What is content marketing?
Let’s start with what your audience doesn’t want.
Customers don’t want to be preached at. They don’t want a list of products. They don’t want their leisure activities to be interrupted.
They don’t want to sit through another boring sales presentation, but they also won’t buy a product until they understand and trust the brand.
Bottom line, we’ve all gotten really good at ignoring traditional advertising.
What is your audience really looking for?
They want brands to:
listen
offer assistance
and solve problems, in a natural, organic way.
This can be achieved through content marketing.
Content marketing can seem overwhelming for many small-to-medium businesses and entrepreneurs. It can be “easier” to simply spend more on traditional advertising, but this can be a costly mistake.
What is Content Marketing?
Content marketing is an inbound marketing strategy used to create and maintain a connection between a brand and its audience.
As a tactic, content marketing is the act of planning, creating and publishing interesting, valuable and unique content pieces, such as social media, video, blogs and other media that attract, resonate and convert potential customers.
The Central Goal of Content Marketing
When a marketing team is creating a piece of content, the central aim is to add value for the audience, thereby increasing sales through greater awareness and education about a brands products and services.
The organic response from content marketing can be incredibly powerful in its reach and longevity.
For example, a blog post can be repurposed in a multitude of ways, boosting long-term SEO and providing content for social media, infographics and video marketing. A great piece of content can amplify a brand for months and even years to come, making it incredibly valuable when executed correctly.
The Bigger Question Surrounding Content Marketing
Between Pinterest, email, YouTube, Instagram and everything else out there jockeying for viewers, the umbrella of media is too vast for almost any brand to excel at.
The real question is: “What platforms offer the best access to your ideal customer?”
Answering that question is going to require a deep dive into:
your customer persona
qualified testing between content types and placement
….BUT when quality content and placement align, the organic value to the brand is unmatched.
Getting Started with Content Marketing in Three Steps
STEP ONE.
Conduct a thorough customer analysis which should include facts and stories about your ideal customer including:
Personal and/or Professional Goals
What they pay attention to, what grabs them
Human qualities
What do they do? Daily? Weekly? How & where do they spend their free time?
Their work life balance and structure
What do they think?
Pain Points
Opportunities
Basic Data (but don’t make assumptions based on this!)
STEP TWO.
Once you have a clear idea of where your audience is most likely to notice your content, you’ll be able to choose your media combinations.
Pick 2-3 content combinations to test. Set your goals.
Start small and stay focused. Define your niche and don’t stray.
**
SIDE BAR: What does that mean? To me, if it doesn’t feel right for your brand, don’t do it. This isn’t the excuse you have been looking for to avoid reels and video; sorry.
However, if your potential customer wouldn’t feel validated by the content you’re creating, don’t let the advice of “experts” force you into something that doesn’t seem like a good fit. I believe that entrepreneurs have an inherent ability to “get” their customer. Hold on to that! Also, don’t get tempted to journey too far outside your niche, unless there is a BIG upside.
END SIDE BAR
**
STEP THREE.
Review what you’ve learned in steps 1 and 2 and compare it to your unique value proposition. Does everything align? This is important!
If there is alignment, now is the time to start brainstorming up a killer piece of content that will grab the attention and respect of the target audience. If not, spend a little bit more time refining steps 1 through 3.
Do you need help?
It’s totally ok to say, “This isn’t for me”. In fact, many of my clients don’t have the time, interest or skill set to create high quality content.
Reach out to me you understand the benefits of content marketing, but just cant quite get it right. We can work together on strategy or content creation that will help build your brand and increase sales.