Most consumer groups shun traditional forms of marketing.
Today, many people use the ability to skip TV ads, bin junk mail and unsubscribe from marketing email to avoid blatant messages that say ‘buy me!’
Consumers increasingly want to create their own journey and this involves the desire to research whether a product or service is for them.
This journey begins with sourcing authoritative information that puts them in the driving seat and for companies supplying the products and services, they need or are interested in this means providing that information in an impartial way.
In a nut shell content marketing is…
…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.
Basically, content marketing is the art of communicating with your customers and prospects without selling. It is non-intrusive marketing. Instead of pitching your products or services, you are delivering information that empowers your buyer. The objective of a content marketing strategy is the belief that if businesses, deliver free, impartial, consistent, ongoing valuable information to customers and prospects they ultimately reward the business with their business and loyalty.
Content is the present – and future – of marketing
Content marketing relies on the use of blogs, corporate websites, social media, white papers and thought leadership pieces. In order to be effective it must be regularly added to and this can become labour intensive, requiring authors with technical and creative writing skills.
But the investment is worthwhile. Content marketing is not new and companies and organisations have been telling their stories for years. The difference now is there are powerful ways of telling the story to a very large audience. There are: over 600 million Facebook users, 50 million WordPress blogs and 25% of all marketing spend now goes on content.
In terms of PR the content that attracts the most customer and media attention is that written around issues. Great content makes customers eager to return to to see the latest installment. Content underpins a successful inbound marketing strategy. It creates and raises brand awareness, improves lead conversion, enhances customer service perception and helps to retain customers and subscribers.
If you want to learn more about, or need help with, content marketing then get in touch: [email protected]