Why you need content marketing & what it costs

 By Holly Rollins

If you’ve realized, like many B2B and B2C companies have, that content marketing generates leads: congratulations! According to the Content Marketing Institute, 66 percent of even B2Bs used content marketing in 2012 and that figure is climbing.

If you are mulling over whether to start a content marketing program, here are some facts:

Content marketing (CM) does generate leads, if the message is on target to the right audience;

• CM (or telling your story) in a non-advertorial way that scratches your client’s itch – and works;
• CM is a must for most industries as part of a holistic marketing plan.

If you want to expand or tweak an existing CM initiative, here are some numbers to help you determine if your budget is weak or on track:

• The average annual salary for a content manager in Greenville SC is $65,363, according to The Creative Group.  Of course this position in larger metro areas would be closer to the $75,000 mark;
• If you outsource content management and you are a mid-sized firm, your retainer (without an in-house dedicated CM manager) would range from $5,000 to $8,000 per month (in the Southeast);
• Other B2Bs dedicate a quarter of their marketing budget to CM;
• Other potential staff, contractors and technology costs may also apply, depending on your company and its objectives/budgets.

What does a content manager -in or out-of-house do? (You may ask):

• Tell you company’s story;
• Write blog posts;
• Integrate the stories with appropriate social channels;
• Integrate the stories with your marketing and PR plan and divisions, services or product lines;
• Engage your firms’ clients, employees and sometimes vendors and other grassroots groups;
• Continually monitor company & client needs and CM results.

There are pros and cons to an in-house or outsourced CM effort. But the crucial point in this digital age is that people look at online information 10 times before making a purchasing decision. CONTENT MATTERS.