Content marketing. The phrase itself is somewhat hazy, and for the past few months I wouldn’t have been able to define it in two sentences or less. Until recently, many “self-proclaimed content marketing professionals” didn’t have any larger of a grasp on it than I did. Neil Patel, you’re excused from the conversation. In short, the content marketing experts of today are similar to the social media gurus of 2009. They know it’s important, they know it can help grow your business, but no one wants to admit that we’re constantly discovering new ways to make it work for us. In content marketing, there is no one size fits all solution.
Well, I’m no aficionado myself, but I can say with some degree of certainty that I understand the hype and I see why content marketing is so important. If you’re just as bleary-eyed as I used to be, keep reading to learn the truth behind some of the biggest lies in content marketing.
1. Content marketing needs to sell your product in order to be successful.
In the kind of the content we’re discussing here, you will not be trying to sell and push your products. In short, content marketing is not advertisements and promotions. If you’re itching to discuss a commercial that you’re exceptionally proud of (and spent a great deal of money on) then take a cue from TXU Energy. After a successful commercial, they published a blooper reel on their YouTube channel. It was both entertaining and engaging. What’s more is that it probably led people to watch their commercial without having to push the commercial in their audience’s face.
2. Content marketing is just a blog.
Many professionals have taught or showed us that content = text. Not true! If writing isn’t your thing, there are about a million other ways to entertain your audience and discuss your brand. In fact, since there are so many blogs saturating the internet, this is your time to get creative and think outside the box. Are there certain questions your consumers repeatedly ask you? Answer: do a video series in which every week you address one of your FAQs. It helps your audience understand your product better, it positions you as an authority in the industry and better yet, it gives you something fun to share! You didn’t even have to write about it.
3. You have to come up with something original every time you want to publish new content.
This is one of the biggest lies I heard for a very long time. Believing brand new, out of the box content had to be original kept me away from truly understanding content marketing because I thought it was only for national brands with much bigger budgets. If you’ve been writing for a while and you’re out of ideas, take a quick look at what has attracted your audience in the past. Is there a way you could repackage and distribute popular articles as an ebook? If you only cover one topic, bundle the articles that received the most traffic. Or, if you’re like Agency Entourage and you cover multiple topics, bundle similar article topics into an ebook. (Example: Your guide to Instagram marketing!)
4. Old content is no longer relevant.
You know that post you did three years ago that’s still pretty relevant today? Blow the dust off of it and repost it! Your research and hard work shouldn’t go to waste just because some time has passed. If you don’t have something new to publish but it’s been a few days since you’ve shared content on your social sites, dig through the archives and repurpose something old. One of our oldest blogs still gets a lot of traffic because it’s relevant to those who are looking for the answers we provide. This is especially helpful if you’re in a consistent industry. Real estate and pool construction come to mind, but I’m sure there are more.
At Agency Entourage, we understand what it takes to be successful in content marketing. We practice it ourselves and we’ve learned the ins and outs of 2014’s hottest digital marketing trend. We’re a downtown Dallas-based advertising agency, and we can help grow your business. Give us a call today at 214-414-3035 to get started.
