How Does Content Marketing Work?

However, the key point remains — that effective content marketing is one that is able to capture the interest and hold the attention of our audience, while at the same time, connect with them on an emotional level.

According to Content Marketing Institute, content marketing is a marketing technique of creating and distributing valuable, relevant and consistent content to attract and acquire a clearly defined audience – with the objective of driving profitable customer action.

Being able to create and deliver relevant and valuable content, depends on a brand’s ability to understand its customers well. This shifts the focus off your brand and its products, and over to your audience instead, zooming in on what they really care about. Only then would the value created be aligned with the same value that would draw them in.

Variety can be helpful, so what are some types of content that you can use to drive results for your business?

     1. Blogs

First of all, there are the good ol’ standard blog posts and articles that provide your audience with more insights on a certain topic — pretty much like this one. This is still useful and effective if you are seeking to educate your audience, or even to do a comparison of your different products with that of competitors’. By posting blogs regularly, this can also help to improve your website’s SEO and in turn, help drive traffic to your landing page.

     2. Videos

Video platforms like YouTube are rising in popularity, and an increasing number of businesses are jumping on this bandwagon to use it as part of their digital marketing strategy. This is because video content is a very effective format to share huge amounts of information quickly, showcase and demonstrate a product’s features, or narrate a brand/campaign story in an immersive and engaging way. Other than the usual YouTube videos, there are also many up-and-coming video platforms like Instagram’s Stories and Tik Tok’s micro-video content. These bite-sized and attention-grabbing content can help in attracting a younger audience that is always on the lookout for entertainment.

An example of a creative video content is Hootsuite’s “Game of Social Thrones”. If you are a “Game of Thrones” fan, then this video might resonate with you. The brand cleverly borrows the name and concept of this popular TV series and uses it in one of its product videos. Being a social media management tool, Hootsuite allows you to manage all of your accounts in one place, and in that video, they showcase this feature by depicting all the social media platforms in a battlefield, with Hootsuite right in the middle connecting them all. Rather than simply pushing out its products, Hootsuite chose to introduce their tool in a less hard-sell manner. By taking this informative, creative and relevant approach, this helps the brand’s audience to be more receptive to its content.

     3. Landing pages

Websites play a crucial role for businesses too. They say, “websites are the ‘shop front’ of your business online” and more often than not, a brand’s website is where it houses all its content and important information. Therefore, a website’s landing page is vital in influencing a consumer’s first impression and experience of the brand. Landing pages that are aesthetically attractive or feature special offers and promotions, tend to be better at retaining and converting customers than your regular home page. These not only give relevant and valuable information, but are effective in encouraging call-to-action as well.

     4. Infographics

Another excellent way of presenting data and information in a digestible format is through the use of infographics. Long pages filled only with words are guaranteed to lose your audience’s attention. In contrast, infographics help to present bite-sized information in a more organized, succinct and engaging manner, making it easier for people to quickly understand (Image: AW Consulting).

     5. Social Media posts

Social media is another imperative tool in content marketing, especially in today’s modern digital landscape. As your audience are on social media, what better way to reach them than on these same platforms? In fact, consumers tend to be more receptive to content that they come across on their social media feeds as compared to other forms of content on other platforms.

Read more on the different types of content and how to use them here.

Consumers now have unlimited access to what the internet has to offer, and have the luxury of filtering and choosing what content they want to consume. In the sea of content available out there, here are some ways to ensure that yours stands out.

     1. Create Valuable Content

Although it’s like stating the obvious, the truth remains that people will not engage in anything they perceive to be ingenuine or a waste of their time. Thus, apart from just “looking good” or “jumping on trends”, your content needs to have purpose and meaning to it. Relevant and valuable content are those that provide information, address queries or offer solutions to your audience. Only then would visitors start taking an interest in your content, and find reason to follow and trust you. The ultimate goal at this juncture, is for your audience to remember you. Studies have shown that good brand recall helps in the purchase decision-making process later on.

Charmin uses a very interesting approach in creating valuable content. They identified a common problem that people face everyday, and came up with a solution which they then used to build a social media campaign around. Their app, Sit or Squat: Restrooms Near Me! sounds a little silly when you first hear about it, but it actually helps customers solve a very real problem, all while staying true and relevant to the brand (Image: charmin.com). This app allows users to check if the local toilets in their vicinity are clean or not, which was not only useful, but also got people talking about it. By addressing an actual need, this helped the brand to strengthen its relationship with customers, increase its brand affinity, and ultimately its conversion rates. Furthermore, given the interactive nature of the app, this gave consumers the chance to engage with the brand through the app experience.

     2. Share it on Multiple Platforms

Creating content is the first step, ‘getting the word out’ or distributing it is the next. To maximise your reach and get your content to your target audience, try sharing it on different social media platforms, or optimizing your content in search engines. On social media, you can either publish it on your own profile, or partner with influencers who share the same values, and whose follower demographic aligns your target audience, so as to amplify your reach. Take local influencer Naomi Neo for instance. Using a mum to promote a toy retailer definitely lends a greater level of credibility. This is because other mums who follow her would probably be more open and receptive to trying out the product after having heard from a  fellow user about it, rather than the brand making the claim itself.

     3. Implement Clear Call-to-Action

After being exposed to your brand and its content, interested users tend to explore the brand’s other touch points as well so as to ‘get to know’ it better — this includes your social media profiles, your website, and basically everything that is related to your brand. This helps them to build brand familiarity. However, as for most brands, familiarity is not the main goal; the ultimate goal is conversion – the bottom line. This brings us to your call-to-action, which could be something as simple as helping users to “learn more”, or something as wallet-burning as “add to cart”.