In the evolving world of communication, an average person will see thousands of ads per day in a variety of formats. Consumers today fast-forward through commercials, often disregard billboards and surf the web without really noticing ads or links. You need a better way to attract and keep your customers’ attention, and the way to do this is through uninterrupted communication. In other words, your business needs to leverage content marketing.
What exactly is content marketing? Essentially, it is communication without overt selling. If your current or prospective customers are only hearing from you periodically (i.e., when you need them to buy), they are not very likely to feel appreciated. If, on the other hand, you are communicating with them continuously, providing valuable content and information that go beyond just your products or services, you are cultivating a relationship that is more rewarding and beneficial to your audience.
Read also: The content marketing starter’s kit
Implementing your content marketing strategy
There are numerous tactics you can use to implement content marketing. One is to focus on more than just your company and its products. The content should not be about your company’s achievements, but instead about your customers. Provide regular information concerning market trends, reports or free webinars. This shows the customer that you want them to be informed; it also demonstrates to them that you have your finger on the pulse of the industry.
You should also use different forms of media. Rather than communicating only through email blasts, you should be delivering the same content through at least two or three channels. If you provide customers with a white paper or report, create a video or run a webinar on the same topic. This increases the likelihood that your content will reach your target audience and helps to supplement your initial message with additional information.
Finally, a rewarding strategy is to leverage several staff members across multiple departments for content marketing. The marketing department will not be able to produce all of the content you need to make a true impact, and one way to create good content is to require that employees make regular contributions. This will certainly provide plenty of content, but it may not always result in the highest quality material. You may need to work with a copywriter or editor to ensure quality and consistency.
Another option is to implement a rewards system for employees who provide the content willingly. This may be a more attractive option, as content created in this way is generally going to be of higher quality. Whether you mandate or incentivize content marketing, you will need to provide your employees with support before you implement this system.
In today’s world, you aren’t marketing if you aren’t content marketing. Whether you are beginning the process from scratch or simply reinforcing your current practices, content marketing requires your attention today.
Terry F. is a senior copywriter with ProPRcopy.