What Is Content Marketing?

How do you get your marketing messages across to your prospects when consumers have pretty much learned to ignore traditional marketing? Do you own a DVR? Chances are you fast forward past the commercials, and so does your target audience. People are so used to surfing the web, they’ve learned to skim pages of information and not even notice banner advertisements placed within the content.

Traditional marketing methods are becoming less effective, which is why it is a great time to focus on content marketing.

Content marketing is a marketing approach that uses content to attract and retain your target audience, by offering valuable information they can use to learn more about the industry or to solve a problem they have. Content may be in the form of blog posts, your website, internet videos, email marketing, whitepapers and informational downloads. The goal is to create valuable content for your audience that encourages them to return to your website for more information and to view you as the expert in the industry. Content marketing requires that you deliver useful information to your audience without attempting to directly sell your products or services to them. You educate the audience so they can make an intelligent decision when it comes time to buy (and then they will reward you for providing consistent, valuable information by making that purchase with you.)

Content marketing is used by small and medium-sized businesses, but also some of the largest and most successful organizations in the world, including Microsoft and P&G.

Do you see the difference between content marketing and other forms of marketing? Most other marketing strategies are designed to get the sale. Buy this. Click here for your discount. Buy, buy, buy. When consumers are exposed to thousands of marketing messages per day – using a strategy of content marketing can help you stand out in your industry.