Content marketing might be a new word, but it is a very old concept that has prevailed around us for a long time it goes back to three centuries and it might also go back further than that, but back then people did not give a name to it they enjoyed the content in various forms and they went with their lives but today content plays a major role in putting a brand in the limelight.
Back then marketers had very limited option like magazines, flyers, newspaper ads, boardings, but today the advertising and marketing field has expanded into a vast universe, it is bigger and brighter than ever before and social media and search engine plays a major role in the content marketing.
So, what is content marketing or why is it so important, does it work for every business. Let’s discuss all these, but first, let’s go back to where and how content emerged and how it has evolved since then.
Do you remember how barbie dolls, Star Wars action figures, and Marvel comic figures were the first to emerge in the market, and only later did the comic books and movies were made based on them giving background and building a strong story for their characters?
Before the movies and comic books, there were 10 out 3 people who had the action figures or the dolls but as the comic books emerged the figures that were lying untouched on the store shelves were swept out of the stores, and 6 out of 10 girls/boys were the proud owner of them.
Do you see what they did here? They sold their products through content marketing. When their products were not reaching the audience as they were supposed to. They were just sitting on the shelves in the form of plastic but after the comics and movies emerged everyone wanted to have that superhero figure or that princess in the movie.
Content marketing is the process of reaching out to targeted customers to increase brand awareness through various means-social media, blogging, YouTube, newsletters, e-mails, podcasts, e-books, etc.
#1. Why Is Content Marketing Important?
- Content marketing is essential to get closer to your customers, it reduces the gap between you and your prospective audience.
- Content marketing is the core of your digital marketing strategy whether it is social media, blog post, e-mail, podcast. Whether it is to run a PPC campaign or it is to attract traffic the audience is only going to engage with you when you are having compelling and informative, high-quality content.
- An effective content marketing pulls leads and traffic to your website and this can only lead to high-quality leads and high conversion rates.
- Content marketing emphasizes how your brand has the right product/service that can solve the customer’s problems.
#2. How Content Marketing Works
So, here is how content marketing works:
-
- Creating valuable content is vital if you want your content marketing campaign to work. You need to ensure that you are producing something that your targeted audience is looking for. The people who land on your page would like to extract every bit of information they are looking for hence you need to abide by it if you want this to work. If you are creating short-form content that skims through important points that are just one in two then they are not coming back. Keep that in mind.
- Once you have created the content you need to share it with your audience. It is critical to get the information to your audience at the right time. regardless of where you are sharing the content, you need to ensure that is reaching your audience if it is not then it is lifeless. You need to connect with industry experts and influencers to direct more traffic and audience.
-
- Your audience will look out for you. When you are creating valuable-quality content it will naturally attract people and they will start to engage with your brand. They will search for you, stay long on your page, learn about your products and services and get closer to your business. Which will not only improve your SEO ranking but also get you closer to conversion.
- When you are putting out the right content-that is offering a solution for your audience’s problem. They will enjoy your content. When you are educating your audience with the information they need they feel invested and they would stay longer on your page reading your valuable content.
- As the audience gets engaged with you, they get familiar with you which increases brand awareness and closes the gap between you and your prospective audience which puts you in a place of trust in their mind.
- You don’t get conversion right away but you need to trust the process and keep creating quality content. This will eventually lead your audience to the call-to-action button and they will remember you for a long and also send leads your way. Content Marketing Examples
#3. Content Marketing Examples
#Blog Content Marketing Example
The squeeze Magazine is posting fitness and healthy lifestyle choice blogs regularly keeping their audience engaged and wanting to come for more.
They are promoting their magazine and along with their programs and products.
#Twitter Content Marketing Example
Zomato is one of the most active brands online. Not only Zomato is showing that they are keeping up with the trends but they are also promoting their food delivery services.
#Video Content Marketing Example
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bT_i95e3uoI
Beats launched a video marketing content #Abovethenoise and emphasized how their headphones can block all the distractions and noise and help them focus on who and what they want to be. The video is not only promoting their product but also is what it means to live as per your rules above all the noise.
