The world of content marketingis growing every day. It is now a vital part of every business's marketing strategy, from the small local cafe to the huge global brand. As you develop your contentmarketing strategy you may be wondering which is more important, authority or authenticity. Indeed, you may be wondering if they are still as important as they were when you first started your content marketing.

While people's expectations when consuming content online have changed, the need for authority and authenticity is still vital. It is important to make meaningful connections with prospective prospects through content that is relevant and engaging. Getting that in front of the right people for you as an Australian businessrequires an Australian link-building serviceas part of your strategy.

What Is Content Marketing?

The broad definition of content marketing is simple. It is the practice of creating and distributing content that is relevant to your audience, to engage customers with your business or brand. This content could include blogs, videos, websites, ebooks and more.

In their 2022 research, HubSpot foundthat over 80% of marketers use content marketing in some form or another as a part of their strategy.

But when we get into the specifics of content marketing we need to think about how we can tailor that content to our desired audience. The content you create needs to be relevant and engaging to present an opportunity for your audience to engage with you and become an effective lead for your business.

What Is The Difference Between Authoritative and Authentic Content?

Producing content that is designed to build or enhance your reputation can be used to establish your authority within a business sector. If you are looking to establish a strong reputation in your industry, then presenting yourself as an authority in an area can be achieved by creating content that showcases your knowledge and expertise.

While authoritative content allows you to establish your expertise and build a reputation in a certain area it is less likely to engage with customers long-term. Authentic content is designed to build a relationship with your audience and establish trust.

What Constitutes Authoritative Content?

Establishing authority in an industry can be achieved by creating content designed to showcase your skills and knowledge. To create effective contentwhich demonstrates your expertise you should aim to present the following elements:

• Trust
• Quality
• Influence
• Branding
• Knowledge

Authoritative content provides you with the opportunity to showcase your knowledge to new customers. It allows you to present your knowledge in an engaging way that helps potential customers to see your expertise. For this reason, you must use authoritative content to engage customers and incorporate a call-to-action effectively to convert these visitors into customer leads. These could be:

• Buying a product
• Subscribing to a newsletter
• Clicking a link
• Signing up for an ebook
• Selecting a service

Regardless of the format or the subject matter of your authoritative content, the quality must be high. A customer is unlikely to value the reputation of your business if your content is not presented in a high-quality manner. It has the potential to hurt your brand and undermine your authority.

What Constitutes Authentic Content?

Presenting relatable content is a highly effective method to increase customer engagement and loyalty. Authentic content engages with your customers while also educating them and giving them an insight into the value of your brand. It is often content that is less about outright self-promotion and more about how your business relates to your customers.

Trust is becoming more and more important to consumers. A recent studyfound that 81% of people need to be able to trust a brand to engage with them commercially. Creating engaging, authentic content is a major factor in increasing that trust.

To create effective authentic content, you must keep the following in mind.

• Know your customer. A good understanding of your target audience is essential to creating content that engages them.
• Choose the right platform. You need to know where your target audience lives online and ensure you are publishing there.
• Choose the right format. Similarly, be aware of the kinds of content which your audience consumes.
• Engage with your audience. Don’t be afraid to reply to comments, answer questions and show your audience that you’re a real person.
• Be prepared to tweak and improve your content. Remember that online content is more dynamic than a printed flyer or a billboard.

So Which Is More Important?

You may not like this answer but you shouldn’t be sacrificing one for the other. The key to engaging with your audience is to provide them with content that is relevant and engaging. The key to converting that audience into paying customers is ensuring that they have an understanding of your expertise and knowledge in your field.

This means that highly effective content marketing strategies have a balance of both authority and authenticity. When you look at the two from an integrated perspective, you increase your chances of engaging and converting leads into customers.

There are many strategies to employ to make your content more authenticand engaging a link-building service assists in connecting your content with other websites to establish authority in your area.