Ever heard the phrase “content is king”? How about “content marketing”? The quote “content is king” originated in an essay Microsoft founder, Bill Gates, wrote in 1996. But just like the “new black” in terms of fashion, the content will never go out of style.
Content marketing (or rather good content marketing) focuses on the customer rather than the brand. It’s about attracting consumers to your brand rather than dispelling them with a hard sell.
Long story short - it’s about the consumer and not you.
Let’s dive into content marketing and explore why it’s important for your business.
What is Content Marketing?
The Content Marketing Institute, an online resource for information on all things content marketing related, defines content marketing as:
“...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 buzzword here is value. What content can you share with your audience that’s valuable while staying relevant to your business? Content includes anything from videos and infographics to images that you’ve curated for select posts. For real estate, it might be sharing tips on how to buy and sell your home, interior design trends, or market updates, while if your business is related to wellness, you might share tips to practice a healthy lifestyle or address diet trends.
The point is to share content that is relevant to your industry and valuable to the audience you’re trying to reach.
Another important part of content marketing is staying consistent. Posting once or twice a week or whenever you can remember won’t cut it - you have to be consistent! Set a schedule for your content and use it as a guide when posting to social media.
Why Content Marketing?
Okay, so you know what content marketing is now, but why do you need it? The truth is you need content marketing to create awareness of your product or service and to educate your audience as well. Think about it - how did you discover the last business you fell in love with? Was it word of mouth, an actual advertisement, or some photo or article you found? More often than not - especially with newer generations - the answers will be great content. That’s why it’s so important to keep your content strong.
What is good content?
If you want an example of good content, just take a look at anything you’ve read or purchased lately. What drove you to make that purchase? What made you want to read (and keep reading) that article?
That’s what we like to call great content.
It’s marketing without entirely fitting into the traditional definition. It’s materials created not to sell but to educate and create awareness for your industry. Think guest blogs, internal blogging, newsletters, infographics, short videos, and more. Great content is something that captures your attention and leaves you wanting more.
Here are some examples of types of content:
Educational Articles
E-books
Videos
Entertainment
What now?
It’s time to rethink your marketing. Try creating content that’s unique to your business by sitting back and snapping a few behind-the-scenes pics, doing short interviews with employees or even of yourself, or writing a blog that addresses current events in your industry.
Now get out there and create some content!
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