What is CONTENT MARKETING?
Content marketing is a marketing strategy used to attract, engage, and retain an audience by creating and sharing relevant articles, videos, podcasts, and other media. This approach establishes expertise, promotes brand awareness, and keeps your business top of mind when it’s time to buy what you sell.
ABOUT CONTENT MARKETING.
Content marketing can help you attract leads, win more sales, and grow your business. From a search engine optimization standpoint, it can also help you increase the number of pages targeting specific keywords on your website. But it isn’t just about churning out piece after piece of optimized content, blogging every day, podcasting, etc. You need to know the basics that make content marketing work and the best practices that will set you apart from the competition.
You need to know how to define your target audience and create content that speaks directly to that persona. And then you have to learn how to create and promote awesome, useful, informative, educational, and inspirational content that will reach your audience at the right time. Whether you’re struggling with your current content marketing efforts, or you’re just getting started, you need to read this guide. It has something for every digital marketer looking to implement or improve their content marketing efforts. Inside, you’ll find the latest content marketing advice, sure to help you design a successful content marketing strategy for your organization.
DEFINATION OF CONTENT MARKETING.
“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.”
Content marketing is good for your bottom line and your customers Specifically, there are four key reasons and benefits for enterprises to use content marketing:
- Increased sales
- Cost savings
- Better customers who have more loyalty
- Content as a profit center
WHY IS CONTENT MARKETING SO IMPORTANT NOW A DAYS?
- 44% of direct mail is never opened
- 86% of people skip through tv commercials
- 84% of 25 to 34 year olds clicked off of a website because ads were “irrelevant or intrusive”
- 91% of email users have unsubscribed from a company email that they previously opted into
- Blogs, Social Media, and SEO have a below average cost per lead that traditional channels
TYPES OF CONTENT MARKETING.
Marketing is impossible without great content Regardless of what type of marketing tactics you use, content marketing should be part of your process, not something separate. Quality content is part of all forms of marketing:
- Social media marketing: Content marketing strategy comes before your social media strategy.
- SEO: Search engines reward businesses that publish quality, consistent content.
- PR: Successful PR strategies should address issues readers care about, not their business.
- PPC: For PPC to work, you need great content behind it.
- Inbound marketing: Content is key to driving inbound traffic and leads.
- Content strategy: Content strategy is part of most content marketing strategies.
TYPES OF CONTENT THAT CAN BE MARKETED.
- Articles
- Social media
- Blog posts
- eNewsletters
- Case Studies
- In-Person Events
- Videos
- White Papers
- Webinars
- Microsites
- Print Magazines
- Traditional Media
- Research Reports
- Branded Content
- Print Newsletters
- eBooks
- Podcasts
- Mobile Content
- Digital magazines
- Virtual Conferences
LEVELS OF CONTENT MARKETING MATURITY.
Level 1: Reactive •Just do it & see what happens. Little thought on management or impact.
Level 2:Tactical •Company is publishing content regularly but usually within silos.
Level 3: Integrated •The company is planning is occurring and interaction between different parts of the business (marketing is collaborating with sales, HR, finance, etc.)
Level 4: Managed •Content marketing is an important part of the company, with the appropriate team, review and publishing processes.
Level 5: Strategic •Content is an essential part of the company’s digital strategy, fully integrated into each marketing outlet, & recognized for its complexity & impact. Reporting is regular & the process is driven by data.
