Content Marketing Basics
The Foundation Idea
Give value first and customers come to you.
How Content Marketing Works
You reach out to your customers and prospects with information that meets their needs.
Because they want to continue receiving the information or access that you are giving them, they keep returning and engaging with you. Their trust in your company's ability to deliver and do so in a knowledgable and helpful way grows.
When they are ready to buy, or to buy again, they turn to the company and people that they already trust to deliver value.
What Content Marketing Is Not
Brochures, catalogs, technical data sheets....
All of your supportive sales material is necessary when someone asks for it, but it's not part of content marketing. With typical marketing, the goal is to make a sale and the product or service is the main point of the approach.
With content marketing the information that matters to the customer who isn't directly interested in your particular products is what matters. It's the difference between talking about an upcoming shortage in polyolefins and talking about your alternative.
A line with a call to action to let your prospects know about your alternative is fine. But more people are going to be interested in your informative article than your sales pitch.
Content Marketing Optimizes Search and Social Media Use
People, including managers and engineers, look for and share what matters to them.
These are unlikely to be your marketing materials.
But it might be your industry information, helpful tips, or discussion of strategic alternatives.
Types of Content Marketing
The content that you create for your customers can take many different forms. These categories are taken from the Junta42 Content Marketing Playbook, which goes into more detail for multiple options within each category.
1. Long-form content
White papers are the most common of the longer content pieces in the industrial world, but the category also includes book, ebooks, and custom magazines.
2. Short-form content
Articles and case studies can draw attention to your products or services.
3. Periodicals
a) Blogs
Blogs are accessible to anyone on the web, which make them a great tool for being found more easily by prospects searching for the products or services you provide. If you supply good content and are responsive to conversation, then these interested people are more likely to stick around, begin to trust you, and eventually make contact.
b) Newsletters, by email or print
Newsletter are for current prospects of customers, as the recipient must opt-in or provide you their information in order to receive your content. This means you can send them a different level of information.
4. Social Media
Online community engagement and content sharing can take many different forms, many of which are interactive for your customers.
5. Event Driven Content
Webinars and teleseminars give you the opportunity to bring muliple prospects of customers together to listen to an expert and, usually, ask questions of the speaker. They are typically very similar to attending a presentation at a trade show or conference, but can reach a wider audience without the expense and time involved with travel.
Book Recommendation:
For more depth try reading Get Content Get Customers by Joe Pulizzi and Newt Barrett.
Individualized Strategies:
If you'd like to talk to someone about how content marketing might work for your business or want to outsource part of it, then please feel free to contact me.