The 4 Fundamentals of Content Marketing
Content marketing is booming. Content marketing has been for years one of the most actively sought out forms of marketing in the world. It allows brands to personally connect with their audiences. With the availability and accessibility of social media platforms, starting a trend or spreading the news has never been easier. However, for many business, the concept of content marketing is still brand new and therefore, they may not be ready to step out of their comfort zone (in reference to traditional marketing methods).
To better understand what content marketing is about, this is a brief introducing to understanding the four fundamentals of this form of marketing.
The 4 Fundamentals of Content Marketing
The idea behind content marketing is simple: To entertain, to persuade, to inspire and to educate. These are the four essentials of content marketing. Without these four fundamentals, content marketing is just another form of dull marketing, grouped with the rest of failed market attempts.
Entertain: One of the most exciting forms of marketing is to entertain the audience. Try thinking out of the box. If you are the audience, what will you participate in and maybe, win goodies?
There are several ways to reach out to the audience which includes: Surveys, interactive games, meme, virals, quizzes and even branded videos. None of these elements should scream, brand, brand, brand! Successfully entertaining an audience is one of the best ways to keep them engaged with you.
If you apply your entertaining tactics to social media channels, the chances of receiving organic traffic (likes, shares, retweets, favorites and comments) is expected to grow and steadily increase. People will begin to associate your brand with these fun-filled posts and in return, share your content to their friends.
Add in humor, an interesting topic or surveys and start a conversation.
Persuade: Now that you have the attention of your audience, what’s the next step? Persuasion. What do you have that stands out? One of the most effective ways to persuade a customer’s decision is by providing something of value. Ideas such as case studies, webinars or interactive calculators for example are great stepping stones to start persuading the audience.
Webinars is an excellent way to show and convince why your brand and its services stand out. It gives the opportunity to showcase your knowledge and expertise in your selected niche. If your brand contains highly informative case studies, show it. Answer all questions your audience may ask: Who, What, Where, When and Why.
By adding testimonials, ratings, reviews and certifications on your brand website, it makes your brand more convincing and real.
Inspire: How do you inspire people on the internet to think of your brand? It takes a little digging up but you can invest in celebrity endorsements to do so. Alternatively, there are ways that are less expensive to go about it. Consider these options: Forums, reviews and testimonials.
Forums are one of the best channels to connect with people. People often go to forums in search of answers and if you can answer their questions in a professional and useful manner, they will remember you.
There is a high possibility the people you helped will be inspired by you, as an individual representative of your brand. Henceforth, your brand can be considered dependable. The audience will be inspired to use your brand to fulfill their needs and in doing so, both parties can form a long-lasting relationship.
Educate: Educating the public is one of the most crucial steps to teach the public about your brand. To educate your audience, it’s best to start about writing about your product: What is it? How much is it? What are the product specifications? Why do your customers need your product? How will customers benefit from using your product?
There are many ways of informing the customer. For example, you can start producing how-to articles, devise thought leadership content, publish e-books, podcasts or even infographics. Inform the customer of your targeted niche and in a sense, apply the knowledge of why your brand will help them.
In conclusion, keep in mind these four fundamentals of content marketing are bound to overlap with one another; one does not simply stand alone. It is true that content marketing is built on the idea of ‘hiqh quality and unique content’ which comes in many mediums. It is up to you how you utilize each medium to produce maximum results. It must never be forgotten content marketing is not about selling; it is about building a relationship with your audience. The more trust shared between you and your audience, your brand can continue to mature and continue to be a part of building a superb business to consumer relationship.
