Traditional marketing practices through direct mail, television and radio used aggressive promotional tactics to convert leads to sales. However, the professional world is much different today and consumers are the ones deciding when they want to engage with brands as well as the type of content they want to digest.
This evolution has changed how professional approach customer acquisition, and the marketing strategies used today involve providing educational information, rather than forcing data down buyers' throats. Additionally, content marketing and search engine optimization (SEO) have become more standard practice than experimental ideas, and people have found these online solutions to be essential parts of lead generation.
Recent research by Shareaholic shows that organic search drives nearly half of all traffic – approximately five times more than social networks combined. Marketing strategies for small business solutions now require extensive knowledge and planning by professionals who understand the ins and outs of SEO and content marketing.
In July 2011, 249,595 people had SEO listed in their title or in their job description, according to research by Shareaholic. A year later, and the number of professionals with knowledge in SEO has increased to 528,642. That is an impressive 112 percent uptick in 12 months, and job listings with SEO have increased on job sites by 1,900 percent since 2006.
In the world of small business, it's important to utilize content marketing for promotional outreach efforts, as it shows your extensive industry knowledge in an accessible nature. If the idea of conceptualizing and publishing high-quality content seems like it could be lucrative for your organization, employ or consult with a few professionals who might be able to bring something innovative and new to your workforce.