What would you say to a friend who asks you how much more you’ve made, what is your return on investment (ROI) with content marketing? How about if you are asked to rate your own content marketing performance, and you have no idea what that means?
If your business is like most others, you’re probably feeling a little overwhelmed and uncertain about how to make the right business decision when it comes to content marketing. You’re probably wondering if creating and distributing content is actually worth it, especially if you’re not sure how to measure the results of your efforts.
Fortunately, you’re not alone in facing these questions. The content marketing world is changing as fast as the industry to help you gain a better understanding of the ROI and benefits of content marketing for your business.
Here are four compelling reasons why online courses can be a game-changer when it comes to content marketing:
1. Online Courses Can Be Customized To Fit Your Business’ Needs
It’s one thing to follow the traditional route and offer a standard online course that can be accessed from anywhere. It’s quite another to offer a customized, niche-specific program that is designed to serve the unique needs of your target audience.
For instance, if you are a landscaping business, it’s probably safe to assume you will need to know a lot about plants and soils. However, if you are a financial services company, your customers may need more detailed information about investments and planning for retirement. Your customized program can take this into account and provide your audience with the information they need—when they need it. This is something that can’t be accomplished with a straight-forward, one-size-fits-all internet-based course.
2. Interactive Learning Enables Faster Learning For Your Audience
One of the biggest benefits of online courses is that they allow you to teach your audience a skill or concept in a way that is enjoyable and engaging. This, in turn, makes it easier for them to learn and retain the information you are teaching them. If you compare this to a traditional classroom setting where the teacher stands at the front of the room, writes on the board, and takes questions at the end, you’ll see why interactive learning can be so advantageous.
In a nutshell, people like learning things through a variety of different channels and interacting with content as they learn. The advantage of this is that they can access the knowledge you are providing at any time, from any place, and on the go. This convenience and flexibility makes online learning a preferred choice for people who need to increase their productivity or solve a problem fast.
3. Online Learning Provides A Global Community
Another important benefit of online courses is that they provide a global community. No matter where your target audience is located, they can benefit from your content. This is especially useful for those who want to expand their networks or look for job opportunities abroad. When you combine this with the ability to take an online course whenever you want, the opportunities for global collaboration via online learning are endless.
For those who want to keep their jobs, this is also a great option as it provides a way for people to continue learning on the job. Perhaps a workplace training program could help your business raise its productivity and compete for better positions in an ever-changing world.
4. Self-paced Study Means You Can Give Your Audience What They Need When They Need It
One of the most important benefits of online courses is that you can give your audience what they need, when they need it. If you are a professional services firm and your clients need help with taxation or investment advice, you can ensure they get exactly the information they need, when they need it. This is an important consideration when you are creating a content strategy, as you want to ensure that the information your audience needs is always available to them. You do not want to overwhelm them with too much information all at once, as this could cause them to become confused or lose sight of what they need.
With all that said, it’s important not to just look at the benefits of an online degree program from a classroom perspective. You also need to consider the online version of the traditional classroom experience. If you want to create an engaging learning environment for your audience, you should look into the various online learning styles that can help you do this. If you would like to learn more, here are some great articles to help give you a comprehensive understanding of content marketing and the advantages of online learning:
Five Things to Look For In an Online Learning Platform
If you’re planning on using an online learning platform to enhance your content marketing efforts, here are five things you should look for in a good online learning platform:
1. Good Course Material
A good course material is crucial for an engaging learning environment. When you are investing in your audience’s time, you want to ensure you’re getting your money’s worth. This means the content you are using should be of a high quality, rich in relevant examples and real-world applications. If the content is not of a good quality, it will lack the capacity to engage your audience and cause them to lose interest quickly. This, in turn, could cause them to skip over the content or even avoid it altogether. When choosing your content, you need to bear in mind that what you are putting out there might be read or viewed by future customers, clients, or employees. Therefore, it is vital that the content you are using is of a high quality.
2. Good Instructors
An excellent way to engage your audience and cause them to learn something new is by using an instructional designer. To qualify as an expert, an instructional designer should have a good amount of teaching experience and be able to create engaging lessons that make complex subjects easy to understand. An engaging instructor can enhance your content marketing’s learnability and keep your audience interested.
3. Interactive Learning
An interactive learning environment allows for a much more engaging and memorable learning experience. If your goal is to create a global community, one where people from all over the world can learn and interact, you need to look into the various online learning styles that allow for this. For example, if you are teaching your audience how to code, you could choose to do this via a virtual instructor who interacts with your students via video chat or a flipped classroom model. Think about the last time you attended a webinar or online class. How much more enjoyable was it compared to a standard lecture-style presentation?
4. Good Customer Support
A good customer support team is crucial for a successful online learning experience. This team should be available to help your audience with any questions they may have about the content you are presenting. If they are unable to answer questions, they should be able to direct your audience to the appropriate contact for further inquiry. This is vital for a business of any size as you may not always have the time to answer every question individuals have about your product or service. In these cases, you’ll want to make sure you are taking care of each and every one of your customers’ inquiries, and having a good support team is a key part of this.
5. Good File Sharing
Another important factor to consider when choosing an online learning platform is the file sharing functionality. If your goal is to create a truly global community where individuals from all over the world can learn and interact, you need to have excellent file sharing functionality. This means that regardless of where your target audience is located, they should be able to access the courses and content you are offering. If they cannot access the content you are providing, you’re limiting the global community you are trying to create and could potentially damage your business’ reputation. Ensure that you are using a service with the ability to be accessed globally.
When evaluating the advantages of an online degree program, it is important not to just consider what the classroom experience is like but what the online learning platform has to offer. The amount of flexibility and convenience this provides is invaluable. If you’re not sure where to start, creating and distributing content is a great way to learn what works and what doesn’t. You can always take an online course to see how others are doing things and replicate what you learn, if necessary.