The phrase “content is king” first appeared as the title of an essay written by Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates back in 1996. Now, almost thirty years later, the sentiment still holds. Content is king, as any successful digital marketer will be able to tell you. It forms the backbone of the entire internet, and even newer AI developments draw their insight from internet content.
It doesn’t matter what industry you fall in or if your primary digital means of communication is a website, social media platform, or email newsletter, it all comes down to content — and a lot of quality content at that.
If you’ve ever spent a significant amount of time producing content, you’ll know that quality content takes time, strategy, and expertise. Most businesses, unless their business is content, will have other focuses that require their time and attention.
And that’s exactly where a professional content agency comes in. A content agency acts as an extension of your team, offering content solutions that align with your brand’s voice, target audience, and business goals.
But what exactly is a content agency, and how can they help you meet your content goals? That’s exactly what we’ll look at in this complete guide on what to expect from a professional content agency.
What Is A Content Agency?
Before we deep-dive into how a content agency can help you achieve your content strategy goals, let’s take a brief moment to consider what a content agency even is.
In a nutshell, a professional content agency is a team of professionals that specialise in — you’ve guessed it — content. They create, plan, and manage content for various industries across a range of platforms, and you may be looking at blogs, website copy, long-form papers, email newsletters, and even social media captions and scripts.
But while some content writing agencies may only look at the execution of the writing and some content creation services only focus on the design aspects, like photography, videos, or creating social media posts, a business content agency will very often do it all, from conceptualisation to creation and execution.
A large part of working with a professional content agency also involves strategy. Simply creating content pieces in the hopes of finding something that sticks cannot guarantee long-term success, but content agencies have the skills to analyse the digital market to find content opportunities that align with your business goals.
They ensure that your content moves your business forward.
Services Offered By A Professional Content Agency
We’ll skip discussing social media here and focus more on the long-form pieces that a professional content writing agency can help you and your business with.
1. Blog posts
You may think the world of blogs is over or only reserved for “serious” bloggers talking about their daily lives or reviewing the latest beauty products, but there’s actually a space for blogs on all business websites.
In fact, marketing stats show that publishing regular blog posts on business sites can lead to an average of 55% more website visitors, which is great news if you’re working on expanding your business.
A content strategy agency won’t only write this content for you, but they’ll also ensure that the content being put out aligns with your goals and brand voice and is fully SEO-optimised to drive traffic.
2. Pillar articles
While blog posts can be short and sweet, pillar articles are more in-depth, authoritative content pieces designed to boost both website traffic and establish brand authority.
If you’re running a cake decorating business, for example, you may want to publish a guideline on everything there is to know about cake decoration as a pillar article. Or if your core business is installing solar panels, you may want to publish a guide on everything there is to know about solar panels, including specifics on how they work, what benefits they offer, general pricing, upkeep and maintenance, and more.
These pillar articles work as cornerstones of your content strategy and will likely include links to dozens of other shorter blog posts, articles, or case studies that help drive your business. And since they’re so in-depth, they can also quite easily be repurposed into powerful lead magnets, like downloadable e-books.
Producing pillar content and, by extension, downloadable guides or e-books, takes a significant amount of time, which is why relying on a content writing agency can be so beneficial.
3. White papers
A business content agency can also help you write white papers. This category of research-driven, in-depth content is more catered towards B2B audiences and helps your company establish trust and expertise.
For example, a local engineering company may rely on white papers to explain complex topics or showcase innovation in support of a new product launch.
Creating white papers generally requires a good mix of industry-specific knowledge and writing know-how, and a professional content agency is best positioned to bridge that gap.
4. Case studies
Case studies showcase real-world successes and are important for social proof.
How often do you find yourself googling a product or service to read customer reviews before investing? Of course, your website should always include reviews and customer testimonials, if applicable, but case studies take this one step further. They deep-dive into a particular problem and offer a step-by-step understanding of the solutions suggested and what the outcome was.
Like white papers, in-depth case studies are often reserved for B2B communication and require a certain amount of industry-specific knowledge to compile, but they can do wonders in building credibility and converting potential leads into actual customers.
5. Web copywriting
In many ways, a website is an extension of your business and, very often, the first touchpoint for potential customers. This means that your website has to work for you, combining both marketing and sales techniques to turn website visitors into leads.
There are many website design elements that matter, but your web copy definitely stands out. It needs to be informative, engaging, and persuasive enough to convince web visitors to explore everything your business has to offer.
A professional content agency can do wonders for turning your web content from meh to amazing.
