Content Marketing Overload? Let’s Take a Breath and Back Up
You know when you say a word so many times it loses all meaning? Becomes just absolute, awe-inducing gibberish? That’s quickly becoming me and content marketing. And I’m pretty sure I’m not alone.
It’s a concept so overused that it often produces eye rolls instead of intrigue because there’s so much information out there, and some of us just don’t know where to begin.
But the thing about content marketing is, it really can transform your business. It is an important concept, and you should be using it. But if it’s something you’re unfamiliar with, it can be easy to get lost in the abyss of information the internet offers up.
So let’s back up for a minute and take things back to basics, starting with the most important question:
What exactly is it?
Let’s get the textbook version out of the way. The Content Marketing Institute — the reigning authority/royal family of all things content marketing-related— breaks it down like this:
“Content marketing is a strategic marketing approach focused on creating and distributing valuable, relevant, and consistent content to attract and retain a clearly-defined audience — and, ultimately, to drive profitable customer action.”
Basically, it’s creative marketing. It’s building intrigue and interest by showcasing your expertise in a creative way. Rather than simply selling your business, you’re using your creative content (blogs, videos, tweets) to really help your potential clients by presenting them with answers before they even have to ask the questions. By doing that, you add value to your brand that results in increased reach and credibility and happier, more loyal customers.
Ok, got it. So do I really need it?
Only if you really want to reach your full potential. Sure, you can coast on traditional marketing and probably do pretty well for yourself, but the internet offers a way to connect with millions of potential customers. All of these would-be clients are at the tip of your fingers, just waiting for you to connect with them. And to make that magic connection, you have to use powerful content.
But it’s more than just a way to grow your client base. It’s a way to keep in touch with your existing customers; a way to drop them an email every once in a while because you care; a way to send out a relevant blog because you want to help; a way to connect through an entertaining Facebook post because you want to keep them happy. And happy customers? Means more business, a better reputation and bigger potential.
Not gonna lie, it’s not easy. It’s not easy to craft creative, compelling pieces of content every time and it’s even harder to make sure it finds its way to your clientele.
But don’t be discouraged, because once it clicks, once you find your content marketing groove, it is absolutely worth it.
We’ll be talking in-depth about how to craft and deliver this killer content, so stay tuned. In the meantime, tell us in the comments if you’ve experimented with content marketing and if you love it, hate it, or anything in between.
