Content Marketing – What Does It Mean Exactly?

We hear the words "content marketing" thrown around a lot, especially in those never-ending marketing meetings, right?

And there seems to be blurry lines between content marketing, advertising, social media posts, etc.

Let’s get the story straight, shall we?

According to the Content Marketing Institute:

"Content marketing is a marketing technique of creating and distributing valuable, relevant and consistent content to attract and acquire a clearly defined audience – with the objective of driving profitable customer action."

The key words in this definition are: VALUABLE - RELEVANT - CONSISTENT.

In a nutshell, content marketing should create a solution for a need; that’s what makes it valuable. This solution should be addressed to a specific target audience; that’s what makes it relevant. Doing this on a regular basis is where consistency comes in.

To make all of this interesting, there has to be a storytelling component and through different forms:

• A 'how to' guide
• An infographic
• A blog entry
• A video
• A podcast

The shift from advertising to content marketing was bound to happen; audiences are more skeptical than ever of traditional ads. However, they are willing to consume information that is valuable to them (i.e. content). This essentially makes the audience feel like there’s something in it for them.

Great! But what’s in it for you besides a lot of hard work?

Well, if you do it right, the benefits are many:

• A loyal following
• Heightened brand awareness
• Positive word of mouth
• More likelihood of converting leads into clients
• Enhanced SEO rankings
• Etc.

If you do it right...

If you want to talk to us about content marketing, connect with us.