Monday, February 23, 2015

The Real Deal About Content Marketing

Those who are invested in SEO know that content is king. Well, let me be a bit clearer: QUALITY content is king. If your organization is spending a lot of time creating dynamic and creative content, it is important that you are using it to its full advantage. That is where content marketing comes in. There is a lot of talk about the strategy these days, and sometimes it is more of a buzzword than an actionable plan. Tandem can give you the inside scoop and offer a bit of guidance, to make sure you are getting the most out of your content.

What Is It?
Sure, we have all heard of content marketing. But some of us may have more of an idea of what it is than an actual grasp. To be clear, content marketing is the creation and distribution of relevant and quality content to the right audience to (hopefully) drive engagement. It might even increase your customer base, but we can’t make any promises. J

Content marketing is valuable to its audience. They want to consume it and share it. It entertains them as much as it educates them. It makes them curious about your brand. Sounds good, right?

Who Is It For?
Content marketing is created with a particular audience in mind. It may take a lot of trial and error to figure out what that audience will connect with, but once you do, the real journey begins. Because that is what content marketing is…a journey.

It is a long-term strategy that tries to touch its audience over and over. It is a brand awareness adventure. And once you share enough relevant and quality content with your audience over Facebook, or Twitter, or LinkedIn…wherever your audience is, they will begin to remember who you are.

What Is a Good Example?
The go-to example of content marketing is an infographic, because people eat ‘em up. They are fun ways to digest information, so it makes them hot commodities on social media. Have a topic that is tough to make exciting? Infographics can add some pop and flair to not-so interesting content, topics, or industries. If you have a graphics person on your team, put them to work!

Other content that is great for marketing includes: industry resources like whitepapers, case studies and e-books. If you want to get more visual, videos, GIFs and slideshows can all have great success and grasp a consumer’s attention.

It is important to see the difference with these examples. Things like infographics and GIFs almost beg to be consumed and shared. People in your target audience should want to download your whitepaper; it should drive people to your site. That is what makes a good piece of content marketing.

Why Should I Bother?
Like many other marketing strategies, content marketing does not promise a sharp increase in sales over night. It is a long-term investment that seeks to connect with an audience. During the course of your content marketing journey, you will build tons of valuable resources. This can have all sorts of positive SEO and social media implications. After you have truly honed in on what your audience wants to see and read, and built your brand up in their minds, you may start to see some of that audience converting.

Whether your business is big or small, content marketing is a worthy cause. While it may take a lot of work, and you may not see a lot of immediate pay off, it is a long-term investment that will help you learn about your audience and even your own company.

To learn more about content marketing or any kind of content strategy, contact Tandem Interactive and one of our team members will be glad to answer any questions you may have!

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