If you’ve researched online marketing, then you’ve probably come across the term, “content marketing.” What exactly is content marketing, and how does it work? This blog will introduce you to the basics of it and how to use it.
What is digital content marketing, anyway? Simply put, it involves creating and sharing fresh content to attract and retain customers. A content marketing strategy, then, is a plan that outlines your business objectives and your plan for using content to address them. If your goal is to create brand awareness, your strategy might address using social media, blogs, and other techniques to attract new followers.
How do you create an effective digital content marketing campaign? You first need to determine who your audience is and how they’re best reached. You can do this by creating profiles of your ideal customers and what they’re looking for, then create content that actually appeals to them. If you’re trying to target a college student, your message and delivery will be very different than if you were targeting someone in an older generation. Once you’ve determined your audience and where they are, create a content calendar that shows what you’ll post on a daily, weekly, or monthly basis, and where you’ll post it.
How do you measure a campaign’s effectiveness? This may sound obvious, but you should measure whatever it is that you are trying to achieve. If the goal of your campaign is to increase brand awareness, then it doesn’t really help to measure new leads. Measuring consumption metrics can be a good place to start. This includes things like number of page views, video views, or document downloads. Once you find that number, you may want to explore other questions to see if the people who played the video engaged in any of your other content, or if the person who read your blog visited any other pages on your site. Exploring these questions can help you determine the success of your campaign.
If you don’t immediately get the hang of it, don’t panic. A recent study showed that only two percent of marketers felt they had a “very effective” strategy, so obviously it takes practice! BCI Media Services offers guidance through the complex world of content marketing, so contact our digital marketing experts for help with developing your content marketing strategy!