Content Marketing: What is it, Why use it, and How-To use it

If you're a marketer or entrepreneur, chances are you've heard of content marketing. But what is it? And how can you use it to benefit your business? Keep reading to find out!

Content marketing is a strategic approach used to create and distribute valuable, relevant, and consistent content to attract and retain a defined audience—to drive profitable customer action.

In other words, content marketing is creating content that people want to see, read, or watch with the ultimate goal of getting them to buy your product or service. And it's not just any ol' content, either. This stuff has to be high quality, relevant, and valuable if you want people to pay attention to it.

Sounds easy peasy, right? Not quite. But don't worry, we’re here to help. Read on for our top tips on creating a content marketing strategy that works for your business.

1) Pick Your Platforms

The first step in creating a content marketing strategy is deciding which platforms you will use to distribute your content. There are many options out there, so it's essential to choose the ones that make the most sense for your business. For example, if you're a B2B company, LinkedIn might be a better option for you than Snapchat. Or, if you're a visual brand, Instagram could be a better fit than Twitter.

Once you've narrowed your options, it's time to start creating content! But before you do that, you need to keep a few more things in mind...

2) Create With A Purpose

When it comes to content creation, quality trumps quantity every time. It's better to have one piece of truly great content than 10 pieces of average content any day of the week. So what makes great content? Relevance, usefulness, originality, and engagement. Your content should be relevant to your audience and their interests. It should be helpful — providing them with information or entertainment that they want or need. And it should be original — not just regurgitated versions of what everyone else is already saying. Finally, it should be engaging — sparking conversation and encouraging interaction.

3) Be Consistent

Once you've got the hang of creating great content, it's important to be consistent with your output. That means posting regularly (daily, weekly, bi-weekly, monthly...whatever makes sense for your business) and using the same voice/tone across all platforms. Consistency is vital when building trust with your audience and establishing yourself as an authority in your industry.

Conclusion

Content marketing can be an extremely beneficial tool for businesses—but only when done correctly. If you don't clearly understand your target audience and what they want/need from you, your content will likely fall on deaf ears. However, if you take the time to understand your target audience and produce quality content that speaks to their needs/wants—you could see some profound benefits for your business!