Content Marketing is a form of inbound marketing that focuses 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 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 Strategies

What Are Content Strategies

Content strategies are a way of thinking, planning and executing content that is designed to deliver a specific purpose. In the digital world, content strategies have become more important than ever before.
With the number of people using social media platforms, e-commerce sites and mobile apps increasing year after year, it’s essential for businesses to have a strategy in place to reach their target audience.

Content strategies can be broken down into three main categories:

Content marketing – This refers to creating content that will attract potential customers or promote your product or service.

Brand marketing – Content that promotes your brand or company culture.

Communication strategy – This involves communicating with customers about new products or services and keeping them up-to-date on the latest news and information about your company and its products/services.

Content Marketing – Intro

Content marketing is not a new term but it has gained prominence over the last few years.

According to CMI’s global content marketing survey 2016, 84% of organizations surveyed used content marketing regularly or occasionally (compared to only 27% in 2014).

The survey also revealed that 76% of B2B marketers say they are effective at producing content. And 75% of B2C marketers say they are effective at producing content.

Content marketing is an umbrella term for all of these elements:

  • Creating compelling content (blog posts or videos) that informs readers about your company’s products/services or entertains them enough to keep reading.
  • Distributing that content via social media networks (Facebook, Twitter), email newsletters and other channels where people go for information about products/services like yours.

What Are The Best Content Marketing Strategies?

 Content marketing is a powerful way to build relationships with customers. Content marketing strategies include blogs, social media, email newsletters, and more.

Here are some of the most effective content marketing strategies:

Blogs.

Blogs are a great way to engage customers and share information about your business.

You can write about your products and services or write about industry trends and news. You can also share customer stories on your blog to help build trust with potential buyers.

Social Media Posts.

Social media posts are another great way to engage customers and share information about your business.

You can post pictures of your products or office space on Instagram or other social media platforms, or you can use videos to show people how-to do things like use your product or service in their everyday lives.

Ebooks/reports/white Papers/etc.

Ebooks, reports, white papers and other forms of content are good ways to educate people about the value of your product or service  without having them buy it first! For example, if you sell dog training services, you could publish an ebook entitled “How to Train Your Dog in 5 Easy Steps” that teaches people how they can train their dog themselves instead of paying someone else to do it for them.

1. The Rise Of Conversational Marketing

 Conversational marketing is the art of using messaging, like text messages or email, to engage in a dialogue with your customers. It’s an effective way to interact with your audience and build relationships.

   

Conversational marketing is becoming more and more popular. The number of consumers who prefer messaging over other forms of communication is growing by the day.

According to a recent study, 85% of people prefer receiving text messages over any other form of communication. This is why conversational marketing strategies are becoming so influential in the marketing world today.

The rise of conversational marketing has also caused brands to embrace a new type of marketing: live chat support. Live chat allows businesses to interact with customers in real-time via a chat window on their website or mobile app.

Conversational Marketing The Power Of The Bot

 Be honest: How much time do you spend on social media every day?

If you’re like most people, the answer is probably “a lot.” According to a recent study by the Pew Research Center, 69% of U.S. adults use Facebook, while 71% use YouTube, and 68% use Twitter.

And according to another study by Pew, those three platforms alone account for more than half of Americans’ total time spent on mobile apps.

To put it simply: People are spending an enormous amount of time on social media — and if you’re not using it to build your business, then you’re missing out on an opportunity.

As consumers’ time spent on these platforms continues to grow, so does their engagement with bots. According to Sparxoo’s 2017 State of Chatbot Marketing report , 54% of consumers have interacted with a chatbot in the past month — up from 46% in 2016.

Conversational Marketing Be Playful With Your Bot

There are a lot of companies that are using bots to engage with their customers. If you’re not familiar with this, it’s the idea that you can have a computer program that is conversing with people in a way that feels like they’re talking to another person.

It’s really cool technology and it’s something that’s been around for quite a while, but recently it’s become more mainstream and companies are starting to use this in their marketing efforts.

   

So, why should you be using bots? Well, if you’re not already using them then maybe we can convince you by pointing out some of the benefits:

1. They’re cost-effective – Bots are much cheaper than hiring someone full time to do these types of tasks. So if you have a small budget but still want to get some results from your marketing efforts then this could be the solution for you.

