You’ve probably heard the phrase “content is king.” It’s true nowadays especially in marketing, where content has being accepted into the royal inner circle.
Today’s consumers have cast a skeptical eye or have even completely tuned out “ad speak.” They are pretty much immune to hard sell tactics and look for any way possible to avoid intrusive marketing messages. People don’t want you to tell them how awesome you are—they want you to demonstrate it. Enter content marketing.
Content marketing is providing targeted audiences with relevant and valuable information that enables them to be more knowledgeable, skilled, or even entertained and motivates greater engagement, trial, and eventual purchase.
Rather than trying to cajole, tempt, beg, scare, charm, or otherwise directly persuade people into buying from you, the content marketing approach simply involves showing people how smart, interesting, informed, and engaging you are. The content can take many forms—blog articles, videos, infographics, lists, games or puzzles, whitepapers, podcasts, and more. The bottom line is that the content you publish gives people more reason to buy into your brand—and, eventually, your products and services.
Content can help inspire ideas, like this Home Depot blog. It can provide valuable tips for everyday life and safety, as demonstrated by Allstate. Or it can simply make you smile, like Coca Cola’s world of Ahh. All of these are great examples of content that closely aligns with the company’s brand and gives audiences compelling reasons to return again and again.
To learn more about content marketing and how to plan and create an effective campaign, check out our eBook, Understanding Content Marketing.