Content Marketing

As tech-savvy humans, we all are consuming content in one form or the other. Be it through social media platforms, books, ebooks, blogs, articles and the list goes on. We all are producing content in one form or the other. So, the question arises what is content marketing?

Hubspot Academy defines content marketing as, “ a strategic marketing and business process focused on creating and distributing valuable, relevant and consistent content to attract and retain a clearly defined audience and ultimately to drive profitable customer action.”

Let’s breakdown the definition for easy understanding:

• It is a continuous process. We cannot create one time content and assume that now our audience will get what they want. No! We have to be consistent with the process. Create a framework which should include variety of content that needs to be created and distributed. These include blogs, articles, social media posts, captions, reels, IGTV, videos, BTS, product review etc.
• It is an art of storytelling. tell your audience WHY you are doing this. Educate and inform them about your product and services. Tell a story. Resonate with your audience. Build a relationship. Establish a connection with them. A story establishes and alignment between your audience and your prospects and customers. This is how we do business storytelling.
• Distribution of content is as important as creating one. We need to understand where are we selling. Who is our defined/target audience? Carry out an extensive research to understand what niche are you targeting. Is it a wider audience or limited? Understand your prospects and customers to begin distributing your content. It could be on social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, Snapchat, TikTok and more. Content can be distributed via blogs which as 2500+ words. You can write a blog or an article and educate your audience about your products and services. Tell them how your business solves their problem. Answer their questions. Communicate with them to know more of their needs. Reply to the comments and build a relationship.
• While distributing, make sure to add CTAs (click-to-action). These CTAs will lead your target customer or prospect to the end result that is BUYING your product or a service. Define your CTAs clearly in manner that they are not vague and easily located on the page (social media platforms, blogs etc). We need to guide them with clearly defined steps so that they can make a decision to use your products and services.

Content is the King here. Every brand should establish a well defined content marketing strategy to increase their revenues and generate more qualified leads. With ample social media platforms, the brands can distribute their content to their defined audience.

P.S.: Don’t forget to speak with your audience. Speak their language to connect with them. After all, a brand is nothing without their customers. So, what is your content marketing strategy?