What is content marketing?
Content marketing is the creation and sharing of published media in order to attract and retain customers.
Content was and will be always present in every form of advertising. It has been used to disseminate valuable information about a brand or business since the very first forms of communication. With the revolution of the Internet forced upon us, nowadays the consumer has the power to neglect traditional ways of marketing and advertising.
On the other hand, advertising is all about content, or more appropriately today, “indirect selling content”. Content creation is becoming more and more difficult because it should be creative enough to capture the consumer’s attention without driving him off and at the same time, convince him to buy.
So basically, instead of advertising about the products or services the messages have to be about how to use the products or why the products are beneficial to the customer. But again, it’s a 2 way communication with your prospects without direct selling. Therefore, the main focus of the content is on the need of the consumer and developing material he might be interested in.
Creating outstanding content is not enough. The second pillar of the process is the distribution, which consists of the channels used to deliver this material to people such as: social media platforms, blogs, forums, website etc.
Forms of content:
The delivery of the content can be in different formats:
- News
- Videos
- Articles
- E-books
- Infographics
- Newsletters
- Case studies
- Podcasts
- Blogs
- Photos
- How-to-guides
- Q&A articles
Tips to improve your content:
- Set your content strategy. Meaning, what would you like your prospects to learn? And how will you communicate your ideas with them?
- Create a schedule and stick to it. When you have regular content posted, people will wait to see what you have next. People like consistency especially when they learn the values of your company and what you stand for.
- Create shareable and pinnable content: it’s very important that your posts reach many people. Let your prospects do it for you! People love to share their interests. Also, it’s undeniable that Pinterest has a lot of potential. Pinterest has a search function, unlike other platforms, that allows pins to be re-found and re-pinned months later. Content on Pinterest can get repeatedly re-pinned.
- Tell a story: instead of talking about your products, create a story that will get people to engage. Remember, the content has to catch the interest of the viewer.
- Mix different types of formats: richness is in diversity. Expand your message on different types of content (videos, infographics, articles etc.)
- Engage with your audience: the audience you have on Facebook is not the same one you have on Twitter. Make sure you create content appropriate to target everyone. And create a relationship with your customers by always asking for feedback and reviews, people will answer back.