Why Your Business Needs A Content Agency
We’ve looked at some of the types of content an agency can craft for you, but why would you even need to opt for a content strategy agency in the first place and not just do everything in-house?
Creating professional content takes time. In fact, it’s a whole business on its own, which is why professional content agencies exist in the first place! You may quickly be able to turn out a short and very generic blog post, especially if you’re relying on AI tools, but generic won’t get you noticed.
The content you put out there has to be targeted and part of a larger strategy. How do all the content pieces produced fit together? What’s the overall goal? How do these interlink and work as part of your wider SEO and traffic goals? These are development aspects that a content strategy agency will take on.
They’ll not only ensure that the planned content is created, but also that it falls within a larger strategy and pre-established content calendars, so the content can work in driving your business forward and not just fall on deaf ears.
Especially in today’s digital marketing era where AI is flooding search results, the focus has to be on quality, user-first content that’s created for your customers, that hits the markers outlined in Google’s E-E-A-T guidelines. Now more than ever, quality matters.
How To Choose The Right Content Agency For Your Needs
If you’ve already searched for content writing agencies in your area, you may have come across a good number of potential companies to work with. But how do you know which content agency will be the right one for you and your business?
Here is a quick checklist you can keep on file:
- Portfolio and reviews: Unless your content agency has been newly set up (and you can find some great new ones as well!), they’ll have a strong portfolio and collection of reviews. Take a look at the type and quality of content created before. Does this align with what you need? If it’s a newly established company, take a look at other writing samples or a collection of prior work. This will give you a good indication of the type of writing quality offered.
- Understand processes: Ironically, you don’t want a writing agency that dives straight into the writing, so take a moment to understand your potential agency’s processes. Do they work with you to understand your company goals and brand voice to ensure full brand alignment? Do they draw up a full strategy before getting started? Do they focus on all aspects of content marketing, including SEO implementation, revisions, and updates? Your preferred agency should focus on your business and brand and develop a fully-fledged strategy to create content that works for you.
- Clarify what’s included: Some content agencies only work on strategy, while others may offer strategy and writing. Some content agencies even offer full-service packages, where they take on your entire digital presence, from web content to social media management. Before deciding on a content agency, understand what your potential agencies offer and what’s included in different packages.
- Ask about performance tracking: As you’ll know from running a business, successful execution isn’t only about the doing but also about tracking data and figuring out what works and what doesn’t. This applies to content strategy as well, so it’s important to check in with your potential writing agency to establish what data they track and make available to you.
Once you’ve got all the answers to your questions, you’ll be ready to decide on the right content agency and let them help you move your business forward.
So, what can you expect once you start working with a content agency?
How A Content Agency Can Transform Your Marketing Strategy
When you ask how a content agency can transform your marketing strategy, you’re really asking how quality content can drive results, because that’s exactly what a content agency delivers.
So, what can you expect?
- Boosted brand authority and thought leadership: The more quality content you put out that positions you as a thought leader in your field, the more your company and brand will become positioned as such. Strong brands all have one thing in common, and that’s that they’re inherently associated with a certain field. A strong content strategy positions your brand as an expert, building credibility in the long term.
- Improved website traffic: While some of your content goals may focus on print materials, a large majority will focus on SEO-optimised written pieces with the aim of driving website traffic. Increased website traffic leads to a higher number of potential leads, which, in turn, can result in a higher number of actual customers.
- Higher conversions: A professional content agency knows how to write effective content and web copy that aims to not only inform your readers but also drive conversions. From including well-placed CTAs, utilising strategic storytelling, and making use of email marketing techniques, a content agency will help guide users through the entire sales funnel more effectively, leading to a greater number of visitors turning into customers.
- Long-term ROI: While signing up to work with a content agency may seem challenging if you’re considering initial costs, especially if this is an expense you’ve never had before, the long-term ROI of working with a professional team is worth it. You’ll not only save time and resources in needing to create the content in the first place, but you’ll also end up with content that drives brand authority, website traffic, and conversions in the long term, guaranteeing exponential growth.
By partnering with a content agency, a simple idea can turn into a lead magnet for long-term growth and development.
Are You Ready To Take Your Content To The Next Level?
If you’re ready to take your content and overall strategy to the next level, working with a professional content agency is a no-brainer.
They have all the tools and expertise you need to transform your content goals. This, in turn, can drive your website forward and help you reach new customers and achieve greater business success.
PrecisionSEO is there to guide you through the entire process, from initial content goal analysis to final publication and refinement. So, what are you waiting for? Contact us today.
