Marketers always say ‘it all comes down to content’.
“Content Marketing is all the Marketing that’s left.”
– Seth Godin
As nowadays the internet has become so ingrained in our lives and how we live them the world seems a much smaller place, marketers can’t stress the importance of content marketing enough. ‘We have to be a great storyteller and we have to create great content’, they say.
What is content marking exactly?
The Content Marketing Institute offers a clear definition:
…a strategic marketing approach focused on creating and distributing valuable, relevant, and consistent content to attract and retain a clearly defined audience – and ultimately, to drive profitable customer action…
Unfortunately, not all content works and the question worth asking is why?
Content marketing is not as easy as it seems because in order to craft effective content you have to actually know who your target audience is, listen to your customers and recognize what their challenges are. Therefore, quite a significant amount of research is needed to be done beforehand.
At the same time, the core of the business is still the product or service you are trying to sell. Therefore, making sure that it is outstanding with the best quality possible is imperative. In the age of social media we’re living in today, only great products or services will get people to talk on social media platforms, including in real life. Putting together stories to establish depth to it and creating an emotional connection with the customers is what will make your brand unstoppable. I mean, isn’t it better when people hear a brand’s name and they know the story behind it like when you think of Apple, Coke or Chobani? I believe small brands can create that too through the right content, engaging message, and most importantly, consistency.
You content marketing is your brand. Is your brand engaging with your audience? Or is it doing what everyone else is doing and not standing out in the overwhelming sea of social media?
After generating engaging content for the right audience, there are a few more steps needed in order to push the content out. You can reach out to potential mentors or influences in the industry, study their work and learn from them. Moreover, networking is also necessary. Once you’ve become more familiar with the territory and the quality of your content, get involved on as many social media platforms as possible and reach out to new potential customers regularly. The more people learn about your brand and your story, the weightier your content will be. By staying true to your brand’s characteristics and getting published often, your brand should start to make bolder claims and drive newer things. Set your brand as a thought leader and stay in the industry’s front row.
“Content marketing is a commitment, not a campaign”
– Jon Buscall
There are many types of content. You have to have clear objectives in order to execute great content. Is it for brand awareness, to build a brand, to create an on-going engagement, to provide information and solve problems for the customers or to sell a product or service? This will affect your choice of words, the tone, platform you use, and basically, everything!
I personally think that content marketing is the best long term marketing strategy because content influences almost every other online strategy; SEO/SEM, social media, email, etc. It also builds your brand’s personality and reputation, influences conversation and most importantly, it creates a bond and encourages faith and trust in your brand. This last factor, notably, is quite difficult to establish through any other marketing strategy.
“Content builds relationships. Relationships are built on trust. Trust drives revenue”
– Andrew Davis
Despite all the trends and persistent technology evolutions that unavoidably penetrate marketing landscapes, of course the form of content might (emerge doesn’t make sense Bo. You started the sentence with “despite”so there needs to be contrast and your next paragraph says content will never vanish totally?) This sentence isn’t coherent. However, it will never be redundant. Good content helps people make good decisions without feeling like they’re being sold on something.
Start planning and invest your time in content marketing people! This will surely help your brand stay competitive in this cutthroat world.
A Happy Marketer 