Marketing? – Do we know: The attempt at market-oriented corporate management. Geared to satisfy the needs of potential customers. And content? – In this context, stands for the right content to reach these potential customers. Content marketing thus adapts to customer needs when making contact and maintaining contacts. Because Internet users are looking online for solutions that are specially tailored to their problems – they are looking for experts! Read this article to find out how content marketing works.
Content marketing turns away from classic advertising marketing and replaces loud market clamor with a permanent communication process. With content that scores with experience and expertise. Companies constantly provide web users with added value and ideally win them over as long-term customers.
Definition: That means good content marketing
With content marketing, your readers or listeners and their concerns are the focus.
It is best summed up by the quote from Joe Pulizzi, the founder of the Content Marketing Institute:Content marketing is a strategic marketing approach focused on creating and distributing valuable, relevant, and consistent content to attract and retain a clearly-defined audience – and, ultimately, to drive profitable customer action. Content marketing is a strategic marketing approach aimed at creating and publishing valuable, relevant, and persistent content to build a well-defined audience – and ultimately to create profitable customer responses.
3 steps: How content marketing works
But how do we achieve positive reactions to our content? We learn: The focus is on a three-step process of planning, creating and then distributing content.
The important thing is that just any content is not enough for this approach.
Significant preparatory work is necessary:
- The target group that you want to reach as a company must be defined before the content is created.
- Then you need content – solution approaches – that are adapted to the individual problems of your target group,
- Finally, your content can then be designed in a way that different buyer personas find attractive.
Content marketing as a future model
Buyer personas help to anticipate customer problems. They allow forecasts of customer challenges. Because the content of each persona only provides added value if their problem is discussed in it and the content offers specific information for the solution. This content promotes an expert relationship.
We should stay strictly with people and their problems. Because our products or company data can advertise badly for us. Instead, expert tips and insights are provided, the added value of which, in the best case scenario, will induce the user to become a loyal customer.
pass on information in a targeted manner
The way in which information is made available to potential customers is probably most likely determined by the purpose and reception habits.
Possible formats can be:
- blog article
- white paper
- eBooks
- videos
- Newsletter
- webinars
If you then hold your content in your hands, which fulfills the above points, then it still has to find its way to the user. Social media is particularly suitable here, as you can reach your personas there in a targeted manner.
On the other hand, you give users the opportunity to distribute the content themselves. And you should definitely strive for this virality of your content.
Inclusion in the inbound methodology
Content marketing is perfectly divided into strategic inbound marketing . Say:
Your target group has been defined, your buyer persona has been worked out and you know what moves them. Here you can optimally start with the creation of content.
Get the attention of your personas. Arouse their interest in your company – for example with a company blog.
If the user’s needs were stimulated by the content, it is obvious that they would also download it free of charge, which we provide.
Voilá – our potential customer has become a lead. Now it’s up to you to continue convincing him of the company; turn that lead into an actual customer and ultimately a satisfied promoter.
This is where the actual content potential lies. Depending on the goals of a company, content marketing can become the linchpin of a holistic inbound strategy.
The way to perfect content marketing?
Content marketing is all about creating value for people with specific challenges. In this way you will be remembered positively and prove your expertise.
In addition, content marketing increases awareness among desired target groups. Content can be shared, traffic can be increased with it. That means a higher online presence. At the same time, acting as a problem solver means a competent and fresh image.
Conclusion
For the inbound strategy, content marketing represents a sustainable approach that adapts intensively to the user behavior of your desired customers. You offer every active Internet user the opportunity to find your company independently using your specialist knowledge. If content represents added value for users, the chances of being able to win them over as customers are good.
Therefore: Start planning a content marketing strategy and let the content you create work for you.