2. You can automate repetitive tasks – If there are certain things that need doing every day or week (such as posting content on social media), then having a bot do this for you means that it will be done without any extra effort from yourself or your team members.

2. Content Marketing Design & Visual Data

Content Marketing is a great way to build your business, but it can be hard to know how to get started.

There are many ways to create content for your website and social media pages, but one of the most powerful ways is through visual data and design.

Visual Data & Design Is Easy To Understand

People love visual data and design because it’s easy to understand. If you want your audience to understand what you’re trying to say, then use visuals!

If you are trying to explain a complicated process or concept, then show them with photos or graphs. You can also show them by using charts and graphs that they already understand.

If they already know how something works, then show them how it works in your brand!

3. Content Marketing Implementing Interactive Content

Content marketing is a great way to build your brand and increase your reach. It can help you rank higher on search engines, get more traffic to your website, and convert more visitors into leads.

But content marketing is not just about creating good content and posting it on your blog or website. You need to make sure that the content you publish is interactive, engaging, and responsive to what people are looking for.

Here are some tips on how to implement interactive content:

Use videos in your blog posts – Videos add more value to your blog post because it visualizes what you’re trying to explain through text.

For example, if you’re writing about a new product or service that you want people to know about, then you can use a video showing how it works or how it benefits them. This will help improve engagement rates and drive more traffic back to your site.

Create an opt-in form at the end of each blog post – An opt-in form will help you collect contact information from visitors who want more information from you but do not necessarily have time to fill out an entire email form or give their personal details right away.

This will then allow you to market directly through email lists so that they can get periodic updates about

   

4. Content Marketing A Digital-detox With Social

 A digital detox sounds like a relaxing vacation, but it’s actually a time of self-reflection and better understanding. With an increasing number of people suffering from digital-related stress, the practice is gaining popularity.

Social media platforms have become an integral part of our daily lives — we use them to connect with friends, share photos, and stay up to date on current events. But if you’re like me, your social media feed can sometimes be more stressful than relaxing.

If you’re feeling overwhelmed by your social media usage, it might be time for a digital detox. In this article, I’ll outline some ways you can take a break from social media without disrupting your relationships with friends or coworkers.

Content Marketing Considerate Content

 Content marketing has long been a staple of a successful content strategy. However, as technology continues to evolve, so do the ways we produce and consume content.

In this article we will explore why content marketing is still relevant in 2018, how it can be used to help your business thrive and what you need to know about the future of content marketing.

The need for good quality content has never been more important than it is today. In fact, according to HubSpot’s 2017 State of Inbound Report, “Content Marketing Is More Important Than Ever.”

This report found that 70 percent of marketers say that creating quality content is a top priority for their business.

It’s clear that people want information from reliable sources – which means they’re turning to brands they trust for advice and guidance on everything from cooking meals to buying new cars or smartphones.

If you’re not providing them with information they can use on a regular basis, then you’re missing out on an opportunity to connect with your customers in a meaningful way.

Content Marketing Wave Goodbye To Vanity Metrics

The real crux of content marketing is not just creating great content, but also measuring the effectiveness of that content. This is where some brands get it wrong—they have no idea how many people are actually seeing their content, or how many people are engaging with it.

This is where vanity metrics come in. Vanity metrics provide a false sense of achievement and can give you a skewed perception of your brand’s popularity.

They’re like the scales that lie about your weight—you can be eating well and exercising regularly but still see the numbers on the scale go up and down.

Vanity metrics include;

Page views – These don’t tell you anything about engagement, just how many times an article has been viewed by different people. For example, if someone clicks on your blog post from Facebook then leaves without reading anything and another person reads it through Google search results they will both count as page views.

This means you could have 10 million page views but only 100 unique readers!

Social media followers – Social media followers don’t mean much either because they can be bought easily with fake accounts or bots that follow people automatically based on hashtags or keywords they’ve used in their bios.

5. Content Marketing Integration Of Brand Avatars

Content marketing is a topic that comes up quite often in social media circles, and it’s something I’ve been doing for the past few years now. It’s not a new tactic by any means, but one I’ve been getting more and more into.

Content marketing isn’t as simple as just creating content though; it has to be done well!

