If you've ever dipped your toe into the world of marketing, you've probably heard the term "content marketing" being thrown around. But have you ever wondered what the term meant, but thought that it should be obvious seeing as though everyone uses it? Well, don't worry, we're in the business of being jargon-free, so we'll let you in on what everyone is talking about.
What is content marketing?
Content marketing is the technique of creating and distributing valuable, relevant, and consistent content to attract an audience with the objective of driving profitable customer action.
There's certainly a lot to unpack here but the main thing to remember is that your content has to be valuable to your audience. One way to tell whether a piece of marketing can be classed as content marketing is if people seek it out, do they want to look at it and know what it's about?
So now you know how it can be defined, how can you give your audience content that they want to view?
Types of content marketing
There are many different types of content marketing that can take place, but it would be almost impossible to compile a full list. So we'll focus on the 5 main types of content marketing that you can carry out.
Infographics
Generally speaking, these are long, vertical images that include graphs, charts and statistics, as well as other useful information. Infographics are easy to share through social media and can be posted on websites.
Webpages
Have you ever viewed a webpage that talks you through a specific problem and thought "that's really useful, I'll use the information there another time"? The fact that you've thought about using the information on there, rather than just discarding it is what makes it content marketing. Even better if you think the information is good enough that you can share it with others who are experiencing the same problems as you.
Podcasts
Give your listeners useful information for free and they'll be more likely to remember you in the future. Also, you may have people who request for you to be a speaker at the events if you're charismatic enough. This can lead to you getting your name out there to an even bigger audience.
Videos
Videos can be seen as expensive to make and produce, but since the launch of TikTok, there has been a surge in companies trying to cash in on the video market. Even a short, 30 second, video could help you and your business be seen and get people interesting in your business and your brand.
Books
You might think that if you've written a book you can see it and that's the end of the journey. But you can also use them as marketing tools. If you're in a niche market, write your book on some of the methods you use in business and guide people into signing up for any courses you're running in line with the book. Don't forget, you can then be introduced as "Author of..." when networking.
Why carry out content marketing?
Now we've looked at what it is and some of the forms it can take, why should you carry out content marketing?
In times gone by, marketers would only reach out to people who were interested in their business and buying their products, but that left an untapped market of people who were carrying out research.
When people are researching a problem they have, they might not be aware of all the problems they are facing, or the different businesses that can help them. By doing content marketing, you're helping these people explore their problem and putting yourself in the position of being someone that can help them. Then when they are ready to make a purchase, they'll be more likely to remember the help you provided them and come back to you.
Any content marketing you produce can also help to support any other digital channels you have running. Such as sharing your blog updates on Facebook, or your podcasts on LinkedIn.
How do I get started?
If you want to have a go at content marketing yourself, one of the first things you can do is have a blog on your website and regularly update it with fresh content. If you're too busy to do one post per week, try for one a month, something is better than nothing. If you still don't think you have time for this, reach out to us and we'll be more than happy to take a look into this for you.
Just remember, create great, valuable content and people will come to you.
So what's the secret?
There is no secret, just keep it valuable. If you're not sure whether someone will like your content because it's all fluff with very little substance, then it's probably time to re-work your content to make it more valuable.
If you're not sure what content your audience wants, reach out to your customers and ask them what they would like to see from you. It really can be that simple.
If you want to talk to us about content marketing for your business, then feel free to reach out to us today.
