Content marketing can be an effective piece of an organization’s overall marketing strategy and advertisers continue to increase the portion of their budgets related to producing content that informs and entertains their customers.
As you think through incorporating content marketing, here are just a few of the questions your organization should ask.
- What are my overall marketing objectives, production capabilities and the needs of my customers?
- Selection of ideal medium(s) for content should suit the customer’s habits and your production capabilities/limitations. A content marketing strategy should complement your overall marketing strategy. It’s pretty easy to set up a twitter feed and regular blog, but webinars and podcasts require additional resources that might be beyond an organization’s current capabilities.
Some of the most popular forms of content marketing, by percentage of companies, are non-blogging social media (79%), article posting (78%), in-person events (62%), e-newsletters (61%), case studies (55%), blogs (51%), white papers (43%) and webinars/webcasts (42%).[1]
- What is my brand essence? i.e. what are the “unique attributes of my brand and the basis for its emotional connection with customers.”[2]
- Articulating and defining the substance of your brand is useful for producing content that is consistent with your brand identity, how you want to be perceived, and for developing a connection with your customer.
- Who is my customer and what is their motivation for paying attention to my brand?
- With the use of market research, a customer persona can be developed that embodies the characteristics, needs and desires of your content users. When you have a grasp on who your customer is today and how it may change tomorrow, you can develop strategies for providing useful/entertaining content when and where they want it.
Content Marketing Success Stories
$87 Million Paycheck (from getspokal.com)
Father and son grew their electronics store, Magnolia, to the point where it was acquired by Best Buy for $87 million.
Why?
Content marketing
The family opened Magnolia in 1954 as a photography store. Then they started selling electronics. They needed customers, but couldn’t afford traditional advertising.
A fellow named Roger Parker had an idea. With his help, they launched the “Buyer’s Guide Place,” a mini-magazine that educated shoppers on electronics: how to buy them, what to look for, what to splurge on and what to avoid. Like a blog, it highlighted their philosophy, their team and why they did what they did.
After 4 decades of maintaining sales, within 18 months the Buyer’s Guide Place transformed their business. They expanded throughout Washington, Oregon and California. Magnolia sold to Best Buy several years later for $87 million.
see more success stories…
link –Top 11 Most Powerful Content Marketing Examples By Small Businesses
link –This 7-Step Content Marketing Plan Earned an $87 Million Paycheck
[1] Marketo 2010 B2B Content Marketing Report
[2] eMarketing: The essential guide to marketing in a digital world. Fifth Edition.
By Rob Stokes and the Minds of Quirk. p. 73
JCCC eMarketing 