In order for your content marketing efforts to be successful, you need to create things that people want to read and share with others. This can be done through blog posts, videos or even infographics.

In order to get people interested in what you have to say though, it needs to be entertaining or informative – preferably both.

6. Content Marketing CSR Initiatives Under Green Pressure

Content marketing is a powerful tool for companies to gain more customers, increase brand awareness and expand their reach. It has become one of the most popular ways to engage with consumers and build relationships with them.

But it is also a double-edged sword. The same content that brands use to drive sales can be used against them when the message doesn’t align with the values of its consumers.

In today’s world, where people care more about what they see, hear and read than ever before, content marketing has become a vital part of every company’s marketing strategy. While companies are using this medium to promote their products and services, they are also using it as a platform to address social issues.

However, in this era of fake news and digital propaganda, brands need to be careful while creating content that targets such issues. To avoid any backlash from their customers or stakeholders, they should ensure that their content is authentic and aligns with their brand image.

7. Content Marketing Metamorphic Design & Educational Content

 Content marketing is the new buzzword in today’s marketing world. Everyone is trying to find ways to use this approach to reach out to their audience.

   

However, content marketing is not just about creating quality content and sharing it on various platforms. It’s about using your content as a means of educating your audience about your product or services.

The idea behind content marketing is that as you create and share your content, people start linking back to it through social media sites, blogs or other websites. This helps increase your visibility with search engines and drives more traffic back to your site.

The key difference between good and bad content marketing is whether or not it educates the reader or simply entertains them. Good content should not just be fun to read but also useful for the reader.

For example: if you were selling cars online then an article discussing how much fuel efficient cars are compared to others would be useful for anyone who was interested in buying one of those cars but didn’t know which ones were more fuel efficient than others.

On the other hand, an article discussing how beautiful some cars look would not educate anyone because everyone already knows that they look good!

Content Marketing Educational Content

 Content marketing is a term that’s been around for a while, but it’s still not widely understood.

For some people, “content marketing” is just a fancy way of saying “blogging.” And for others, it’s something that people do in order to get rich quick.

In reality, content marketing is much more than just blogging and social media. It encompasses all forms of digital media, including videos, ebooks, graphics and more.

Content marketing focuses on creating valuable content that solves problems for your target audience.

The goal of content marketing is to attract and retain customers by educating them about your products or services and helping them solve problems they’re facing.

You want to create interesting content that will keep people coming back to your website — basically so they can learn more about what you do and how you can help them solve their problems.

8. Content Marketing Genuine Online Communities

 You don’t have to be a marketing wizard to know that content marketing is the way forward. In fact, you’re probably sick of hearing about it.

But what you may not know is that there’s more to content marketing than just creating blogs and articles. That’s where genuine online communities come in.

What is a Genuine Online Community?

The term “genuine online community” can refer to several things, but here we’re talking about a place where people come together around a specific topic or interest. It’s not like Facebook or Twitter where your posts are displayed in an endless stream of updates from everyone you follow.

Instead, genuine online communities are more like private forums where people can discuss topics of interest and share their thoughts with one another through comments and discussion threads.

Genuine online communities are owned by their members as opposed to being run by someone else (like Facebook). They’re also better suited for building relationships than social media platforms because they allow people who share common interests to connect with one another in meaningful ways that go beyond just liking each other’s statuses or sharing photos.

Content Marketing Build Authentic Communities

 Content marketing is a way to create and distribute valuable and relevant content to attract, acquire and engage a clearly defined and understood target audience – with the objective of driving profitable customer actions.

Content marketing is about telling a good story, not selling. It’s about building relationships, not transactions.

It’s about being helpful, not just being heard.

Content marketing is about telling your brand’s story in a way that engages your customers. Content marketing makes your brand more human.

The best content marketers know that their job is to create content that helps people solve their problems by educating them about the benefits of using their products or services.

9. Content Marketing The Growth Of Influencer Marketing

 Content marketing is a marketing strategy that involves the creation and sharing of media and publishing content in order to acquire new customers or to engage with existing customers.

Content marketing is a very effective way to reach your target audience. It can be used to educate potential customers about your company, product or service, which can help you build trust and credibility.

Content such as blogs, articles, videos and podcasts are all examples of content marketing.

