Christopher Foerster
Chris Foerster is a digital marketer at Fremont College and founder of the website My News Tips.
The way products and services are marketed these days is entirely different from the marketing of our grandparents' or even our parents' youth. Nowadays, just about every type of business out there is making use of content marketing, especially startups.
If you are an entrepreneur who just opened a small business, chances are you have come across numerous content marketing articles as you hunt for different tactics to get the ball rolling. Unfortunately, there are a number of articles that have overcomplicated the strategies behind successful content marketing campaigns.
Luckily, you're in the right place: This article will introduce you to content marketing that is stripped of all its technical glory, revealing only the core elements needed to run a campaign. If you are on the brink of giving up on content marketing, keep on reading. Below you will learn how it is possible to gain customers and rake in profits without trying to make a sale, made entirely possible by content marketing. Understand the basics of content marketing. In order to generate revenue, it's important to let your target audience know about your products or services. Seems pretty straightforward so far, right? Here's where it gets a little difficult. Today's shoppers are a lot smarter and more cautious than our fathers and grandfathers. And nothing drives them away faster than in-your-face marketing campaigns.
This is where content marketing enters the picture. It's basically a strategy to entice shoppers to buy without actually asking them to do so. In other words, content marketing is not about explicitly selling products or services, but getting everyone interested in what is being offered. Content marketing is beneficial to all businesses looking to generate sales. However, it's something that can be particularly advantageous for small ventures because it can be easy to implement and scale.
But don't be fooled by what you have heard thus far. Just because content marketing can be simple, easy and cheap doesn't mean that you will instantly be popping champagne corks. Like any other marketing strategy out there, it has to be executed with great precision. Otherwise, it could prove to be useless. The good news is that while content marketing should be deployed tastefully, having it employed in the right manner isn't rocket science.
Always remember to put your customers first. Without your customers, your business doesn't exist. And this is exactly why it is a good idea to always put your customers first, something that content marketing advocates. Before you start ruminating possible topics, consider what your target audience wants. Marketing content is not about you, but about everyone else.
Content marketing provides your target audience with the information they're looking for in the form of blogs, infographics, images and videos, among other things. Topics can include anything from common issues that they are facing on a day-to-day basis to trending industry news. Forbes Communications Council is an invitation-only community for executives in successful public relations, media strategy, creative and advertising agencies. Do I qualify?
In other words, content marketing should cater to the interests of your customers and make them feel that they received value every time they come to your site. If that doesn't excite you, take a minute to think about this. As your content continues to spoon feed your audience what they want, you are slowly but surely gaining their trust and loyalty and building a relationship between them and your brand. In the eyes of your target market, you are starting to become an authority, someone they can run to whenever they need help.
Make your content marketing efficient. One of the biggest challenges in executing a content marketing plan is regularly producing interesting, quality content that your audience will not only enjoy reading but will also want to share – especially because it can feel like your competition is always coming up with ingenious ideas that are driving more and more of your target audience away from you.
Building a team is one effective method to ensure the stability and success of your content marketing. You can read my recent article on how to hire team members here. Delegate roles for each team member to ensure that your stratagem is a well-oiled marketing machine.
By following these simple tips, you will be ready to put your strategies to use delivering useful and interesting content to your audience.