You may want to put more weight on content marketing and white papers in your marketing plan. A new study says that consumers who read an educational article from a company are 131 percent more likely to buy from that company instead of a competitor. Further, survey respondents who read the content considered the companies who provided it to be helpful (78 percent) and trustworthy (64 percent) and reported positive feelings toward that firm, according to the study by
Conductor.com.
Even as time passes, the positive associations with the firm who provided the materials continued to grow too. A week later, consumers’ trust in the brands grew from 64 to 73 percent and their positive associations to the firm increased from 66 percent to 74 percent, according to the study of 500 consumers. Two weeks after first reading the materials, consumers were still 48 percent more willing to buy from that firm.
“While placement of value-add articles in applicable publications is a strong advantage, the benefits of the material are evident when provided primarily via newsletters and the company’s website and blog,” writes Forbes columnist Cheryl Conner, founder and CEO of SnappConner PR. “While hype and promotion alienates consumers, high-value content increases trust and preference for the providing vendor. More than ever, consumers are dramatically more willing to buy from the companies they admire and trust.”
Source: “Use the Strategy to Increase Willingness to Purchase by 131 Percent,” Forbes.com (Sept. 2, 2017) and “Learn the Content Marketing Secret That Increases Likelihood of Purchases by 131 Percent,” Inc. (July 13, 2017)
