If you are a business owner who provides goods or services to literally anyone – content marketing is for you. If you’ve never heard this phrase before, or if the term “marketing” makes you sweat, hang in there. I’m going to break down exactly what content marketing is, the different ways it can be used and how it can help you grow your business and expand your audience.
What exactly is Content Marketing?
Content marketing is a marketing strategy in which materials are produced and distributed by a company with no mention of the product or services that company sells. These materials can be in the form of a blog post, newsletter, email, video or just about any other form of communication you can think of. Content marketing offers value by providing relevant information or entertainment to your target audience.
If that is as clear as mud, let me follow that up with an example:
Joe is a financial planner and he wants to implement content marketing to increase his client base. He has a facebook page and a website, but he never gets any engagement when he posts about the services he offers. He decides to give content marketing a try. He starts a blog on his website where he shares financial planning tips for young families. He starts posting a “tip a day” on his social media outlets by giving current information based on trends in the financial market. He never mentions his services. Here’s the key – you don’t need to be a current customer or even looking for a financial planner for this information to be useful. Joe is providing value to his potential customers by giving them something for nothing. He’s building trust in his brand and his service by cementing himself as an authority in his field. Who do you think people will think of when they do need a financial planner?
A real life example of a massive content marketing campaign is the website BabyCenter. If you’ve ever been pregnant, you know exactly what website I’m talking about. BabyCenter has it all – educational articles, interactive apps, community forums and an enormous email list. Do you know who owns BabyCenter? Johnson and Johnson. Yup, one of the biggest manufacturers of baby and children’s products operates a giant content marketing machine that has become one of the most trusted resources for pregnancy information on the internet.
What are the different ways content marketing can be used?
Content marketing is all about engaging your target audience by adding value to their lives. This value can be in the form of informational, educational or entertaining content. The difference between plain ‘ole marketing and content marketing is that you are not advertising your product or service. The sky is the limit when it comes to methods that can be utilized for effective content marketing. Some of the best campaigns are the most creative. Here’s a list of the most common forms of content marketing:
Blog posts
Most companies have a website that also has the capability of housing a blog. One of the advantages of starting a blog is that posting consistent content can help you rank higher in web searches. Have you heard of search engine optimization (SEO)? A big part of optimizing your website for searches is posting consistent, relevant content. The better your SEO practices, the higher you will rank in searches, which will drive far more eyes to your site than you could hope to do with just a website full of static pages.
Social Media
Now that you know what content marketing is, I’m going to bet that you’ll start noticing it everywhere, especially on social media. Do you follow a furniture company that posts articles or photos with tips on home decorating? Content marketing. What about a parenting website that shares funny memes? Content Marketing. Have you ever noticed a clothing company posting inspirational quotes about body image? Content marketing. What about health care professionals that post updates about seasonal illnesses and tips for staying healthy? Con-tent-mar-ket-ing. Social media is a good way to get your feet wet and experiment with different types of content to see what your audience responds to.
Email Lists
Companies start email lists to have yet another way to engage and inform their current or potential customers. Although they still traditionally contain information about sales, specials and new products, they can easily become another method of delivering valuable content to consumers.
How Can I Implement Content Marketing in My Business?
Whether you started your business last week or you have a well-established company with dozens of employees, you can implement content marketing to your advantage. Here are some key items to help you get started:
1. Identify your target audience. If you haven’t already done so, this is critical. Take some time to develop a customer avatar and keep this hypothetical person in mind when you are developing your strategy.
2. Brainstorm potential areas of interest. What is your customer interested in? What are their biggest concerns and fears? Use this information to your (and your customers) advantage. Win-win!
3. Steal like an artist. Pay attention to what other companies are doing and copy their strategies. I’m not talking about plagiarizing content, I’m talking about using methods that are already working in your target market.
4. Re-evaluate and revise. Sometimes an idea seems much better in theory than in practice. The bottom line is this: you will try things that won’t work. Cross that dud off your list and move on. Set a concrete date on your calendar to evaluate your current content marketing strategy and to make adjustments.
Putting it all together
When most business owners hear about content marketing for the first time, many of them say “Oh, I didn’t realize it, but I’m already doing that!”. Maybe you are already sharing funny memes or helpful tips with your customers. But now that you know what it is, you can be more intentional and consistent in what you share.
If you are feeling overwhelmed with the endless possibilities that content marketing could offer your business, take a deep breath. Don’t worry about optimizing every social media channel and starting a blog and sending weekly email blasts. Set an attainable goal and then follow through.
The most important thing is consistent content. I could go on for pages about sales funnels, perfecting your content and delivering it through the right channels. But none of that matters if you aren’t doing it at all. Start small and watch your business grow.
