As with most good ideas, content marketing is not a new concept. In 1895, John Deere published a leaflet called “The Furrow” which helped farmers make more money (by, strangely enough, using John Deere products). In 1900, Michelin published the Michelin Guide, providing drivers with maintenance tips and travel guides – offering motorists information on hotels and restaurants that motorists may want to visit. While using their Michelin tyres, naturally.
Over the last few decades however, the way in which people find, receive, consume, and send information has changed exponentially. The internet, the evolution of technology, the proliferation of AI, has led to a growth in scrutiny, cynicism, and desire for genuine conversation.
In this environment of excess, people can pick and choose what they want to read, and anyone has the ability to publish anything they want and make it available to the rest of the world.
Content marketing creates information that offers value and allows readers to connect with brands.
The Content Marketing Association defines content marketing as:
…a strategic marketing approach 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…
In English? (note: don’t you just love marketers for their ability to say not very much using lots of words?)
It means that instead of simply trying to sell your product, you’re opening up a conversation. You’re sharing your knowledge on a topic to educate your buyers. You’re showing a human side to your business. This is done in the hope that by being a useful source of information, customers will reward your business with their loyalty and money.
In practice, this means blog posts, podcasts, newsletters, infographics, videos, toolkits, checklists, how-to guides. Businesses give away information in order to acquire leads, increase their visibility, feed their social media, and widen their reach.
Back to the Content Marketing Association, they say content marketing is “second only to internet advertising… and now accounts for more than 20% of marketing budgets.” Effective content marketing allows a company to:
Firstly, content marketing isn’t going anywhere. Unlike Tamagotchi, fidget spinners, or those NFTs of monkeys, content marketing is here to stay. In order to succeed at the content marketing game, there are a couple of things businesses should be aware of before starting.
It can be tempting to dive straight into content marketing (after all, how hard can it be?). However, it’s worth bearing in mind that there are people out there who make a living from this. And there’s a reason for that. Content marketing, done right, can pay dividends. Done wrong, and there’s the potential for making a huge dent in your company’s reputation.
While there’s certainly room for short 500-word pieces (like this one), there is a growing focus on high-quality, long-form content. Talk to an SEO expert about the impact it has on your Google ranking / LLM coverage but also think about it, isn’t it better to have a potential client find all the information they need on your site, as opposed to on the site of a competitor?
Over 50% of web traffic comes from mobile. Is your website up to the task? Concentrate on compelling visuals, quick loading, single-page scroll content. Your phone friends will thank you for it.
Words aren’t enough anymore. Whereas in the past, customers may have been content to put their trust in a brand, now, they’re demanding more. Society wants to see the person behind the brand. We want to know who’s growing our food or making our clothes. We want to know that there’s someone human behind that corporate exterior.
Society wants to see the person behind the brand, and one of the most effective ways to show that human side is through the power of corporate storytelling.
Content doesn’t just sit on a static website. Part of the reason behind creating content is so you can get more engagement. Share it, discuss it, ask questions about it – and don’t overlook how your employees can help you get it out there on their own channels too. This is your chance to really get to know your customer and future customers.
Not normally one to push traffic away from my site, there are a couple of really useful toolkits and long reads on content marketing:
(Do you notice how most of these companies have a product based around content marketing? Yes, that’s right, they’re using content marketing to teach their potential clients about… content marketing)
Want help building a content marketing approach that actually works for your business? Get in touch and let’s talk it through.
Beaumont is a communications agency based in Lausanne, Switzerland. We work with clients all around the world to change the way they talk about themselves – helping them create engaging stories that motivate action.
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