What is content marketing?
Let’s start to define content marketing by defining the two words that make up the term content marketing:
Content: images, video, text and audio content that a user can engage and mentally consume.
Marketing: The defining, positioning and the presentation of a product or service to a consumer in a way that appeals to their wants or needs.
Combining those two words creates this definition:
Content marketing is sharing information about or around a product, business or service through the use of content. The content types distributed seek to help the consumer establish a better understanding around that product and build a relationship with the business or service providing advice.
Why is content marketing simply not advertising?
To use an analogy, employing advertising is like being a sharpshooter. You target a person or group with a need and you “fire” your honed message at them to hit them to induce an action like a sale.
This approach is great if your customer is definable, can be located and has a clear, conscious need they want someone to help then address. For example:
CUSTOMER: “I need clean shirts.”
ADVERTISING: “Hey, use McClean Laundry detergent. It will make your shirts bright! Get it today at your local store.”
Where content marketing works better.
But what if your customer doesn’t know they have a need or a problem to solve? Or even where to start to meet that need?
What if your customer’s need is so complex or has so many components to it, a lack of understanding is keeping them from finding a solution or taking action?
In these instances, the customer is much farther way from and has too many barriers to making a buying decision.
In this context, advertising is like shooting a bullet to take down the side of a barn. Too small, too fast and too targeted to work. It also doesn’t help that less and less consumers are exposed to and respond to traditional advertising (Hi, YouTube and Netflix).
This is when education around the subject and building trust is more important to nurturing sales. And that’s where content marketing comes in.
Establishing a potential relationship through sharing content.
As content marketing is used by marketers to create content types like web pages, PDFs, emails and more, they take on the role of educating and building a advisory relationship with those who find and consume it. The purpose is not to explicitly promote a brand or scream “buy now” immediately. Instead, it is intended to stimulate interest in its products or services.
While it feels like a new buzzword for the digital space, content marketing has been around for over a century. Its principles are just now being applied to digital.
Content marketing. Effective but not new.
Take The Michelin Guide. Or to put it another way: ever wonder why the Michelin Tire Company is related to a highly respected restaurant guide that gives out valued star ratings for restaurants?
Because the guide and its content were originally designed and used to increase the use of cars and by extension, use more tires on those cars.
At the beginning of the 20th century, there were less than a few thousand cars, but those cars had tires.
The two brothers, Édouard and André Michelin, first published the Michelin Guide for French motorists. Then they did so for more countries. The guide encouraged motorists to get in their cars and drive to check out far-away restaurants, often wearing out their tires out in the process. As the guide became a trusted resource for drivers, Michelin established a relationship. Also, guess what brand of tires were top of mind when it was time to get tires?
Content marketing and digital.
I’m probably insulting your intelligence by telling you that the Internet is where most of us go to get information on things. “What kind of headphones should I buy?” Search Google. “It is time to replace my gutters?” Hello Google. “What server configuration would work best for my business and my sales team?“ Google it.
As you can see from all those searches made on smartphones, laptops and now voice assistants, customers are having conversation about your products – or needs that your product could meet. Without content marketing, and lack of content for them to find, you’re essentially opting out of that conversation. “Nah, you guys go ahead a talk about what kind of headphones you need. I’ll just wait at my store and see IF and where you decide you want to buy headphones.”
Content marketing helps you become part of that conversation.
When you strategically create content that helps users get to valued information that informs their product education or sharpens their buying dialogue or path to problem-solving they:
- Begin to know and feel comfortable about the subject at hand
- Respect your understanding and authority around the subject
- Build trust in your advice, recommendations (and your brand)
- Visit your website and drive traffic as your content becomes part of the buying conversation
Other advantages to content marketing.
- Content marketing brings your audience to you.
Having engaging content as part of your marketing makes customer self-identify themselves as they find and are attracted to your content. Think of it like being at a book store and you see someone pick up a book about relationships. It’s a good bet, some aspect or problem about a relationship is on their mind. In picking up that book, they’ve made their need visible as an opportunity to engage and connect with.