#Social Media Content Marketing Example
This is Shutterstock promoting their paid stock photos on Instagram through paid ads. They are creating brand awareness as well as a promotion that would attract new users.
#Viral Content Marketing Example
This is one of the examples of viral content marketing. When the Mandalorian came out this was a trend set around Baby Yoda which every brand had utilized. A viral content marketing can be a video or a post.
#4. History Of Content Marketing
Advertising has existed alongside man since ancient times whether it is word of mouth, drawing on the walls, or putting out a word on the radio but only in the late 19th century John Deere started the quarterly magazine called “The Furrow” it started as a simple guide directed towards the farmers. It gave irrigation and cultivation tips.
It did not necessarily sell anything to people but instead help them and this idea lit like a fire and the word of mouth spread rapidly by 1912 the quarterly magazine had reached four million readers and it has now started guiding businesses on how to place themselves in every home. it did not preach or sell on every page of the quarterly but educated people emphasized branding, and shoved them in the right direction.
Followed by them came the Jell-o book, the radio revolution, the billboard campaigns, and then began the digital revolution of content marketing.
The digital era gave marketers new ways to create content and market them on television, cinema, etc.
And then the internet rose into fame where people discovered how to reach an audience from every corner of the world. And then came Facebook in 2003 which is still one of the top spots for marketers to experiment to showcase their ads. Followed by YouTube-a mind-blowing place for video content creation and marketing.
At this stage, despite search engines being the highest visiting place social media are dominating the charts. Thousands of small businesses are blooming and are successfully carrying out due to the channel called social media.
#5. What Are The Stages Of The Content Marketing Purchasing Funnel
The content marketing funnel is of four stages:
- Awareness
- Research
- Decision
- Purchase
#STAGE 1-AWARENESS
The consumer is in need or desires a product or service in this stage. They are aware of the product or service but they are not capable of deciding at this stage.
#STAGE 2-RESEARCH
The consumers are deeply engaged in collecting information about the product or service. They will address the wants and needs of the product/service. They will weigh the pros and cons of its it-benefits, need for the product, review, affordability, variations, etc.
#STAGE 3-DECISION
In the third stage, the consumer has made a decision. He/she has weighed in the options, compare the prices and brands, and has finally decided according to their favor.
#STAGE 4-PURCHASE
After making a decision in the third stage the consumer heads to the last stage i.e., executing the purchase. After taking a lot of time to research they end up purchasing with one brand.
#6. Common Problems That Content Marketing Can Solve
Content marketing is a very rare concept if done right it will reach your targeted audience in the defined time and increase your conversion rate.
Here are some of the pain points that content marketing can undoubtedly solve.
#Organic Traffic
How will your customers buy from you when they don’t even know of your existence. With increasing competition and enthusiasm there are thousands of businesses out there and you have to set yourself aside from them if you want the customers to buy from you and content marketing will help you in this criteria.
A proper content marketing plan will help drive organic traffic to your website. In turn, improving your ranking position and also will increase the shares and the presence of your brand. You will be driving organic traffic to your website at zero cost.
#Brand Inclination
One of the biggest problems is to stand apart. Especially when there are hundreds of brands doing the same thing as you. You need to get close to your audience and build a strong relationship with them so they would always come back to you.
For instance: Flipkart offers plus membership for its customers for free if they have purchased and in return earned 200 super coins on their platform they will be automatically promoted to the plus membership but in Amazon, if you want to be a prime member this will cost you some thousand bucks. So, most people will opt for Flipkart instead of amazon. This is brand inclination.
#Engaging Customers
If you are shoving ads and asking them to purchase from them right from the beginning it will create a negative impression. You need to build a relationship with your audience. when they get something valuable for free they will tend to stick longer and also will be ready to become your paid customer.
#Budget
If you are someone who worries about emptying your pockets in marketing then you can surely rely on content marketing. It will cost you less compares to ads and will generate revenue for a very long period. But remember if you are a strategy ahs to work consistency is the key.
#ROI
ROI is something that most people struggle with but in content marketing, you can easily work up the ranks by various means including SEO, and consecutively you will earn more traffic and conversion rates.
