Content Marketing
Do you remember the “Buzz” marketing phenomena of several years ago? Many books were written on the subject and many believed that it was the future of brand building. What happened was that the “Buzz” created a lot of noise but produced little in the way of lasting results.
In my opinion, the “Buzz” was a marketing ploy, created for the purpose of getting people to talk about something without any worthwhile content to support it.
Today, we have a new marketing slogan, “Content Marketing”. According to Wikipedia, “Content marketing is any marketing format that involves the creation and sharing of media and publishing content in order to acquire customers. This information can be presented in a variety of formats, including news, video, white papers, e-books, info graphics, case studies, how-to guides, questions and answer articles, photos, etc.
Content marketing is focused not on selling, but on simply communicating with customers and prospects. The idea is to inspire business and loyalty from buyers by delivering “consistent valuable information”.
Content marketing requires a lot of planning; it’s not something that just happens. Content marketing has to be sustainable and has to be carried on in every aspect of a marketing process. It has to start with your own story, followed by that of your company. Benefits, value and trust are the three main building blocks when creating good content. Value is gained when the content is provided. Benefits are explained and then delivered when the product or service is purchased and Trust creation is woven into every move that is made by the business and all its representatives.
The delivery of the “content” has to be carefully planned so that it reaches the right target market. The vehicle that delivers this content also has to be geared towards the recipient. If the target market is centers of influence then the appropriate content and delivery vehicle has to be selected.
If the “content” is properly presented and delivered, then price becomes a smaller factor in the final purchase decision.
THere are many different aspects and approaches to content marketing. My purpose is to help you learn about options available to help grow your business and to inspire you to seek counsel to reach your objectives.
Listen, and learn with an open mind and heart, even if you think you know better. Nick J. Petra
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