Content Marketing Is Your Megaphone
How to use content to build trust, increase visibility, and go beyond ads
Have you ever explored a business’s website after reading one of their blog posts?
Have you ever bought a product because you saw an influencer promote it?
Have you ever researched a company after hearing about it on a podcast?
If so, you’ve experienced successful content marketing.
What is content marketing?
Content marketing is a way of promoting your brand and business by providing valuable information. What kind of information? Anything relevant to your products and services is fair game. You can share it on your website, your social media channels, your email list, your acquaintance’s podcast–in fact, you can share it through any mouthpiece available to you.
The goal of content marketing is to position your brand as a trusted authority. It is to build relationships with your target audiences. In doing so, your business will be top-of-mind for whatever problem you solve for your audience.
Content marketing is a powerful way for businesses to tell their story in a compelling, human way. Storytelling drives human action in an extraordinary way, so being able to use it in marketing is critical.
Content marketing stands in contrast with advertising, which promotes products directly. Although the two marketing tactics can be used in tandem, content marketing is a popular standalone, low-budget marketing approach.
What is the content in “content marketing?”
The content of “content marketing” can be any type of content related to your business’s products or services. Yes, this is broad, which is why content marketing is popular and easy to tackle.
To narrow in on high-impact content topics, start with keyword research. This will surface frequently asked questions relevant to your business. Creating content that responds to those questions will help drive search traffic to your website.
Consider your audience’s buyer’s journey. They will need different information depending on their stage (awareness, consideration, or decision). This approach can also help you narrow in on topics.
The possibilities for content topics are endless. You can think creatively about how to tell your story and explain your value. Make sure you research your audiences and competitors throughout the process to ensure that the content you create will be valuable.
Some popular ideas include:
Tutorials
Case studies
Client stories
Team profiles
Business origin story
Thought leadership pieces
Comparisons to competitors
All of these topics can be developed in different formats, such as:
Videos
Webinars
Blog posts
Infographics
Social media content
Email or snail mail newsletters
Podcasts or podcast guest appearances
What is the marketing in “content marketing?”
Once you have created content, you can distribute it through any number of channels to reach, educate, and engage your audiences. Focus on the channels where your target audiences spend the most time.
The more content you create around a specific topic, the more your audience will associate you with that topic and will consider you an expert in it. The big advantage of content marketing is that each piece of content can (and should!) be recycled and repurposed across all of your channels. Consider your initial piece of content as the trunk of a tree with each variation of the content as its branches.
For example: Your thought leadership blog post should be…
Shared on all social media channels (TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, X / Twitter)
Sent to your email audience
Turned into shareable graphics
Which should in turn be shared on all social media channels
Turned into a webinar
Which should be recorded and in turn shared on YouTube, social, email, website
Spoken about on podcasts
Which should be turned into sound bites and shared on social, email website
You get the idea.
Why does content marketing work?
It builds trust:
Content marketing offers valuable insights for your audience and positions you as a trusted advisor. It gives you the chance to show that you understand your audiences and you care about them. This foundation of trust turns your relationship from transactional to emotional.
It offers cost-effective visibility:
Traditional advertising can be expensive. For teams operating on small budgets, content marketing is a strategic way of getting noticed. It can be paired with advertising for maximum impact.
It drives engagement:
Engaging content can be a cornerstone of a meaningful connection. Well-executed content shapes a brand narrative that people want to be a part of. It turns audiences into community.
It educates your audience:
Content marketing is an important educational tool that teaches audiences about your industry and how your products and services are positioned within it. It can help your audiences understand why your offering is the best option.
Conclusion
Content marketing is a powerful marketing approach. When done effectively, it builds a brand that resonates, creates a trusting community, and drives sales. For teams on small budgets who want to get noticed, content marketing is a must.
Need content marketing? Here are ways we can help:
Develop a content strategy for your business.
Run a half-day or full-day brand workshop to lay the foundations for your content marketing.
Interested? Send us a note.