If you’ve been involved in business or marketing for any length of time than I’m sure you’ve heard the term “content is king”.
But what does this really mean?
And a better question, could content marketing provide any value to your business?
The answer is a loud, clear, and powerful, absolutely YES.
Content Is Still King
I wrote and spoke about this last year, and the year before, and I’ll likely write about it again next year…
Content is still king.
The beauty of content marketing is that it works for all businesses, in all industries, of all shapes and sizes.
Sure you’ve seen behemoth companies like Red Bull dominate the content marketing landscape with nothing short of epic content, but this doesn’t mean content is only for the mega multimillion dollar business.
In fact, one of the fastest ways to quickly differentiate your startup, small business, or entrepreneurial venture is with none other than good old fashioned content marketing.
What Is Content Marketing
So what exactly is content marketing anyways?
Content marketing is creating and distributing content with the intention of:
- Acquiring new customers
- Increasing brand awareness
- Increasing customer loyalty
- Any of the above
Essentially, content marketing is exactly what it sounds like… using content for marketing.
What kind of content?
Anything that provides value, insight, guidance, education, or entertainment.
This could be articles, white papers, infographics, how-to videos, slideshare (powerpoint or keynote) presentations, or even weekly Q&A sessions delivered on social media.
Once you have your content the next step is distributing it which can be done via:
- Blogs
- Social Media (ALL channels)
- Webinars (which is fast becoming the current trend with experts like Amy Porterfield and Lewis Howes leading the charge)
- Podcasts
- Newsletters (print or email)
Or any other form of distribution that your target market consumes and enjoys.
How To Do Content Marketing
There has never been an easier time in the history of the world to create and publish powerful and useful content through a variety of channels.
In fact, the choices are almost overwhelming. So where do you even begin?
The best place to start with your content marketing is first to take a look at your current customer profile. If you don’t yet have an established customer base then create an ideal customer profile.
Ask yourself:
- Who are they?
- Where do they hang out online?
- What channels and social media platforms do they use?
- What blogs/magazines/television shows/newsletters/seminars to they consumer
From there you’ll be able to determine which channel is going to have the best chance of reaching them.
As an example, the social media channel Pinterest is favored by women between the ages of 18-35 so if that’s not your target market, Pinterest may not be the best place to start.
After that, you also want to consider which channel best suits you, your style, and your business.
If you hate the thought of creating videos then YouTube is likely not the way to go.
If writing is your thing then a blog may be the best place to start.
If you prefer speaking and presenting to writing, then perhaps a webinar, podcast, or online streaming social media channel like Periscope would be right for your business.
The key is to pick a channel and then run with it, in the end, it’s consistency that will end up providing a return on your content investment.
Consistency Above All Else
The winning content strategy is one that is practiced consistently over time.
It takes a while to build up a following and a valuable collection of digital assets but if you focus on always adding value to your target market a content marketing strategy is tough to beat.
