According to Content Marketing Institute (CMI), it is defined:
Content marketing is a marketing technique of creating and distributing relevant and valuable content to attract, acquire, and engage a clearly defined and understood target audience – with the objective of driving profitable customer action.
Content marketing goes deeper than what we may have done in the past and the tools to distribute content are more accessible than ever before.
What am I going to say? Start with “why?” Check out Simon Sinek’s TEDx Talk about inspirational leadership (video has garnered nearly 8 million views).
What keeps our customers awake at night? How can we address these issues and reassure our customers that we have the solutions they don’t even realize they need?
According to Pulizzi, go deep and small by developing quality content that fits with your overall marketing vision and editorial calendar with the customer/client as primary focus.
Here’s an example:
- Develop key topics that you want to cover for the year, say 4-6.
- Next, dive deep into keywords connected/derived from the key topics.
- Then, create unique content products scheduled for distribution through the year that includes ebooks, blogs/editorial, video and slide decks, etc.
Content Marketing Unspoken Rules
- One Call To Action
- Give Content as Gift (freebie)
- Social Media Etiquette (promote others and keep your own self-promotion and thought leadership entries to a minimum).