I believe that your company carries out content marketing. According to studies, an increasing number of companies are adopting content marketing techniques and are planning to invest in them. But how are these investments targeted? At content production? That is not enough for content marketing. In this blog article, I hope to clarify what content marketing really is and isn’t on the basis of my own experiences.
Content marketing means:
- Added value to the customer. The content won’t resonate with your customers if it hasn’t been linked to the value you can offer to them. This is not something that communications, marketing or even the best partner can produce without knowledge of the customers’ information needs at the various stages of the purchase process and customer relationship.
- Service experience and information provision. Customers may be looking for more information when they are making a purchase decision related to a sector that is new to them. Offer them this information. Provide guidance and help them with relevant content. Don’t just explain, demonstrate or urge – this carries the risk of underestimating and spamming the customer.
- Logic, conclusions and true partnership. Guide the visitor to the next information level. Up to 80% of the purchase process takes place online – in numerous phases and steps. Be systematic. How do you explain your expertise to a person who is new to the field? And what is the best way to talk to a potential customer who already has in-depth knowledge of the sector?
- Goal-oriented marketing. Consider how content marketing influences business performance. Visitor numbers and social media shares alone do not suffice as indicators of content marketing results.
[clickToTweet tweet=”Visitor numbers and social media shares alone do not suffice as indicators of the content marketing results. #sisältömarkkinointi #ROI" quote="Visitor numbers and social media shares alone do not suffice as indicators of the content marketing results. #sisältömarkkinointi #ROI"]
In my opinion, content marketing does not mean:
- Blogs, videos, articles. They are content, of course, but not content marketing as such. On many a website, blog content ends with a link to the latest blog article, even though its topic is not in any way related to the article the visitor just viewed. Or the article may include an invitation to contact the company without directing the reader to view the relevant service or product descriptions. Hence, the visitor is not guided from one information level to the next.
- Campaigns that are not linked to the company’s core business. It’s easy to generate huge amounts of online content but this content is only effective and productive when it is connected to the target groups’ information levels, either before customer relationship, at the purchase window stage or during the customer relationship.
- Work carried out solely by a marketing department or office. Test whether the rest of your organisation knows about your work, activities and plans. Are they involved and are your company’s business direction and focus reflected in its content marketing?
[clickToTweet tweet="#Content marketing produces results when it is designed in accordance with the target group’s knowledge level." quote="#Content marketing produces results when it is designed in accordance with the target group’s knowledge level."]
Do you agree with the main themes presented here? Let’s talk more on Twitter: @Tannikat.
Lacking peer support?
Our strategic content marketing #Super event to be held on 14 September in Helsinki will bring together numerous content marketing professionals. This event will offer you the opportunity to meet dozens of marketing people from various fields. The invited speakers include visionary leaders from Neste and Naava, and parties signed up for the event include representatives from the public sector, the manufacturing industry, the energy industry, the IT sector and a growing expert organisation. Read more about the event and sign up to network and learn new things!
