Are you looking for a comprehensive guide to content marketing? If so, then you’ve come to the right place! Content marketing is an essential component of any successful online business.
From content creation to content distribution, from keyword optimization to content analytics – content marketing has it all. In this guide, we’ll take a deep dive into content marketing and the tools available today to help your content stand out from the crowd.
Table of Contents
- What Is Content Marketing and Why Should You Use it to Market Their Business Online?
- The Different Types of Content Marketing
- How To Create Engaging and Interesting Content That Will Capture the Attention of Potential Customers
- The Benefits of Using Content Marketing as Part of Your Overall Marketing Strategy
- Tips For Getting Started with Content Marketing and Making It Work for Your Business
- What Is Branding – Key Takeaways
What Is Content Marketing and Why Should You Use it to Market Their Business Online?
Content marketing is a powerful approach to building, amplifying, and maintaining interest in the products or services of a business. It involves strategically creating types of content to engage an audience and create more visibility for the business in question.
Content marketing could include things such as blog posts and articles about topics related to the types of items they offer, visual content such as images or videos to highlight their products, podcasts to further engage their target audience, or even occasional giveaways or contests.
In short, content marketing offers businesses an invaluable opportunity to position themselves as thought leaders while simultaneously reaching out to potential customers. It’s also important to note here that 51% of content consumption derives from organic searches, while 76% of content marketers use organic traffic as a key metric for measuring content success.
The Different Types of Content Marketing
Content marketing is an incredibly broad term that can encompass pretty much any type of message that promotes a product, service or brand.
When it comes to different types of content marketing, the categories are seemingly endless! From video to audio, written pieces to social media campaigns and online publications - no two content marketing projects need to look the same!
The key is to figure out the best fit for your specific needs and goals. Whether it's creating functional how-to videos or launching a podcast series - different types of content marketing can help you reach different audiences in different ways.
Let’s take a closer look at some of the top different types of content marketing you can start working on today.
Blog Posts
Blog posts are articles that you write and post online (on platforms such as WordPress or Blogspot) to help people learn about your products or services.
In the world of content marketing, you’ll hear a lot that blogging seems to have taken the backburner when it comes to online content, but did you know that 20 billion WordPress pages are viewed by over 409 million people each month? This proves that blogging is far from dead, and certainly still a great way to leverage your content online.
Videos
Videos can be a great way to show people what your product or service is like. It can help them understand it better and might make them want to buy it. There’s no denying that video content has taken over our newsfeeds, and it’s expected to boom even further. In fact, video content is expected to be the most invested in B2B marketing channels in 2022 and 2023.
Moreover, 97% of consumers and online marketers report that video helps customers understand what businesses and brands stand for, the services they’re offering, and the products they’re selling.
Podcasts
Podcasts are audio files that people can listen to on their phones or computers, and they can be a great way to learn more about a business and what it has to offer. You'll find hordes of these on platforms like Spotify, Youtube and Anchor.
Moreover, it’s estimated that 120 million people listen to podcasts each month, with the most popular podcast channels being Spotify at 31% and Pandora at 18%.
Social Media Posts
Content marketing is quickly becoming an integral part of digital marketing, and social media platforms are playing an important role in this transformation.
Companies are able to reach billions of people all around the world by utilizing the power of social media. Content distributed through channels such as Instagram, Pinterest, Twitter and Facebook can have a huge impact on brand recognition and engagement.
Infographics
Infographics have been a powerful tool in content marketing since ancient times. By combining data with visuals, infographics can concisely communicate information in an engaging way that would otherwise be difficult to capture in text alone.
Infographics provide marketers with a straightforward, visual approach to storytelling and have the potential to significantly increase your audience reach. Infographics are one of the earliest forms of marketing, relying on images and data to provide a better understanding of complex topics and connect people with products or services on an emotional level.
Furthermore, the right infographic can help boost SEO through external links, resulting in more website visibility for companies who use content marketing as part of their overall strategy.
EBooks
eBooks are a type of content marketing where businesses can share their thoughts and ideas with potential customers. They are long pieces of text (sometimes including images) that people can see on websites like Amazon or Barnes and Noble. They can be a great way to learn more about a business and what it has to offer.
Revenue in eBooks is expected to show an annual growth rate of 3.38% in 2022. Resulting in a projected market volume of 16.08 billion dollars by the year 2027, meaning that by then, the number of eBook readers is expected to skyrocket to 1,123.2 million readers.
Print Marketing
Print marketing is long pieces of text that people can see in magazines or newspapers, and are a great way to learn more about a business and its offers.
Now, we know what you’re thinking. Who even reads newspapers and magazines anymore? Well, a study conducted by Top Media Advertising found that 95% of people under 25 years old read magazines, while another study by Mansi Media found that 71% of households with income above $100K are newspaper readers, with 82 million of those adults accessing newspaper content on their smartphones or tablets!
How To Create Engaging and Interesting Content That Will Capture the Attention of Potential Customers
Content Marketing Strategies are effective ways for businesses and content creators to attract, engage and retain loyal audiences.
A content marketing strategy involves content creation, content curation, and content distribution with the goal of creating content that resonates with the intended audience. By identifying their target customer's needs, content creators can then produce content that adds value to them.
Additionally, strategies such as content-specific scheduling help the creator ensure an optimal reach so users consistently follow their content journey. The trend in content marketing is to keep up with the ever-changing digital landscape in order to remain competitive and successful in today’s market.
The Benefits of Using Content Marketing as Part of Your Overall Marketing Strategy
Content marketing strategy is a powerful tool that offers benefits far beyond just keeping content fresh and interesting. It helps to drive sales and engagement, providing quantifiable evidence of the content campaign's ROI.
Unlike traditional advertising methods, content marketing can also be used strategically with low-cost implementation, ensuring maximum value for your organization. Plus, content marketing tactics are proven to greatly increase customer loyalty, as it increases trust in your products and services.
In short - content marketing isn't just for posting content - it is an effective solution for uniquely impacting customers with meaningful content that builds loyalty, and trust and ultimately drives conversions.
Tips For Getting Started with Content Marketing and Making It Work for Your Business
Content marketing is essential for businesses of all sizes and can be a powerful tool to build your brand and reach new customers. Getting started with content marketing requires strategic planning, so it's important to understand the basics first.
Content marketing comes in four primary categories - owned, earned, shared, and paid - and each has its advantages that can benefit your business. For example, content marketing for startups might focus primarily on owned assets such as blog posts or whitepapers to get the ball rolling.
The content you write yourself not only sets you up as an expert in your industry but also allows you to control what message you're sending out into the world. Once you have a firm understanding of content marketing, research other opportunities such as influencer outreach or sponsored ads that can help bolster results even further.
Content marketing isn't necessarily complicated but focusing on target-specific tactics will put you well on your way to success!
What Is Branding – Key Takeaways
Content marketing should be an essential part of any business model as it is a way to differentiate yourself from the competition, drive sales, and increase customer engagement.
A content marketing strategy can help develop content that resonates with your target audience and creates opportunities to position your brand appropriately.
Professionally-crafted content that remains consistent across all platforms can help foster the trust of current customers while establishing relationships with new ones. Investing in content marketing is worth it.
And, when done right, it's an effective way to start driving leads, leads that convert into sales for businesses of any size in any industry.
