Do you ever know you need to do something, but just don’t want to? Doing your taxes, scrubbing the toilet, or getting a root canal all come to mind. No one wants to do this type of task, but you know taking care of these to-dos, no matter how unpleasant, pays off in the long run.
Many dental marketers feel this way about content marketing. For some, just hearing the word “content” sends chills up their spine, because the term is usually associated with being creative—or worse, writing. Lots and lots of writing.
3 Misconceptions About Content Marketing
Content marketing can be a painstaking, arduous process for even the most experienced marketers. But much like doing your taxes and taking care of your oral health, you need to use content marketing strategies to market your dental practice successfully.
1. Content Marketing Takes Too Long
Often, marketers forgo content marketing in favor of tactics with more immediate results. This is one of the most common objections to initiating a content marketing plan, and for good reason. Compared to traditional marketing strategies, content marketing does take longer to work.
For most, a robust content marketing campaign can take six months to a year to deliver measurable, consistent results.1 Meanwhile, a pay-per-click ad or social media post produces an instantaneous tidal wave of leads. There’s a time and place for fast marketing, but how long do those results really last?
Fast marketing produces fast results. But those results dwindle to nothing just as quickly as they come in. Yes, you’ll see a ton of leads pouring in while your pay-per-click ad is up. But as soon as the ad expires, the leads do, too.
Content marketing doesn’t work the same way. Instead, the content you create works for you week after week and month after month. You want that content to generate sustainable, long-term returns on your efforts. And that’s why more than four out of five marketers use content marketing.2
Content marketing requires patience, but if you plan to still be in business in the next six months, what do you have to lose?
2. Content Marketing Costs Too Much
There’s a common misconception that content marketing can be cost-prohibitive. Or that you’ll see underwhelming returns on your investment. But when you look at the whole picture, the opposite is actually true.
Sure, content marketing has some upfront costs, especially considering the lag time before you begin to realize real, sustainable results. But the long-term benefits to your dental practice of a robust content marketing plan make the delay worth it..
Businesses that use content marketing get 13 times more ROI than businesses using traditional advertising methods.3 What’s more, content marketing costs 62% less than conventional marketing.4 And if those facts aren’t compelling enough, consider this—more than a third of companies spend less than $10,000 on content marketing.5
3. Content Marketing Doesn’t Attract Quality Leads
Another common misconception is that content marketing doesn’t deliver leads likely to convert. But nothing could be further from the truth!
Content marketing generates three times the leads of traditional advertising methods. And for 75% of marketers, their top priority is using content marketing to attract high-quality leads.6
At this point, you may be wondering whether people will actually read the dental content you write. The answer is yes, they will! Most people actually spend about seven hours a day just reading content.7 Incredible!
Like it or not, content marketing is a necessary part of every digital marketing plan. But you don’t have to do this alone. Dreamscape Marketing can help. Schedule a strategy session by calling 888.412.7791 to learn more about how we can design a dental content marketing plan you’ll love.
For a list of references, please contact us.