What is Content Marketing and Why Should I Care?

“Content marketing is the strategic marketing approach of creating and distributing valuable, relevant and consistent content to attract and acquire a clearly defined audience – with the objective of driving profitable customer action.” Content Marketing Institute

New terms are thrown around in marketing circles all the time, but the one on the tip of everyone’s tongue lately is ‘content marketing’.  It’s had marketers the world over in a big ol’ panic, but if you know what you’re doing, there’s really no need – the chances you’re already doing it.  All content marketing is, in essence, is the process of creating valuable content for your customers.

We have mentioned before how your clients want you to connect with them.  Social media strategies have become crucial, as we know, because consumers desire a more personalised service. Marketing is not so much focused around the hard sale anymore, it’s about connecting with your customers on a real and meaningful level.

Customer Engagement

American WineLibraryTV entrepreneur Gary Vaynerchuk states:

“The people who successfully engage with me are the ones that understand how to influence me on a personal level. They are the people who have taken the time to really know who I am, outside of the sale or our current business deal.”

Befriend Your Audience

Instead of pitching sales to audiences and practically begging them to buy, businesses are now cultivating customer communities and ‘befriending’ their target audiences. It may seem unusual to put the client in the driving seat, but getting them to trust in our informative content means that, as a result, they begin to trust in your brand.

Your Clients Want Stories

Twitter is great for keeping things simple and linking your clients to information quickly.  Blogs allow you to elaborate and tell those stories, mail shots don’t have to be spam, they can actually be regular e-mails your clients look forward to receiving.

If someone resonates with your message, they will reflect on it, share it and buy.

Prolific blogger and marketing guru Seth Godin explains: “Marketing is no longer about the stuff that you make, but about the stories you tell.”

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