Content! Content! Content!
What is it that is so important about content?
We are constantly being told we will only succeed in today’s competitive market with more and more content.
Not just any old content.
Well, just what do we need to do? How can we meet this demand?
In comes AI.
But can we rely on AI. Yes, up to a point. Using AI, at the push of a button, we can generate endless screeds of content like magic, but is that screed worth anything?
AI has its benefits but it also brings its issues.
Generating AI script is all very well, but if you do not tailor the outcome to your audience, you will soon see your audience dropping off.
Readers can tell if you are just producing raw AI script. And they do not like it. It frequently produces rubbish.
Your Customers are looking for something else,
Content that adds value.
So, where do we start.
So, what exactly is Content Marketing?
First, we need to have a clear understanding of what Content Marketing is.
Everyone is talking about Content Marketing but many of us do not know what they are talking about.
What is this nebulous concept that seems to evade us?
Content marketing is all about creating and distributing valuable, relevant, and consistent content to attract and retain a targeted audience.
“Content marketing is a strategic marketing approach focused on creating and distributing valuable, relevant, and consistent content to attract and retain a clearly defined audience — and, ultimately, to drive profitable customer action.”
(Content Marketing Institute)
The aim is to drive customers to buy through a call to action resulting from the persuasive message of the content you have produced.
Content Marketing as opposed to just content may sound novel and new to some of us but this is not a new concept.
The earliest record that has been found is that of Benjamin Franklin who in 1732 published Poor Richard’s Almanack to promote his printing business.
The Core Principles
The same core principles of content marketing that have been practiced over the decades and centuries apply equally today:
- Understanding your audience,
- Identifying what your audience values,
- Delivering educational and engaging content that generates trust.
Potential customers will not consider doing business without trust. And that trust must be in you or how you portray yourself.
That is what good and effective content marketing does.
The Role of Content in Building Relationships
Content is the way you communicate with visitors, leads, customers, and brand promoters. To engage your audience effectively, you must produce high-quality content.
We are all familiar with the ways to deliver content, blog posts, emails, web pages, social media, printed materials, and more.
The psychologists have a Content plays a critical role in moving individuals through the stages of marketing methodology.
Your content should:
- Attract the right audience to your website.
- Engage them with valuable insights that convert them into leads.
- Nurture and convert those leads into loyal customers.
- Delight your audience, turning satisfied customers into enthusiastic promoters of your brand.
To persuade people to convert, you need motivation, understanding, & a trigger, says @LouisaMcGrath.
Story Telling
The most important aspect of content marketing is the craft of telling a story. Tell a compelling narrative that educates and inspires your audience, enabling them to make informed decisions and you will have their attention.
You do not approach the customer directly with your products or services, buy this, buy that! Content marketing in the form of a compelling story focuses on promoting indirectly.
The secret is to be able to come to the purpose of your content indirectly by demonstrating and persuading customers of the benefits of your product in story.
The story must provide useful, entertaining, and insightful content that prospects and customers can enjoy and learn from.
To do this effectively you must develop a Content Marketing Strategy.
Developing a Successful Content Marketing Strategy
A well-executed content strategy enables businesses to:
- Plan long-term content initiatives.
- Create content that appeals to both human audiences and search engines.
- Incorporate video effectively into their content marketing efforts.
- Promote and analyze content performance for continuous improvement.
By concentrating on the four principles above your businesses could see the growth other companies have experienced, such as increasing organic (non-paid) search traffic by over 150% in just 10 months.
The problem we all have is, “how do we come up with the magic content?”
We can of course learn from others.
Join a Community of Content Marketers
One of the best ways to master content marketing is through collaboration with other marketers. Collaboration enables sharing insights, exchanging ideas, and discussing strategies.
Consider joining the Content Marketing Study Group on HubSpot Community,
https://community.hubspot.com/t5/Study-Groups/ct-p/study-groups
where professionals are shaping the future of content marketing.
Summary
Effective content marketing must help customers solve issues in their work or personal lives
You can see from this infographic from the Content Marketing Institute that content marketing is not new. Perhaps investigate what some of your predecessors have accomplished and how they did it.
