The Marketing World has changed
To maximize the success of marketing efforts marketers need to adept at integrating modern and innovative methods/techniques into their marketing mix portfolio. For traditional marketers the notion of promotion without self promoting is a confusing one. Traditional advertisers used to broadcast in-your-face self-promotional messages in all of their campaigns and with the Consumers getting smart have shut off the traditional world of marketing by skipping television advertising, often ignore magazine advertising, and now have become so adept at online “surfing” that they can take in online information without a care for banners or buttons.
Smart marketers understand that traditional marketing is becoming less and less effective by the minute, and that there has to be a better way.
- You hear that people don’t want advertising when making purchasing decisions, they want valuable information.
- You hear that it’s content that spreads via social networks, generating powerful word-of-mouth exposure for savvy content marketers.
What does content marketing actually mean?
Content Marketing means creating and sharing valuable free content to attract and convert prospects into customers, and customers into repeat buyers. The type of content you share is closely related to what you sell; in other words, you’re educating people so that they know, like, and trust you enough to do business with you.
Basically, content marketing is the art of communicating with your customers and prospects without selling. It is non-interruption marketing. Instead of pitching your products or services, you are delivering information that makes your buyer more intelligent. The essence of this content strategy is the belief that if we, as businesses, deliver consistent, ongoing valuable information to buyers, they ultimately reward us with their business and loyalty.
The reason for this change is that the consumer has nearly limitless choices available to them for entertainment. Get too commercial with them, and they’re gone. They don’t need to put up with your messaging if they don’t like it.
To execute an effective content marketing program
- Identify and map your buyer personas and journeys
- Develop your brand voice and style guide
Content Marketing Frame work
- Plan
- Audience
- Story
- Channels
- Conversations
- Measurements
Measuring a how effective is the content marketing strategy?
Everything you measure needs to start with an objective, such as:
- Build brand awareness or reinforcement
- Create more effective lead conversion and nurturing
- Customer up sell or cross-sell
- Create subscribers to our content
End Note:
Content Marketing can be effective in terms of both cost and reach if planned effectively. The Return on Investment (ROI) and Return on Objective (ROO) can be achieved if there is a proper understanding of the target audience and channels of advocacy. ROO is nothing but the aspirations or the motive of an organization or the institution.
And this is where you’ll earn your keep. Once you can show certain trends with your content, then you can start to do more of what’s working and less of what’s not.