The last pure form of marketing
Content marketing, in my opinion, is the last pure form of marketing.
In a world that has become saturated with obnoxious and/or pretentious billboards, radio & TV spots and flashing web banners, the only way to really market to a potential customer is by creating great content,
The format is irrelevant; It could be a podcast, magazine, blog, infographic, mobile app, PDF whitepaper, video or anything else. The point is it is free content that offers value to customers, potential customers or colleagues so that they book mark it, comment, share, or post a link to it on their own websites.
It's also the form of marketing that levels the playing field, letting small companies compete with larger ones, due to the fact that it's not based off of who can spend the most on ads. Anyone can create content, it's just a matter of having the right idea, make it original and focused and execute it professionally.
If you make content at the centre of your web strategy, then it will branch out and affect every other part:
- Social engagement will increase because people are sharing and discussing your content.
- Organic search rankings will increase because people are sharing and discussing it.
- Your reputation will increase because people trust and value your content, making them more likely to subscribe to your content (i.e. sign up for an email newsletter, subscribe to a podcast etc.)
Quite a bit better than relying on an ad to accomplish the above goals, no?
I'd recommend an organization of any size to try out content marketing and see if it can work for you. If you already have a marketing budget, try reducing your print, radio, TV or web banner budget and moving some of the budget over towards getting a team to help brainstorm, curate and execute content. If you are really small, try dedicating your own time towards the same approach, although embracing your limitations. For example, if you're a great writer but don't have a clue about photography or video editing, than a video piece may not be the place to start unless you know someone who can help you execute.
Once your piece is created, share it. Of course there's the obvious Facebook and Twitter posts, but here are some other ideas to spread the word:
- Approach a blog or magazine with your content, but try to do it without being spammy. Many websites are looking for content to share, so this may be just what they need, but make sure to target the right type of website. For example, when I wrote the ExpressionEngine Client Guide, I approached other ExpressionEngine blogs and the official forum to let them know about the guide and most of them wrote a piece on it.
- If you already have an email newsletter that goes out every so often, include the content in your newsletter with a link back to the original post.
- If your blog is not well-read, try pitching your post to another blog with a higher readership. In almost every case, you will get your bio posted on the article with a link back to your site.
- You could try leaving a comment on another websites' blog, but be careful about how you link to your piece. Most blogs will strip out links in comments, or mark them as spam, so it's good to clearly explain why your content is relevant and post your link without the http:// so users have to copy the link and paste it in their URL bar.
These are just a few ideas to let content marketing work for you. Do you have any other ideas on how to get your content out there for people to read and share? Please leave it in the comments below.
