Content Marketing Fundamentals

Content Marketing

The New Wave of Digital Marketing

Content marketing is perhaps the most natural of all of the different types of marketing. In content marketing, businesses create content such as blogs, infographics and videos that talk about the company and its industry. The content doesn’t necessarily seem like advertising to the reader, but it’s a very powerful tool that’s effective at inspiring leads to make a purchase.

The Genius Behind Content Marketing
When someone is preparing to make a big purchase, they’re likely to do research about the product. They want to know what they should look for, how much they should spend and what types of post-purchase costs may be necessary. Such a search can lead an individual to all corners of the Web, and it’s very difficult for anyone to know if they’re getting accurate information.

That’s where content marketing comes in. Companies that use content marketing create content that answers all of these questions, enabling an individual to gather all of the necessary knowledge from one source. Since this individual has learned everything they need to know from one source, it would behoove them to make the purchase from that company. The company can then continue to provide information about this purchase, maximizing customer satisfaction and increasing the potential for that customer to share his or her experience with others.

It’s such a simple concept, yet it works wonders for the companies that use it. In short, content marketing identifies potential pain points for customers, provides the solutions to these needs, and encourages leads to turn from interested lurkers into paid customers.

Principles of Quality Content

Relevant, Specific, Shareable

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Getting Started with Content Marketing

One of the biggest problems beginning content marketers face is not knowing where to start. They see other companies with hundreds of pieces of content and feel as though they can’t compete. But you have to start somewhere. Create great content, and volume will take care of itself.

Finding the Right Format
In today’s world, content can mean many different things. Most modern content consists of blogs, but videos and podcasts are becoming very popular as well. Experiment and see what works best for you, both in terms of sending your message and increasing viewer engagement. You can also repurpose content; for example, a blog can become the script for a video on YouTube.

A Diverse Approach
It can be tempting to dump all of your knowledge into one piece – for example, a starter’s guide to your industry. However, going this route will result in one long piece that readers will be too intimidated to read. Instead, your best bet is to take all of the different components of that starter’s guide and create individual articles for all of those concepts. This will not only result in a higher number of pieces on your site, but they’ll be more tailored to each individual person as they move along the sales funnel.

Ideas for Content
Coming up with new content ideas can be a challenge, especially as you get to the point where you feel like you’ve discussed your entire industry already. When you get to this point – or even if you’re just getting started – think of the questions that people ask when they’re in your store. You can also look at the search terms that lead people to your site.

Content Marketing Tactics

Spreading the Word
Great content is only great if people have a way to find that content. Creating a system for sharing your content is just as important as the quality of the content itself. A streamlined method for distributing content will help you to spread the word, and more significantly, create the potential for your content to go viral.

The best ways to let the world know about your content are:

Email: Encouraging readers to sign up for your email list is the best way to generate customer loyalty. You can email your customers every time you have new content ready.
Social Media: Posting your content to social media can help you expose your work to a new audience.
Offline Methods: Business cards and flyers can direct people to your site. Email and social media will take care of the rest.

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Content Marketing Fundamentals