According to sites such as Curata, about 71% of marketers are looking to increase the budget they invest in content marketing. Obviously – this is great news for savvy writers who have begun to make their name in the internet scene, but why is it also a good thing for the brands and companies spending the cash?
In the internet-driven, satisfaction-obsessed era of today, marketing departments are moving further away from traditional marketing techniques, and seeking out a more effective strategy of reaching out to their chosen markets. If business was fashion, then content marketing would definitely be the new black, but what’s more important is the fact that it appears to be a method that’s here to stay.
Why? Let’s investigate shall we?
Pay-per-click and Traditional Advertising
There are a number of traditional marketing techniques that most of your content writers today muddled through while they were in college. These marketing techniques come in four simple categories: telemarketing, direct mail, broadcast and print.
- Telemarketing is the much-hated process of calling up customers while they’re sitting around enjoying their favorite shows, in an attempt that your massive intrusion will somehow make them want to buy something.
- Broadcasting refers to television commercials and radio commercials. I know a few people who love watching commercials in their free time, but for the vast majority of us, commercials are just an annoying way to prevent us from watching/hearing the thing we’re most interested in.
- Direct mail is the printed advertisement that generally comes through your letter box in the form of leaflets, flyers, booklets and other media.
- Print advertisements are those that you see strewn throughout your reading material – such as brochures, magazines, and ads in the newspaper. In other words, those pages that you skip past as quickly as possible.
As the internet has emerged as a more popular, and often essential part of our daily lives, new methods of advertising have emerged as marketers found ways to target their online audience. The PPC or pay per click model was created to offer businesses a way to snag their audience during relevant searches. However, though PPC does work for some people, it’s not the most effective form of advertising out there.
Discovering the Next Piece of the Marketing Puzzle
Today, advertising has become a common and reoccurring challenge for companies as consumers find new and improved ways to take over control of the research and buying process. As customers, we typically place more trust in articles and customer reviews that have been written by third parties. For example, think about how you made your last major purchase – did you rely on how awesome the television advert you saw made it out to be – or did you check out online reviews and comparisons?
The traditional methods of advertising are still relevant today, but it’s important to recognize that a new method of marketing has arisen over the recent years – content marketing. You don’t have to say goodbye to traditional marketing completely in order to embrace content marketing, but you should consider it if you want to get the most out of your brand’s reach.
The Goals of Content Marketing
Content marketing is about delivering value to your consumers in the form of entertaining, informative, and engaging text, images, or video. Content marketing gives your audience something that they actually want to read or see, by creating interesting pieces in the form of articles, blogs, infographics, and videos. Frequently, this type of advertising intertwines perfectly with social media as companies can use social platforms to advertise and distribute their new content. The more content that you produce, the more brand awareness you can obtain.
The main aim is this: potential customers come to learn something by reading an article or blog post. If they’re interested in what they find, they research the company further, visit the website, and buy the products being sold.
Content Marketing and Traditional Marketing
The image below, taken from attach media, shows some of the major disadvantages that traditional publicity suffers from:
Through the same image, we can see that content marketing is a more effective, and often cheaper strategy that allows companies to create brand loyalty and attract new clients.
It’s evident that 2015 will mark a considerable shift into the world of content marketing, and traditional channels of advertising are already being overshadowed. If you want to get the most out of your brand, then you need to be prepared to make the right investment. To learn more about online marketing, establishing your online presence and creating unique content, subscribe to my blog. To speak to a content writer about starting your very own effective marketing strategy, contact me via my content form, or email for a quote.