Useful content is the best content – Part 1
Content is a buzzword that is thrown around in marketing circles like the latest new gadget – we just love it! Content excites us because it is one of the best, and least intrusive forms of online and digital marketing.A marketing campaign has one or two main aims, to sell more product and/or increase the customer and fan base, to ensure a healthy future supply of loyal customers. Paid adverts online or in print, search engine marketing and online reputation management are all important factors in a successful marketing strategy but content is fast becoming much more important as a factor in its own right, and also as a base from which to develop a more integrated and cohesive strategy for the future.
Content can mean photos or infographics, it could be blogs and/or vlogs, and social media is one of the best ways to get your content seen and shared.It's not as simple as taking a picture of your latest product and chucking it up on Facebook with a caption devised in seconds; content marketing has to be considered and planned to get the best reaction from brand fans and loyal customers alike. Social media is a great way to spread content, and social channels such as YouTube, provide a platform on which to host content like videos, webinars and even filmed podcasts.Content posted to a brand channel can then be shared on other social channels and be found by channel subscribers straight away, getting views and shares before you have even closed your browser.
The type of content that is well received must be informative and useful to your customers rather than salesy and promotional; there is so much media out there to consume that advertisers have to work a lot harder to make their content worthwhile to watch – if there's something better, more useful, or shorter out there then people will spend their time on that. Of course, you can create longer videos if you have enough to say, because those who are interested will be suitably hooked to watch until the end; be guided by the depth of your expertise.
Content marketing can underpin the foundations of a broader digital marketing strategy as it naturally creates something to market - rather than driving your customer straight to a sale with your marketing activities, nudge them towards your content instead.Research suggests that a potential customer makes a purchase after 4 interactions with a brand via a social channel, so by marketing your content rather than your product you can encourage potential customers to build a relationship with your company based on the value of your content.These customers become loyal ones, and even brand ambassadors on social media, if they are sharing your content with their personal network.
If your company already has an integrated marketing strategy which encompasses all viable channels and media it is not too late to work content marketing in – what might have been planned as an infographic could take the form of a short presentation, and where a picture was planned to post a video could include a lot more images and angles of the same item in a way which appeals to your customers.
Join us in part 2 where we discuss vlogs and webinars – a content type that is hot right now.
