A good content marketing strategy is vital in today’s world. The Internet is King, and Google, instant news and mobile devices have made content marketing the Queen. What 10 years ago seemed little more than wishful thinking has now become the norm: content is the reigning champion of online marketing.
This phenomenon has created considerable misconceptions with regard to what content marketing is and should be. Content is a smart, resourceful way in which companies can promote themselves on the Internet; it is an informative and useful way by which a corporation can attract core consumers via social media platforms and meaningful self-published articles.
Content marketing does not, however, mean ‘fake’ news generated specifically to attract attention, automated Twitter and Facebook accounts. It is neither a complete replacement for traditional print media, nor is it the clear future of marketing. B2B content marketing is constantly evolving – its future is in no way set in stone.
Businesses often do not understand this; companies assume that content marketing is a cheap and easy way to generate interest and attract consumers – it is not necessarily. Simply because you can hire someone who can write 10 articles a day does not mean that those articles will be thought-provoking or relevant. You can’t just create content and then slap some advertisement on it – the Internet won’t take it.
Almost every content marketing agency and their editors consider the people who read their content as “consumers”. This is not the way to go. Marketing your content towards “consumers” is not the correct approach; instead, think of them as “readers” – it is what they are, after all. They will read and consume your content if it is relevant and informational to them, and they do not accept interruption in the form of ads during their reading. Keeping this in mind will help you go a long way towards formulating a successful content marketing strategy.
