Content Marketing - How Marketing has Changed

Traditional marketing vehicles (such as newspapers and TV) are getting less share of voice, which means that they will be less helpful in getting your message in front of your customers.

Marketing has changed.

Daily newspaper readership has plummeted. In 2006, only 35 percent of 18 to 34-year-olds were daily newspaper readers. According to IBM and the University of Bonn, 71 percent of consumers use their PC for more than two hours per day during their personal time, as opposed to 48 percent spending that much time watching TV. If the old tried and true approaches are no longer working, how do you adapt to a changing philosophy of marketing?

The good news is that it’s easy. It’s cost-effective. It’s even better if you own a small business. People are hungry for information – and they want it now. If you consistently provide the information that people are looking for, you will be seen as an expert in your industry. The new marketing is all about providing valuable content and everyone to be a publisher. A small business can, with high-quality content, be just as effective in search engines as massive corporations. Google doesn’t discriminate against the size of your business. Rather, Google discriminates against the quality of your content, the consistency of your content and the relevance of your keywords. 

Although content marketing builds on traditional marketing principles, it focuses more on trust, credibility and customer relationships. Content marketing answers your questions, solves problems and increases trust.

Some thoughts to ponder:

• Content marketing is primarily about raising awareness, so that when it is time to buy, the customer thinks of you. This means establishing a relationship and nurturing that relationship over time;
• The second focus of content marketing is to make sure that when the customer is trying to solve a problem, your organisation or product posed a credible solution;
• People are busy and do not want to be continuously interrupted. Today, people can search for exactly what they want, when they want it. The information yielded by their search enquiry is what will stimulate (or hinder) their purchasing decision, so it is vital that your business/product is high in search rankings;
• People still want information, but they are not interested in generic information and don’t want to only know about products. People want information that helps them in some way. Perhaps the information helps them save money, or it helps them save time, maybe it allows them to be more knowledgeable than their peers. Once you have supplied your customer with useful information, they are more likely to buy from you;
• People want to be part of something great. Maybe this is about the economy or the ecology, or maybe it is about helping others. Most people like to feel a part of some larger effort and if they feel that they can make a difference – they will;
• People are bored. Something that is unique in some way will grab attention;
• Trust is crucial. You cannot offer something that is untrue or unethical. If you are perceived as a “snake-oil salesperson” then the deal is dead. Integrity is essential.

All of the above leads to a content marketing approach that:
1)    Builds trust with the customer
2)    Provides relevant information when the customer needs it
3)    Establishes you as an expert in the eye of the customer
4)    Ensures you are considered when a buying decision must be made

Content marketers can generally work within your budget (however small) and will adapt a content marketing campaign to suit you. Content marketing is far more cost-effective than an expensive TV commercial and can easily answer your customer’s question, “What’s in it for me?”.