What effects does content marketing have on consumers’ confidence and interest in buying? A new study shows interesting results. As a 131% increase in the likelihood of them shopping after taking part in educational content.
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Content marketing impact on purchase decision
First and foremost, it shows that it really makes a difference when companies invest in educating their customers. The survey has compared companies in three different industries:
There are dramatic differences in the impact between companies that invest in content and those who do not. Of course, other factors must also work – price, availability, etc. – but this really shows that content can be a distinctive and helpful factor. According to the survey, the likelihood that consumers would buy from a company by 131% immediately after they had read a piece of content from that company.
The study also shows that this is a lasting effect. One week after they had accessed content that educated them, the likelihood of consumers choosing the company behind the content was 48% higher compared to consumers who did not take part in the content.
Strengthens image of helpfulness
The other study shows that by sharing content that educates, companies can build the position of being helpful to their target groups. 78% agreed that the brand was “helpful” after reading educational content:
Confidence and trust increases
The experience that the company / brand can be trusted also increases significantly by using educational content. Almost 65% of consumers felt that a brand was reliable / positive immediately after taking educational content from that brand. This figure had risen to almost 75% after one week.
When participants were allowed to choose between four brands, 83.6% of them chose a company from which they accessed educational content when asked to buy.
Insights
An obvious conclusion that can be drawn from this is that companies that invest in content will have the first step ahead of their competitors. But it is well worth emphasizing that the content included in the survey is educational content.
This is an important thing to remember. Much of the content that companies produce, for content marketing or otherwise, is not educational. Instead, the focus is on selling or telling about a product. If you create such content, you will not be able to count on the effects of this study.
Content that educates takes root in the needs of the target group and focuses entirely on what is useful for it to learn. It is never the product itself that is at the center, but how it can help users become better at something. It is a wise investment to make sure that a large part of the content you produce is educational.
