According to Wikipedia, content marketing is “any marketing format that involves the creation and sharing of media and publishing content in order to acquire customers.”
With the constant barrage of advertising, we are becoming increasingly creative about avoiding it. It becomes like white noise in the background- just another person/product vying for our attention. Content marketing attempts to get around that by creating something useful and relevant that consumers want, need and will come looking for.
Let’s give an example scenario.
You recently decided that you are going to be become a long distance runner. You are going to be the best long distance running there ever was. Obviously, you will need some gear, specifically a good pair of running shoes. So you head on over to google to. Googling “best running shoe ever” gets you nowhere. There are entirely too many choices. You will need to learn a bit about the different types of shoes and fits before making your decision. So you google “how to buy running shoes”. This leads you to an article about the different types of running shoes. Useful. Let’s read that. Maybe they have a video about it. Next, you meander through their “related articles” section to something about how your walking stance effects your shoe fit.
A few articles later, you are feeling smarter and more prepared to make your purchase. Now, the big ticket question: who are you more likely to purchase from? The website you just spend an hour getting to know or a stranger?
Content marketing changes the perspective of the business in your mind. No longer are they just another name in the sea of businesses vying for your attention. They are knowledgable experts in their field and approachable by consumers like you. They have risen above the competition and been noticed.
I don’t have to tell you have valuable this is.
Now I know what your next question is going to be. But how do I do that? My next blog post, coming out next week, will tackle just that question! See you soon!
