Content Marketing is the strategic creation and promotion of content to meet your audience's needs. It's strategic because your content efforts result in more connections, conversations, and conversions.
Content Marketing is pervasive. In fact, you've been the recipient of Content Marketing without being conscious of it.
Are you on someone’s email list? Have you ever signed up for a free class? Have you looked at a YouTube video to figure out how to do something? Have you ever read an article or online prospectus to get more information on a topic you care about?
The brands that created the content you consumed were practicing Content Marketing. They created content so that you would engage, spread their content, and do business with them.
Early use of Content Marketing
The most well-known, early use of Content Marketing comes from John Deere, the company.
Back in the 1890s, John Deere published a magazine called, “The Furrow”. It was an agriculture magazine targeted at the farming community. The magazine shared practical information on better farming.
After twenty years, The Furrow was being circulated to millions of people. This massive circulation helped to solidify John Deere as a household name.
This story is a testament to the power of Content Marketing. It has the power to establish the authority of a brand.
3 more examples of Content Marketing in action
Content Marketing has become even more pervasive since the early days of John Deere.
From blogging to podcasting, brands have been using content to meet the needs (informational or psychological) of their audience. In so doing, they build awareness, credibility, trust, and sales.
Let’s look at 3 examples of Content Marketing in action.
Forks Over Knives “empower people to live healthier lives by changing the way the world understands nutrition”. I’m not a foodie, but I found their site through my online search general or content marketing insights.
Forks Over Knives was listed as a good example of content by a small business so this motivated me to go check them out.
From the looks of their website, their Content Marketing leads visitors to purchase one or more of their digital products. These include a meal planner, cooking class, a recipe app, and their cookbooks and magazines.
On their website, they provide hundreds of whole food plant-based recipes. Their recipes comprise ingredient lists, instructions, and tips for cooking.
Forks Over Knives also runs a well-organized blog featuring success stories, how-tos, and wellness articles. They even have a documentary feature film. Released back in 2011, the film explores the claim that chronic diseases can be managed by rejecting animal-based and processed foods.
This is a powerful example of edutainment in Content Marketing. Those who watch the documentary may very well become evangelists of the brand.
Jeff Rose is a Certified Financial Planner, Author, Publisher, and Speaker.
He publishes articles, podcasts, and videos around helping you secure your financial well-being. One of his blogs, "Good Financial Cents", offers tips on becoming financially free.
There’s also "Annuities by Jeff" which helps people make better decisions about retirement. And "Life Insurance by Jeff" provides useful content on buying the right insurance.
Jeff has been featured on a host of high authority sites including Forbes, Business Insider, and The Times.
But I first learned of Jeff through another podcaster that surfaced after a Google search.
From the podcast, I was curious enough to go check out his website and binge consume some of his content. That’s the power of Content Marketing!
Kevin Scoggin is a Success Coach, Podcaster, and Author. He teaches Christian entrepreneurs the mindsets, habits, and sales strategies needed to build successful businesses.
At the time of this writing, Kevin published 29 episodes for his Kingdom B School podcast.
Some of his podcasts titles include:
- How to hear from God for your business
- Success is Boring
- Clarity over Cleverness
- Stay Hungry
- Mastering your Mindset
Another facet of Kevin’s Content Marketing at work is his book entitled, “Made to Make It” (which I intend to read). The book talks about the 3 critical mindsets you need to tread the path of entrepreneurship.
I found Kevin through Instagram in my search for Christian coaches. He may not have a huge Instagram following but the quality of his Instagram content led me to listen to one of his podcast episodes.
The reviews on Kevin’s podcasts are also telling of the value he delivers in his content. One reviewer wrote, “This podcast will inspire you, challenge you, and give you practicals on how to pursue a Kingdom culture within your business.”
When to use Content Marketing
Content Marketing isn't for everyone. Just pay attention to the examples I've used.
For one, the brands cover topics and services that people typically want to read or learn more about before purchasing.
That's called the readability factor. It's a good test for deciding if you should commit to Content Marketing.
So ask yourself: Do I have a product, service, or topic that my audience typically reads about before they make a decision? Do they consume a lot of content on the topic to help them get the best result?
The second thing you want to consider is whether a community already exists for your topic.
Content Marketing works well when there is an identifiable group of people with an interest in your product/service category.
They are distinguishable by factors such as their physical characteristics, beliefs, values, life mission, culture, or sub-culture.
The bottom line with Content Marketing
Did you take note of the way I discovered each brand?
It all started with a search either via a search engine (Google) or via Social Media (Instagram).
These searches turned up content which then led me to the content owned by each brand (Forks over Knives’ website, Jeff Rose’s blogs, Kevin Scoggin’s podcast).
I consumed multiples pieces of content from all three brands because they satisfied the informational needs I had at the time.
And because I consumed the content, I now hold the belief that each of them is credible within their own respective fields. This makes me much more receptive to their product or service offers.
I am writing about them now so my actions are spreading the word about their brand. I have even joined the email list of one of the brands. This now gives them the opportunity to continue to send me more useful content as I am now part of their community.
My behaviour exemplifies the typical behaviour of many of your potential clients. But if you are not producing and distributing content, your audience won't find you online.
So the bottom line is this: Get going with Content Marketing.
Conclusion
If you think about it, people only do business with people or brands that they know, like, and trust. These rules don’t change in the online marketplace.
In short, Content Marketing allows you to grow your brand online without resorting to desperate salesy tactics.
Do you have any questions on Content Marketing? Feel free to leave them in the comments below.
I’m a content marketing specialist and owner of C.D BLACKMAN SOCIAL REBELLION MARKETING, where I make it easy for professional service-based business owners to create content marketing strategies that attract leads and clients more predictably.