Content Marketing: What it is and How to do it
Content marketing is one of those buzzwords that everyone uses and not many understand what it is. In this article, we’ll show you what it is and suggest ways for your company or organization to get started.
Definition: Content marketing is the process of publishing written and visual material online to help attract more leads for your business. Examples of content marketing include blog posts, web pages, ebooks, infographics, podcasts, video posts and more.
In content marketing, all these devices are purposefully tailored to your target audience so they will find you the inbound way – clicking on a post or message or ad or responding to a video or podcast or anything else you produce. The customer responds and comes to you to find out more about your company and its products and services. Studies show that customers arriving inbound are more effective than outbound marketing, which is disruptive and often irritating to your customers.
What can content marketing do?
It can educate customers about your products and services and boost conversion rates. It helps build relationships between your business and your customers, which helps increase loyalty. It shows your audience how your company’s products can solve their problems and fit their needs. And it creates a sense of community between and among you and your customers.
There are several different types of content marketing.
Online content marketing means setting up for website pages to invite reaction and response. A strong online content marketing strategy will help you rank higher in search engine results and get you in front of the right audience.
Social media content marketing help you get in front of the 4.2 billion worldwide social media users, on Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, LinkedIn, Snapchat and all the others.
Infographic content marketing uses graphics to display content, information and data in easy-to-understand formats. Simple wording, short statements and clear images help to effectively communicate your message and make it simple so all can quickly and easily understand it.
Blog content marketing is a powerful form of inbound content with multiple uses. You can promote your own content or link to external sources via links, social share buttons and product information.
Podcast content marketing is a fast-growing segment of the marketplace and can be used to explore many aspects of your company and its products. You control the cadence of episodes, who is on the podcast, where you advertise it and how long each episode is.
Video content marketing is similar, and a great way to promote your brand. Video marketing can boost conversions, improve ROI and help build relationships with your target audience. And it can be shared on social media, website landing pages or in your blog posts.
How to get started:
- Set Goals
Decide what you want to accomplish in your content marketing program. Increase website traffic? Increase blog engagement? Generate more leads? Increase sales? Build customer loyalty?
- Target the audience
Before you start producing content, define your target audience. Think about who buys your products and services, and then decide the best way to reach that audience. If you cater the content to match the needs of the customer, you will get much better response.
- Choose a format
There are blogs, newsletters, social media, ebooks, webinars, infographics, podcasts and videos … which ones to utilize depends on your company’s bandwidth and your own expertise. And remember: you don’t have to do it all at once. Start with a few content outlets and build slowly.
- Strategize
Brainstorm the topics to cover, create an editorial calendar, hand out assignments to writes, website managers and social media managers. After a few months, measure results and adjust as necessary.
- Measurement
Speaking of measuring, without good data tracking, it’s hard to know what pieces of content are performing well, and which are not. Activate all your data analytic account, consider investing in a marketing data platform and then regularly study the results.
There are a lot of moving parts in a content marketing program. But you don’t have to start them all at once. Pick one or two that sound do-able for your company and begin. Keep producing good content, look for feedback from customers and study the data analysis.
Over time, add more elements and eventually your content marketing will show excellent results.
And, of course, you can use the experienced resource that is Fuel Media. We’ve been helping our clients begin, roll out and evaluate their content marketing programs for years. And we’re always ready to help with yours!
