What Exactly Is Content Marketing?

content marketingContent marketing is using your content to build trust in your brand. Content Marketing Institute defines it as “the strategic marketing approach 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.” Essentially what that boils down to is creating endearing content that gains consumer’s trust. You create content to keep readers coming back to your site and to keep them interested in what you have to say. Content Marketing steers away from the traditional selling of your product and leans more into building a relationship with your clientele/readers through the content you create. Content marketing is not about selling a product, it’s about building trust in your brand to keep people coming back.

There might be some confusion about what the difference between content marketing and traditional marketing is. The main difference is that with content marketing, the user is seeking your brand out for information instead of you using traditional marketing methods to get your product in front of someone. In traditional marketing you would pay for an advertisement on a commercial. With content marketing you are making that same commercial, but putting it on your YouTube channel or social media page and letting people interested in products you offer find it organically. Sites like Facebook and Twitter really lend to the push for content marketing. When you write a post on social media you are doing so to gain followers and likes, but it doesn’t necessarily mean you are trying to sell your product with that post. The goal is to lead readers to want to purchase your product.

How Does It Work?

Content marketing draws the reader to your site. It brings them in by calling their attention to a need they have. If you’re selling cars, tell them about why buying a new car, or keeping up on maintenance, is important. Another approach you can take is to create interesting content about different types of vehicles. Doing a weekly blog or video about a different car you have for sale is letting the clientele know that you are a reliable company that knows what you’re talking about. Making content that relates to the product you are selling while being educational is important. You are educating your consumers/readers on something that is exciting to them and makes them interested in the company. Content marketing is not about showcasing a product, it’s about creating engaging content that pertains to that product.

Creating endearing content that makes sense to your target audience is key. If you want to build a relationship with readers in the auto industry, posting content about flowers would be irrelevant to them and would most likely make them feel as though you are not a reliable source for their needs. Staying on brand is an important way to continue to keep readers interested. It’s not to say that you can’t post about various holidays or something related to the community you’re in, but if you do make sure that you make it relevant to you. Look for quirky holidays that have to do with what you’re selling or doing and make something related to those holidays. This could be as easy as a social media post or a quick video celebrating the holiday.

Start with A Road Map

When you’re first making the strides towards content marketing, have a map to help guide you. It is important to understand where you began and where you want to end. From there you, can figure out the journey in between. First you need to plan out what your goals are. Who are you trying to reach? What is it that you want to say? What is it, specifically, about your brand that you want to improve upon? Are you trying to gain more conversion or just grow your audience? These are important questions that need to be asked.  Once you answer those questions, set an attainable goal like growing your impressions or conversions by a specific amount. If you do not have a goal in mind, the content you are creating might end up being a waste of time and resources.

Once you understand your goal you can start determining what content might help you achieve it. If you want more followers on YouTube make more videos about your product. If you want to grow sales for a specific item, focus on posts that pertains to that item. Knowing how you’re going to reach your destination will help you make content that aligns with that goal. A big part of content marketing is making sure that you are having fun with it. If you are not excited about the product then that will show. Depending on your audience, making a post bright and fun might be a way to gain their attention. Play around with different styles of content too. If something is not working for you look for a way to change up your approach.

Why Should You Use Content Marketing?

Why should you get into content marketing? It’s simple! This is the way of the future and is something that every company is turning to. YouTube videos, TikToks, blog posts, you name it! Content marketing is everywhere and without it your company might fall to the wayside. The goal of content marketing is to cultivate an audience that trusts you. Their trust will bring you revenue because they know your brand and believe in it.

Another important reason why, is that content marketing is much cheaper! It is said that content marketing is 41% less expensive than paid search and about 62% less than outbound marketing. Spending money on content that stays on your website and keeps bringing people in is much more effective than spending money on something that is not permanent. It is important to move towards content marketing. It can be a fun, effective, and less expensive way to gain and retain consumers!

Do you need a boost with your content marketing? Let our experts here at Source Group help you today!