Why Content Marketing Actually Works
We live in a content-driven world, where more and more businesses need to write articles to drive traffic, engage customers and generally get people talking about them. But how do you create content? What should it be about? When should you publish it? And why should you bother in the first place? In this article, I’ll tell you what content marketing is, how to get started, and why content marketing works so well.
What is Content Marketing?
Content marketing is a marketing strategy that relies on the creation and sharing of valuable, relevant, and consistent content to attract and retain a clearly-defined audience. It is primarily used by companies to increase brand awareness, attract new customers, engage, trust, and ultimately sell. It is the lifeblood of your business. It’s what makes you an authority in your field, building trust and establishing a relationship with prospects. It’s also the foundation of inbound marketing strategy.
Content Marketing can be done in many ways: blogs, videos, social media posts, infographics etc. as long as it has the ability to attract new customers for your business. This marketing technique has been proven to be one of the most effective methods for reaching potential customers and improving relationships with existing ones. It has become so popular that thousands of businesses are using it worldwide today.
Content marketing can be used by both small businesses and big brands. The more popular forms of content marketing include blogs, eBooks, white papers, webinars, infomercials, podcasts, and other creative ways that may not fall into any of these categories.
It’s Not Always Blogging
Content marketing doesn’t always mean blogging; in fact, it can also be other types of content like videos, photos, podcasts, case studies, lead magnets, and more. The key is to create or curate content that provides value to your target audience.
Content marketing is not just about publishing blog posts and hoping people will see them. It’s about creating valuable content that solves a problem for your target audience. It could be an article that helps your target audience learn something new, like this one. It could be a video that helps answer a question they need to be answered. It could be a podcast that speaks directly to their pain points.
Whether it’s a blog, a video, an e-book, an infographic, or a Facebook post—whatever form it takes, the purpose of content marketing is to bring value to your target audience. So, what should you write about? Where do you get fresh content?
Where Do You Get the Content?
It’s tempting to think that content is easy. That all we have to do is open our eyes, observe the world around us, and start writing. Many people who want to start businesses ask me where I find my content, and how I find it. The answer is: “I don’t know.”
There’s really no efficient way to get content but to experiment, take suggestions from readers, and maybe get lucky when an idea hits you. But then, there are ways to get ideas and material for your business blog or website.
First, you can use your own experience. This is valuable because you know more about your own life than anyone else does. But it’s also tricky because it’s tempting to be self-indulgent or even misleading. It’s not uncommon for people to write about their lives and then go back later and fill in the boring parts with made-up stuff so that their past seems more exciting than it really was.
Second, you can read other people’s blogs, books, and magazines. The danger here is that you will simply repost articles that you find interesting without adding anything new or personal. It is more work to put yourself into things you didn’t experience first-hand; but if you can manage it, it will make your blog a lot more interesting and helpful to your readers.
Third, you should read nonfiction books and articles by experts in various fields that are relevant to your business. This is a good way to learn the basics of your field so that you can talk about them–and the people who write these books are usually experts!
Why Content Marketing Works
Content marketing works because of the way well-optimized content spreads. The better your article is, the more readers you get, and the more readers you get, the more links you get. And the more links you get, the better your articles perform. It is a virtuous cycle and the hard part is getting into the cycle. Once you’re in, though, it can become self-supporting. You can outsource it, though that costs time and money. It’s usually easier to start with just one piece of great content and then use that as a stepping stone for other pieces of great content.
As said earlier, content marketing is the practice of creating and sharing valuable online content to attract, engage, and acquire customers. Note that “content” is not just a synonym for “text.” When using it correctly, content marketing involves audio and video production, infographics, webinars, ebooks and white papers—any format that delivers value to your audience.
This marketing strategy has become the default sales method for one simple reason: it works better than anything else out there. For example, sending email pitches straight into people’s inboxes almost never works anymore. But sending them helpful articles? That works very well indeed.
Content marketing works because it’s more efficient than other forms of marketing. Instead of interrupting people and hoping they remember your message, you’re providing them with the information they would otherwise have had to seek out on their own. That makes it more likely that they’ll pay attention and remember what they learn, creating a virtuous cycle in which the more useful your content is, the more widely read it becomes.
Final Thoughts
A good content marketing campaign is a little bit like being on the right kind of diet. If you have the right strategy, you’ll find that it can bring great results. If you don’t, you won’t see those results, and it may even look like poor results when they look at your traffic or engagement.
With the right approach to content and research, you can create a blog post that brings in readers (and potential clients/customers) and stand out from the crowd.
The insights above should give you an idea of what content marketing is, why it works, and how to get content ideas to take advantage of this great online marketing tool.
Recommended Reads:
5 Reasons Why Your Content Marketing Strategy is not Working
7 Benefits of Content Marketing for Small Businesses
5 Companies Dominating Content Marketing