   

The Growth Of Influencer Marketing

Influencer marketing is a form of word-of-mouth advertising where brands partner with key individuals who have a large following on social media to promote their products or services.

Influencers are selected based on their ability to reach a certain demographic group that may be interested in the product/service being promoted. Influencer marketing allows businesses to target specific groups instead of relying on general advertising through traditional media outlets like TV and radio ads.

Influencers are often able to reach large numbers of people quickly because they have access to a large number of followers via their social media accounts (Facebook, Instagram, Twitter etc.).

This makes them ideal partners for brands looking for quick results at minimal costs compared to traditional forms of advertising such as print ads or billboards which take longer to see results.

Content Marketing Micro-influencers Are Here To Stay

In the age of information overload, it’s hard to get your content in front of the right people. A lot of marketers have turned to Influencer marketing as a way to increase brand awareness and drive traffic to their website.

The idea is that if someone with a large following likes your product or service, they’ll tell their fans about it, who will then buy from you too.

The problem is that most Influencers charge a pretty penny for their services — $5,000+ per post! And there are only so many celebrities and bloggers out there who can afford that kind of money. So what’s an enterprising marketer to do?

Well, there are other ways to reach influencers without breaking the bank. One such method is called micro-influencer marketing.

10. Voice Search Is The New Search

Voice search is growing rapidly, and it’s no wonder why. As we increasingly move towards a mobile-first world, voice search is becoming more natural and accessible.

It’s also easier than ever to get started with voice as a new channel — you can start with Google Home or Amazon Echo, then connect your existing website with the Google Search Console and Bing Ads.

It’s not just about the volume of traffic from voice searches, it’s also about how much attention those users are paying to your website.

According to a recent study by Accenture, users who use voice assistants spend 2.5x longer on sites when compared to those who use traditional web browsers like Chrome or Firefox.

11. Content Marketing Podcasts Are Worth Listening To

 There are many reasons why people listen to podcasts. Some people like to listen while they are working out or driving.

Others listen while they are on the subway, taking a walk, or cooking dinner. And still others use them as an entertaining way to pass the time at work.

The content marketing community is growing fast and there are lots of new podcasts that have been created in recent years. In fact, there are so many great podcasts about content marketing that it can be difficult to decide which ones are worth listening to.

Here are some of my favorite podcasts about content marketing:

  1. Content Strategy Weekly – Content Strategy Weekly is hosted by Kristina Saltykova and features interviews with industry leaders on topics such as SEO, customer experience and content strategy processes. You’ll also get insights into how other companies have implemented content strategies successfully in their businesses.
  2. Content Marketing Made Easy – This podcast features interviews with top experts on topics such as social media strategy, blogging tips, video content creation and more! The hosts will also share their own stories about how they’ve used content marketing tactics in their businesses successfully over the years.

Content Marketing – Frequently Asked Questions

 Content marketing is the promotion of products or services using content, usually in the form of blogs, articles, case studies and webinars.

Content marketing is a great way to get your name out there and build trust with potential customers. The more value you can provide, the more likely they are to trust you and do business with you.

The following Q&A addresses some common questions about content marketing.

What Is Content Marketing?

Content marketing is a strategic 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. It’s an investment in your future that pays off over time by building trust and loyalty with your target audience while simultaneously positioning you as a leader in your industry.

It’s not just blogging it’s also social media participation, video creation and distribution, ebooks/white papers/reports etc.

Why Should I Invest In Content Marketing?

Content marketing helps build relationships with your target audience through valuable information they want to hear from you (not necessarily what you want them to hear). 

Content Strategies – Wrap Up

Content marketing strategies are a powerful way to build an audience, but it’s not the only way. You can also use paid ads and sponsorships to grow your business.

If you want to try content marketing, here are some tips

1. Start with something that interests you. If you’re passionate about what you write about, chances are that other people will be too.

2. Don’t worry about being perfect on the first try — just get started!

3. Share your content on social media and ask friends and family to help by sharing it as well (this is called “organic” traffic).

Make sure you’re using relevant hashtags so that people can find your posts easily.

4. You don’t have to be an expert at everything — just focus on what you’re good at and become an expert in that area instead of trying to cover everything under the sun (which is impossible anyway).