future engagement.   

3. Generating Effective Leads

Generating leads for your sales team is the core of any demand generation strategy. Identifying and nurturing prospects who are likely to become customers requires a deep understanding of your target audience. What are their buyer behaviors? Where are they in the buyer’s journey? As mentioned in my post about demand generation metrics, understanding conversion patterns can be critical for business success. 

Content marketing provides value to your identified target audience, which enables you to capture a lead. By developing content that speaks directly to different audience segments, you can attract high-quality leads. For example, I created this whitepaper to address a key challenge managers and CFOs often face within payment processing. The whitepaper allowed my client to capture contact information from key decision makers within their market. 

Product demonstration videos can engage these leads further down the sales funnel. These later stage assets allow demand generation marketers to score and analyze prospect engagement. If the prospect isn’t viewing the video, are they likely to make a purchase? 

3 Primary Goals of Content Marketing

As you’ll see, the goals of content marketing closely align with demand generation. Greater alignment leads to greater success for your marketing efforts. 

1. Creating Brand Awareness

Brand awareness is the heart of content marketing. By offering helpful information that positions your brand as a thought leader, content enables your business to reach and engage a broad audience. Blog posts, infographics, videos, and podcasts featuring recognized leaders allow your brand to build greater awareness within your target audience. In my content marketing efforts, I strive to create assets that address the problems and questions your prospective customers face each day–making your brand top of mind. 

2. Driving Engagement

Content marketing keeps your audience engaged with your brand throughout the buyer’s journey. Compelling, well-crafted assets create an ongoing conversation with your prospects. Once you’ve helped the audience see your brand understands their key problems, you can educate them on the finer points of a solution; this leads them through the funnel from awareness to interest, and ultimately conversion. As an example, I developed this demonstration video to help prospects understand our brand’s key differentiators. You can use social media, email campaigns, and interactive quizzes to drive deeper engagement and guide your leads to the next step of their journey. 

3. Generating Conversions

Turning prospects into customers is the ultimate goal for all of marketing, this includes content. By crafting assets that speak directly to the pain points and desires of your audience, you create compelling arguments for making a purchase. Whether it’s a call-to-action at the end of a blog post or the offer of valuable resources in exchange for contact information, your content marketing should lead each prospect through the conversion process. 

Sharpening Alignment to Ensure Success

Content marketing plays a critical role in demand generation marketing. By building brand awareness, developing customer loyalty, and providing assets that gather insights for better lead generation, good content complements and strengthens your demand generation efforts. When I help my clients align both of these marketing disciplines, the result is a more cohesive marketing strategy that attracts and retains loyal customers. 

Companies that understand the interplay of these two marketing disciplines create a seamless brand experience, guiding prospects from the first touchpoint to conversion and beyond. If your marketing feels scattered or you’re looking for more leads, I can help align demand generation with your content strategy to drive growth–let’s talk.