When potential customers choose to consume your digital content, analytics can tell you if they viewed your content, what they are interested in and where they are along the buying journey. For instance, someone seeking content on “what kind of cars are good for families?” is early in the decision funnel than someone seeking content like “how to negotiate buying a mini SUV?”
This ability to self-identify is available to you in content marketing as opposed to traditional marketing where it becomes more guesswork. Or to put the comparison of traditional marketing to content marketing another way:
Traditional marketing. You: “Hey wanna buy some watches?
Content Marketing: Your customer: “ Excuse me, I’m looking for the best watch for my needs. Can you help me?”
Which would you rather talk to?
- Lets your customer walk the path.
In consulting, there’s a saying, “It tastes better when you add your own egg.” This means that when you make a personal investment in the process, you tend to buy into the larger process.
With the right content marketing strategy, users are actively a part of the conversation and buying process. They are not being told what to buy, rather they are doing their homework and investing time to learn. That means the result of what they learn using your content, feels like a process they controlled. And since they did it, they can better trust the results.
- Content helps you learn about your customer.
In the digital age, there are platforms and processes around content marketing and marketing automation that allow business and marketers to measure and evaluate what kinds of content is offering value to potential customers and how to make it better. For example in Marketo, now part of Adobe, you can track who is viewing your content and where they are in the buying process.
- Builds your brand.
Less and less brands are being built less via traditional media. Content marketing lets you build a positive experience with your brand and exposure to your products where more and more people shop and live. The internet.
- Save on paid media costs.
A well-cultivated content marketing program enables your business to drive traffic without the need to spend money on paid media (Pay Per Click) PPC. A well-crafted, value-driven and strategic content marketing plan that can be consumed the way your users want can go a long way to driving word of mouth.
Examples of content marketing.
Dollar Shave Club and Content Marketing.
Dollar Shave Club, founded by Mark Levine and Michael Dubin, ships less expensive razor blades and additional grooming products on a monthly basis to its membership base. It attributes a lot of it’s growth, from nothing to over 3 million members, to its content marketing efforts.
Efforts that started with a YouTube video entitled “Our Blades Are Fucking Great”
The video was a viral success and the company followed up with additional videos.
As it realized it was connecting to its audience (80% men age 25-37), the company increased it’s content marketing efforts. In 2015, the company began hiring writers and editors for a new website, Mel Magazine. The site contained editorial content described by the company as “men’s lifestyle topics”
The content marketing effort achieved a few objectives.
- Know. People gained awareness about Dollar Shave Club.
- Like. The often funny style of the videos and content helped the company to connect emotionally and resonate with their younger audience.
- Trust. Through the content’s education efforts, consumer learned to feel confident in cheaper shaving alternatives and abandoning expense choices like Gillette shavers.
Soul Cycle and Content Marketing.
Earl Gibson/BET/Getty Images for BET
A 90-plus location cycling studio with it’s signature SoulCycle stationary bicycle, the company expanded it’s internal content team to create experiences and content, particularly for Instagram.
It also uses content to create engaging experiences. A recent one was a concert series “Sound by SoulCycle.” The first concert was held in Harlem and featured artists performing for 50 riders and more than 300 other attendees. Besides using the content (the music)to create a connective experience, SoulCycle’s media team filmed the event so they could share it to their 344,000 followers on Instagram. It also gave the event the reach even more discovering the event through hashtags and shares.
SoulCycle also a partners with Apple Music to create exclusive playlists and share original audio. The company’s planning to expand more into audio in the next year as it considers options like podcasts.
Content marketing. Use it today to drive future sales.
Content marketing, when used correctly can not only provide truly relevant and useful content to your prospects and customers, but drive traffic and conversions. As traditional media recedes, it is becoming the future of marketing.
It’s time to build your content marketing and content strategy.
Content strategy is defining today’s successful business and leaving those too slow behind. Looking for more ideas and strategies around content marketing and delivering satisfying digital experiences for your brand, website or mobile application contact me for a free consultation.