Contrary to widespread and about in the world of entrepreneurship, marketing content (content marketing) not reborn classic marketing ashes. We must go back to the end of the 19th century to detect the origin.
During the year 1895, the American blacksmith John Deere launched the magazine The Forrow. At the time, it was a review of a few pages for farmers. In the wake of this process, the Michelin guide appears a few years later in 1900. After a significant slowdown, content marketing is experiencing a resurgence of form with the mass media.
However, after more than a century of existence, the very idea of marketing content remains unclear for many of us. What is really marketing content? What can it serve? Is it indispensable in a marketing strategy ?
What is content marketing?
Conventionally, content marketing is defined as the set of techniques and processes aimed at offering quality content. Its main objective is to create a profitable relationship with the consumer and to build loyalty in the medium and long term, but above all to educate him.
In order to understand the particularity of content marketing, it is crucial to distinguish it from traditional or traditional marketing.
Fundamental difference between traditional marketing and content marketing
Traditional marketing has developed in a restricted environment with a simple goal: to sell.
Indeed, it revolves around actions that will allow the rapid marketing of a service or product. The content marketing is a much more subtle communication strategy. If the goal here is to emphasize the structure, the need is no longer selling, but to provide quality content.
For a structure, the exercise of content marketing is a permanent action. This is to produce useful information for potential buyers, without necessarily seeking to market a product.
When it comes to the act of purchasing, the prospect becomes aware of the added value of the information and decides to trust the brand. It is mainly for this reason that we often talk about inbound marketing insofar as it is the target who decides to become the customer.
What is the real interest of content marketing?
According to many experts, the content marketing has declined considerably at the start of the 19 th century, especially between the two world wars. The return of this process is taking place with the advent of technology, notably through the exhibition of radio, television and especially the Internet. But what is his real interest?
Content is king ! Does this expression tell you anything? This is the title of the 1996 essay by Bill Gates. According to the creator of the American giant Microsoft, the content is king. Twenty years ago this expression seemed surreal for some conservatives. Today it makes sense with digitalization.
The importance of the Internet in content marketing
Internet is the most requested media in the world. According to the JDN, there are nearly 4 billion Internet users worldwide. In addition, the web also has an unparalleled community and interactive character through social networks and blogs.
It is probably on these levers that content marketing has made the Internet its greatest field of action.
A practice that has largely proven itself
Many of the multinationals are totally committed to the cause of content marketing . And it’s not just about financial means.
Indeed, many structures of different sizes have been able to redress their economic balance by renewing their marketing approach.
This is the case of renowned structures such as:
Colgate
At the end of the 90s, the American brand is experiencing a slowdown in its activity. Mainly because of the emergence of competing brands such as Procter & Gamble, Gillette or l’Oréal, it sees its notoriety and turnover decline gradually.
To turn the tide, it uses content marketing , being one of the first organizations in the industry to launch an attractive and interactive oral and dental health site. The brand’s platform innovates with more than 400 web articles, interactive guides and educational videos.
Coca Cola
Can not talk about content without referring to this multinational specializing in soft drinks. The company’s own DNA is imbued with content marketing, particularly with its new Content 2022 campaign .
The goal is to encourage Internet users who are followers of the brand’s products to offer ideas for future services and product quality.
Red Bull
Created in 1984 in Austria, this brand specializing in the sale of energy drinks was unknown to the general public in the 90s. To catch up with its competitors, the firm has focused on marketing.
Although well known for its advertising campaigns, the brand also has many interactive sites providing information on the composition of its products, the origin of its packaging and even its future projects.
On its website, the brand is a good example of content marketing and uses a lot of videos in which aesthetics and adrenaline are at the rendezvous! His partnerships with celebrities and competitions of extreme sports or cars allows him to convey his image, that of thrills.
Advantages
The benefits of content marketing are reflected on several scales:
Highlight expertise and added value.
First of all, the content makes it possible to position oneself by valuing the know-how. If a contractor has a shoe factory for example, its content will no longer be oriented solely towards its offer, but rather its manufacturing expertise.
Thus the firm can give its expert opinion and study the needs of Internet users on a case by case basis. This reinforces the brand image and the reputation.
The ability to identify new prospects
Positioning also makes it possible to better target potential customers and reach new prospects by moving towards new discussion circles such as:
Social networks.
Professional groups.
Free forums.
Clubs, etc.
This approach allows for great interaction with the target and gather crucial information about prospects. In the end, it will even be possible to establish a database with detailed profiles of the targets (age, social class, consumption habit, preference, etc.).
Sensitize the most difficult targets to touch
Quality content makes it possible to reach the most demanding targets, even in new fields such as aeronautics, beekeeping, mathematics or even car mechanics.
Convert the customer into a brand ambassador
The best ambassadors of a brand are of course the customers. Impressed by a product or service, the satisfied customer will not fail to expose his feelings on the network created by the structure. It becomes the first relay of opinion of the products of a brand.
Improve natural referencing
An attractive website necessarily involves the creation of quality articles, adapted to the search engines. By improving the content , a structure gains visibility on the web with SEO .
When the natural referencing of a site is optimized, its position on the search engines is better.
How to put together a content marketing strategy?
The terms ” content marketing” and “inbound marketing” are the source of a lot of ink and saliva in the digital world. This does not mean that you have to start headlong, quite the opposite.
Adapting content to its communication policy requires the implementation of a content marketing strategy !!!! For SMEs, this recommendation is even more valid as this process can change everything.
One of the first recommendations is to call on a specialized agency . Composed of a large panel of experienced experts, it is the most appropriate structure to customize a marketing content policy.
The basic rules for a marketing content strategy
For a successful marketing strategy , basic rules must be respected.
1 – Set up an editorial strategy
This necessarily involves:
The definition of the objectives of the company.
Determine the target heart and personas
Identify the competitors.
Know how to differentiate.
Set up the indicators to improve its web marketing strategy.
2 – Set up an online marketing policy
A simple broadcast of media can not under any circumstances activate the levers of content marketing. For this, a serious online marketing policy is required. It is illustrated in several ways:
The use of platforms and social networks suitable for content sharing.
Choose the best format for the chosen media (video, article, white paper, etc.).
Target the audience and select the right services and products for each profile.
The process also requires the use of referencing methods such as:
SEO (or SEO).
The SEA (or paid listing).
The SEM (or SEO marketing) which consists of both SEO and SEA.
3 -Establishing an editorial calendar
The editorial calendar makes it possible to define the order and the times of passage of the contents proposed by the media Even more important when the sector of activity is subjected to requirements of seasonality !!
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