Content marketing consists in the production , publication and dissemination of content for an audience identified according to well-defined criteria. It can be defined as a non-intrusive form of marketing and, as such, it is distinct from advertising in a broad sense.
It is, in fact, the quality of the information provided by the company that attracts the attention of consumers and encourages them to contact it and/or proceed with the purchase and not the solicitation suffered as happens in traditional promotional messages.
The raison d’être of content marketing lies, therefore, in the ability of a company or brand to demonstrate its expertise in the field of activity and to respond with competence and empathy to the problems of its target audience, without giving the impression of pressuring the customer to purchase.
What is content marketing?
Content marketing is a marketing strategy that aims to pique the interest of the public through the production and distribution of relevant and informative materials that will help, on the one hand, customers solve their problems and satisfy their needs and, on the other, the company itself to present its product as the best solution.
It is a combination of different techniques that aims to attract visitors to your website and transform them into consumers through a targeted editorial strategy that differs, in its basic principle and approach, from traditional advertising, which is often considered too invasive.
Creating compelling content allows you to capture the attention of qualified prospects , influence the behavior of potential consumers, and raise awareness of your brand or company.
Unlike traditional media, which work with advertising or rely on strategies that interfere with the user experience, content marketing aims to attract consumers organically through loyalty.
Content Marketing and Inbound Marketing: The Difference
Content marketing is part of a broader methodology called Inbound marketing . Unlike outbound marketing , which targets everyone indiscriminately in an invasive manner, inbound marketing targets only people who are likely to become potential customers.
An inbound strategy therefore aims to capture potential customers in a natural way and convert them into actual consumers of your products, without using aggressive or intrusive methods. The acquisition of potential customers occurs through appropriate content, which implies the implementation of an adequate content marketing strategy.
Inbound marketing refers precisely to all the techniques that aim to attract qualified visitors , generate leads and then convert them into customers and retain them . The goal is to gradually advance the potential customer during the sales cycle .
The system in question is based on the complementarity of channels, media and content by combining various approaches, in particular the writing and distribution of original and quality content on the company website, blogs, social media and traditional media to unite a real community.
Inbound marketing is therefore a global strategy in which content marketing is integrated and which allows for its optimization.
The idea is that the company is present on the digital channels preferred by its potential customers to search for information: for example, a strategy will be implemented to be present on social networks, and another to strengthen its presence on search engines.
Why do content marketing?
Content marketing gives a company the opportunity to attract customers without resorting to traditional promotional activities. By implementing a real content strategy , companies can strengthen their identity , credibility and notoriety by publishing articles on blogs, proposing white papers or establishing partnerships with other websites in the same sector of activity.
Through different communication channels, the company offers its customers rich content oriented to a specific topic. It is a very effective way to make yourself visible and known: the potential customer will appreciate the quality of the information provided, apparently without any other purpose, and will begin to trust the company.
From traffic generation to customer loyalty and after-sales support , creating relevant content allows your business to:
Generate leads (lead generation) : SEO is the #1 goal of editorial content marketing. Producing quality content, both for your audience and for search engines, with Google in the lead, ensures your company a good positioning on certain keywords and queries, with the consequent double advantage of attracting qualified traffic to your website and avoiding wasting resources in purchasing promotional ads.
Our database includes extensive contact lists across various sectors in Colombia, ensuring you reach the right audience with your marketing messages. You must ensure the accuracy of the data you use or process to comply with regulations special database and achieve the best results. The Domain Authority (DA) and Page Authority (PA) levels of our Colombia-specific data are exceptionally high, enhancing the reliability and effectiveness of your campaigns.
Boost your brand awareness :
A solid image is ideal both for attracting buy bulk sms service library qualified prospects and for converting them more easily into actual customers and building loyalty.
Increase customer loyalty : thanks to quality content that represents the values you want to convey, more customers will recognize themselvesaqb directory in the company, integrating into a real community.
Contents used in content marketing
The contents produced within a content marketing strategy must meet some specific criteria.
Here are the main types of content used as part of a content marketing strategy.
Blog Posts : Articles published on the company blog that showcase the company’s skills and expertise on targeted topics and strengthen its online visibility.
