How Content Marketing Is Changing the Game?

Content marketing is the most potent strategy of digital marketing, also known as online marketing, in the 21st century. The word "content marketing" was coined in 1996 by John F. Oppedahl at a journalism conference and has been used since then. Content marketing is the future of marketing. With time passing by, more marketers are understanding its relevance and shifting to it. Studies have shown that 80 percent of businesses prefer online marketing over traditional marketing, as it provides even small-scale businesses and brands recognition.

What is content marketing?

Content marketing, a subset of online marketing, is the creation of content which can be in the form of either video, audio, images, or texts and sharing it via different mediums to the targeted audience over the internet which helps marketers in not just promoting brands/businesses but also creating awareness and building trust. 

Types of content marketing mediums are:

• Blogs and articles, social media posts
• Newsletters
• Podcasts
• Paid ads by influencers
• Memes/GIF
• Expert Q & A
• Pop-up advertisement
• Infographics
• Reviews and blog comments

Why is content marketing important?

Content marketing is changing the game in the 21st century. Your content not only gives you media visibility but also assists people all over the world by providing them with the information they are looking for.

Many studies have clearly shown that content marketing has helped many businesses gain visibility, more loyal customers, and more profits by conveying messages or information online on the internet through graphics, images, text, and videos, which are direct without any interruption. On average, people these days spend 8 hours to 7 hours daily, which is 56 hours a week on the internet. Due to content marketing, there has been a huge increase in lead generation and customer engagement in B2B as well. 

That is why the content creator or the marketer needs to make sure whether the information they are trying to convey comes through the content or not and if their content is powerful enough to stand out from all the competition.

How to do content marketing?

Here are a few important points if you are new to this field and the things to keep in mind while creating content to get a better understanding of what your content should be, what it should consist of, and how it helps to improve SEO.

Ø  New and distinctive content

You will find all kinds of content these days online. Just remember to keep your content fresh with a bit of personal touch that people can relate to and you will get to connect with your audience. This will help you stand out, improvise and eventually drive more traffic.

Ø  Contextual content

Make sure to provide contextual content, which means giving the audience all the information they require or related information. This will create a better understanding of the message you are trying to convey and then they will not have to look elsewhere.

Ø  Guidance and assurance

It is crucial to provide contextual content, meaning the audience will have all the necessary information they are looking for or related information. This will create a better understanding of what you are trying to convey and they won’t be looking elsewhere. It also helps in reputation building.

Ø  Being consistent and updated

Make sure to be consistent with the posting of blogs, videos, etc. If it needs any changes, like adding more content or graphics, keep on updating your content promptly or as per requirements. This helps you build trust.

The advantages of content marketing over traditional marketing

There has been a drastic shift from traditional marketing towards online marketing, making marketers rely more on content marketing as it is more convenient. The audience is becoming smarter and more vocal about their needs. Many studies prove that 90 percent of people buy services and products online because they either see information related to them over the internet or they read the reviews.

Why is content marketing more effective?

• Strategic marketing
• Cost friendly
• Long term benefits
• targets a specific audience.
• Brand awareness 
• Brand loyalty
• Versatile

Content marketing strategies

Most businesses these days don’t have content marketing strategies. It is important because each business, organization, product, or brand needs to analyze and for a well-organized plan to follow, set goals that need to be achieved, focus on improvements that need to be made, and keep track of the numbers and results, which will help the business, brand, or organization adapt and grow with time.

• Set a goal you want to achieve.
• Identify the right audience for you.
• Select the type of content.
• Audit and make improvements.
• Keep on tracking the results

I've given you a brief overview of some things you should know about content marketing. If you found it useful, please share it.