More and more content is being produced these days with marketing messages. From social media updates to emails, people are constantly sharing bits of information that promote certain products or ideas.
In recent years, someone has even started creating fake news stories and trending topics to manipulate voters. And it’s all too common for companies to create content farms to produce large amounts of low-quality posts using keywords (and sometimes paid advertising).
Social Media Marketing became much more popular thanks to articles like this one; they teach people how to leverage the power of Facebook, Instagram, and Google+ by producing quality content.
Therefore, you want to focus on doing quantity over quality when it comes to content. Upload several high-quality pieces of content on your website so that if people share them, others can also help spread the word.
However, don’t forget to still have quality content available, but make it easy to find. The goal is to start branding yourself through consistent content, not to pile up as many views and shares as you can.
It’s hard to pinpoint one specific time that content marketing came into its own. However, it was definitely rediscovered in the mid-to-late 2010s. Before then, several companies were already doing it, but not in mainstream fashion.
Once content marketing became more prevalent, many people started asking about how to do it right. This article will address those questions.
Before we start, let’s be clear about one thing: this article does not discuss brand building or advertising. Those are two sides of the same coin – money. What this article discusses is an approach to customer engagement that doesn’t require investing in ads or paying for sales.
That approach comes down to something important in managing your business: trust. You must build relationships with your customers and then try to earn their trust through honesty and transparency.
Content marketing helps you get creative and use different tools to communicate with your audience. Here are some examples of content products and strategies.
Example product: Slides (PowerPoint)
Paragraph: Even though the term ‘content marketer’ implies someone who creates content like blogs and videos, we produce stories–specifically slides at Flatfile Media. We come up with topics, formats, and issues that appeal to our target audiences.
Blogging apps and platforms are another good example of content creation. There are numerous software programs that have created sets of blogging templates that can
The economy has caused consumers to become much more educated about what they are buying, who is selling it, and how it was made. People want to support businesses that don’t use artificial means to produce their product.
Businesses that rely solely on advertising will lose customers rapidly once they realize you aren’t donating money to help children write blogs. It’s hard for companies that don’t create quality content to get better results than those who can provide useful information or jokes every day.
Content marketers understand this shift in consumer awareness has taken place and are doing everything they can to promote good-quality content.
They know when seeking out business partners that readers/customers care deeply about topics such as sustainability, safety, practical info, and creative ideas.
These are things everyone wants for themselves and their families. More and more companies are investing large amounts of time and energy into creating helpful and informative articles like the ones listed above.
Because you’re talking to people, finding others who are interested in similar topics or products, you’ve established yourself as an expert
You’re listening carefully to what they have to say, asking questions to gain more understanding of their needs and preferences, and provide them with information about your product or service.
By sharing articles, videos, events, interviews, and other types of content that appeal to them, you are becoming one of those people – someone they trust to give out advice about products and services.
And because you’re continuously providing new resources and opportunities for readers to learn more from you, they’ll continue to do so.
This is not flattery or false advertising; this is simply how things work.
The truth will set you free.
Even thoughcontent marketing is becoming more popular, people still don’t understand what it is. Many think that it means creating quality content to attract the eyes of viewers/readers and then selling them something. This is not how I do business or how I view my role as an entrepreneur.
I was first introduced to the idea of content marketing back in 2008 when several websites had giveaways and leaks with the goal of attracting visitors and buyers. What they failed to realize is that those views were valued only if they were motivated by another action — buying their products or signing up for their services.
Content marketing doesn’t mean giving things away for free and hoping someone will buy something from you. It’s about producing consistent messages (blog posts, tweets, videos) that appeal to your audience and promote your business. You should always be asking yourself who you want to talk to, and how you can most effectively communicate with them.
And while YouTube is great for engaging and entertaining audiences, you also have to remember that people watch television too, and they like to be informed. Therefore, you also need to produce content to put online and distribute to others to make sure people know where you are found.
Consistency is key, but so is varied presentation. You can’t just shove 30 blogs on each page and assume people will read them. Likewise, there needs to be a reason for each blog’s existence other than
Online listings are becoming more popular thanks to digital media. People love to use search engines to find businesses, restaurants, shops, services and people.
More and more business owners are creating online profiles with photos and descriptions of their products and services.
Many consumers then go to these websites to browse and make purchases. For some, the decision is made after one visit, while others may buy what they need without visiting the site.
Some will write a review or mention it in a talk about the shop or restaurant once they’ve made their purchase.
Others will click through to a website and perhaps see another item that looks good? Or maybe they choose to make a call instead of stopping by in person.
That way they can do research before making a decision. It also helps them get an idea of how easy it is to contact the business and speak directly to someone who knows something about them.
These efforts only help increase sales and keep customers coming back.
Emails have become a powerful weapon in your marketing arsenal. Not only do they keep customers engaged, they work well for lead generation.
Provide subscribers with valuable information related to their interests. You can do this by giving tips or suggestions or providing relevant product recommendations.
Tell subscribers how they could use your products. This way, people who may be interested in your brand or in what you sell will know about it through someone else.
Keep them updated with new products and special offers. This encourages more interaction with your brand and increases customer loyalty.
Before the rise of digital media, most companies sold products through non-tech channels such as radio advertisements.
However, tech firms realized they could sell products with little to no investment by creating online versions of these advertsion programs. You can create an advertising channel for free by uploading audio recordings and still images into your website.
Moreover, you can pay someone else to develop a channel for you. Once developed, you have to put in work to get people to listen or watch what you have to offer.
At this stage, the content is published; the listener or viewer now has something new to explore. Or so you think.
Most companies that advertise use pre-recorded materials. Because viewers are expecting a message, when hearing it via recorded advertisement, their brain understands the information more quickly than if they were to read it.
This works well with messages such as alerts and notifications. If you want to encourage behavior change, try listening to/watching a notification instead of reading a text alert.