Just like this article you are reading and all the others on our blog 😉
White papers/Guides : Documents developed mainly by companies to provide technical information, factual data and results of studies, performances or processes. Their goal is to inform readers quickly and accurately, presenting well-argued theories and concepts. These long and detailed contents further strengthen the company’s reputation and visibility, greatly favoring the conversion phase.
Our ” Library ” of contents is an example.
Landing pages : their purpose is to convert users into customers.
Testimonials :
they can be neutral, as in the case of the intervention of an expert in the company’s sector of expertise, or markedly promotional, as in the case of an interview with a customer or a collaborator.
Checklists : Highly popular, checklists are valuable organizational aids that attract users’ attention and encourage sharing.
Here’s an example:inbound-marketing-checklist
Product Pages : Essential for e-commerce, they serve both as an SEO boost, for landing pages, and as important informational content for potential customers.
Infographics : Highly visual content that provides clear information in a quick format requiring limited attention. Hence their high viral potential.
Video : Videos can be easily viewed (and therefore consumed) on any medium. It is no wonder that they are the most important content format for a good content marketing strategy.
Webinar : live video conference where users have the opportunity to interact and ask specific questions in an interactive manner.
Also discover how a webinar is a content that generates content in our dedicated article.
Podcasts : increasingly present in content marketing, podcasts are important vectors of expertise and notoriety for companies.
Newsletter : It remains one of the most popular formats for companies to follow up with potential customers and build loyalty with existing customers.
Social network posts : a type of content that covers all possible formats of publication on social networks (normal posts, videos, stories, reels, carousels, etc.).
Read also ” Buyer’s journey: creating useful content for each phase ”
How to Build a Content Marketing Strategy
Content marketing is based on the production of relevant content with high added value to attract the attention of potential customers. Like any marketing strategy, a content-oriented approach must take into account a certain number of parameters and its implementation must follow several fundamental steps.
The steps to follow for a successful content strategy are:
Identify your target audience : The success of a content marketing strategy depends on who will read your content. It is therefore essential to start by identifying your targets and creating buyer personas, semi-real representations of the ideal customer.
This involves developing a composite portrait of your typical customer base based on research and interviews. In other words, a clever mix of quantitative and qualitative information that goes well beyond simple demographic information.
Create content : based on the topics that interest your targets, you will create content that responds to their problems, provides them with information and draws their attention to the company/brand.
This content differs based on the buyer’s journeys identified , but also based on the type of audience you are addressing (B2B or B2C).
Create an editorial plan :
To be successful with content marketing, you need to plan carefully and follow the schedule. Ideally, you should create a content writing and publishing calendar, so you know who writes what, when, for which channel, and for whom.
Focus on SEO : Content creation and SEO are linked. Optimized content can increase traffic to your site and visibility.
Promote content : In content marketing, distribution is the corollary of writing. It is essential to think about the right publishing channel for the content and promote it as much as possible once online (newsletter, social networks, etc.) to reach a large audience.
Measure performance : Like any strategy, content marketing strategy also requires performance analysis . That is, you need to measure the performance of the strategy using the related KPIs (traffic volume, bounce rate, conversion rate, number of downloads, etc.) based on your business, your goals and your target.
If you want some tips on tactics that will allow you to acquire customers with content , read our article on the subject.
The Benefits of Content Marketing
A good content marketing strategy brings numerous benefits to companies throughout the sales process.
If the contents are well structured in relation to the different phases of the purchasing path, it is possible to have a differentiated relationship with your customer, in addition to organically increasing the results of your business. So in terms of advantages, a good strategy for the contents can serve in various ways.
Let’s see some!
Improve your business ranking
One of the most surprising benefits of content strategy is the ability to improve your business’s positioning in Google search results. According to 2019 data from Trends , 80 % of Internet users use Google to search for information. This means that being present in the first Google search results is the gateway to new contacts. When searching for a specific keyword, the user finds several sites that satisfy his request.
To get more traffic to the site through content, content marketing activity includes, as we have already highlighted, also sharing content on social media . In fact, for positioning purposes, Google also takes into account the social presence of content.
