When you think of marketing, you think of advertising right? Marketing doesn’t always have to be a blatant pitch about your products or company. Instead, marketing could be something useful, informative and most importantly, shareable. Yes, shareable. One of the best methods of getting your company out there is through content marketing. While you’ve probably heard of it, do you really know what it is and how it works?
Content is More than Words
Content marketing isn’t just a single thing. Most people make the mistake of confusing content with text only, such as articles or blog posts. Content is so much more. A few of the most popular examples include:
- Social media
- eBooks
- Infographics
- Images
- Videos
- Blogging
- Articles
Usually, you’ll create a mix of the above. For instance, you might write a blog and then interact with your followers on Twitter or Facebook after each post. You could then combine some of the most popular posts into a free eBook on your site that will then lead to list building as visitors provide their email address to download the book. As you can see, one type of content marketing easily leads to others.
Teach, Don’t Preach
Content marketing is all about teaching and engaging both your current customers and future customers. Give them the knowledge they need to make the most of your products and services. Offer them advice on how to make their lives easier. Information is marketing gold because visitors to your site absolutely love getting something for free. The object is to market yourself as an authority on the topic. After all, the more visitors trust you, the more likely they are to become a customer and recommend you to their friends and family. If all you do is promote your products and services, visitors tend to shy away and have no reason to come back to your site.
A Few Simple Rules
You can’t just slap something together and expect it to work. Content marketing does require you to learn a few basic rules. Follow them and you’ll see success. Ignore them and all your efforts will be for nothing.
- Create compelling, shareable content. Avoid fluff and write something even you’d like to read.
- Content can tie back to your brand, but it shouldn’t be solely about your brand. Teach, don’t advertise.
- Tell a story whenever possible. Stories give your visitors something they can relate to, meaning they’ll then be able to relate to your brand.
- Be personable by using a narrative voice. You want to engage your visitors, not make them feel like their back in school listening to the world’s most boring lecture.
Essentially, use content marketing to truly speak to your audience and turn customers into friends. The results can be incredible when done correctly.
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