Content marketing is a must for businesses now and moving forward. But content marketing umbrellas a lot of different techniques. And we wanted to know what these techniques are, and how they’re used by marketers.
So we reached out to digital marketers and asked: what is content marketing? And what does successful content marketing look like? Keep reading to hear their unique strategies and stories.
Blogging
The first answer to what is content marketing is blogging. A blog lets you talk to your customers and share knowledge. It also gives you an opportunity to drive site traffic by targeting unique topics. Ian Naylor from AppInstitute shares their technique for blogging.
We made the decision to stop putting all our eggs into paid advertising and decided to launch a proper content marketing strategy.
We invested time in our blog, producing high-quality pieces of content or ‘pillars’ which drive traffic and, in turn, links. Some of these were long-form blogs that offer insight for small businesses. Others were infographics and even real-time data visualizations.
Social Media
If you want to share content with your customers, social platforms work best. Zac Halloran from Twill shares how social media drives their content marketing strategy.
Our marketing strategy revolves around authenticity. You have to connect with your customers and readers, and be real – just like they are. We thrive on authentic content.
By using Facebook Live, posting to all of our social media accounts (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram), and sharing clips on Snapchat and Instagram’s live story – we show our customers their gracious giving is actually helping a local friend in need. Social media lets us show our customers how important they are.
Guest Posting
Sharing your knowledge by guest posting on popular sites builds your industry popularity. Here’s how Jacob Warwick from ThinkWarwick uses guest posting as a content marketing technique.
I’ve had content marketing success by creating thought leadership and increased industry authority. To do this, I’ve spent the past three years sharing my expertise and the expertise of my clients on targeted third-party publications such as Entrepreneur, Forbes, Content Marketing Institute, Convince and Convert, MarketingProfs, and several other sites.
I’ve found that being more recognizable by consistently publishing on third party sites and a handful of social platforms has accelerated my business and helped ensure that I have a steady stream of clientele.
Additionally, I’ve used content over the past few years to build relationships with other industry professionals. I owe the success of my content marketing (and often times the content that I create for clients) to the effort put into developing this community and nurturing them with content.
Infographics
If you’re looking to pack a ton of info into bite-sized content, tap into infographics. Andrea Panno from Sagefrog shares an infographic success story here.
As a full-service B2B marketing agency, Sagefrog boasts expertise in multiple channels – most recently integrating content marketing into the existing digital efforts of a cloud-service provider client. The technical nature of this client’s offering required a campaign that would not just demonstrate its state-of-the-art offering, but also simplify the message through content format and methodology.
Sagefrog opted to develop a comprehensive yet digestible infographic, supported and promoted by new text ads, GIFs and landing pages with heat-mapping software. As a result of this campaign and other integrated digital and content marketing efforts, the client’s website traffic grew by 108% and leads increased by 471% in the past year alone.
In an age where a mix of both digital and content marketing is a must, increased traffic and leads are extremely valuable metrics that are indicative of the continued short- and long-term success of the client.
Webinars & Downloads
Once you get your customers in the door, provide value. One way to do this is through webinar signups and downloadable content. See how Lauren Pawall from Bixa Media nurtures customers with this content marketing technique.
Our content marketing program consists of addressing prospect pain points and empowering them through education. Simple as that.
After that, the method of delivery varies. For example, at Bixa we use a combination of automated and live webinars, free downloads, and email marketing. The webinars and downloadables serve as the hook for new subscribers. Then we nurture and educate them through email content.
This gives us feedback like: “I’m loving your emails…I get so much stuff in my inbox – yours is one of the few I have chosen to keep and read regularly.”
Your content marketing program doesn’t need to be complicated. It just needs to be consistent and value-packed.
Video Marketing
Video is taking content marketing by storm. See how Colin Bovet from Enplug uses video to reach a specific audience.
We recently produced a video case study to complement our digital marketing and sales strategies at Enplug. Rather than focusing the piece for general inbound interest, the video and accompanying case study is specialized for marketing and sales team enablement for specific deals and prospects.
With this powerful piece of content, we can directly target industry specialists looking to improve their company’s internal communications, sales productivity, or digital signage management.
Free Tools
Content marketing is all about giving value to your customers. And you can deliver on this with tools your customers will return for. Here’s how Tom Feltham and Discover CRM use tools in their content marketing strategy.
At Discover CRM, we work with experts in the industry to gather the latest thinking and research on CRM software. As well as publishing articles and white papers we’ve also built a comparison tool which lets users find and compare CRM software based on their needs.
Considering the ROI and conversion we see, we’ve found it’s well worth spending the extra time and energy building tools as part of a long-term content marketing strategy. One key factor is user experience – are you providing an efficient and helpful tool for users? If the answer is yes then you’re on the road to creating valuable content.
So, What is Content Marketing?
Content marketing isn’t one technique. It pulls together techniques for creating content that your customers find valuable.
Thanks to our expert contributors for sharing their strategies and success stories. Want to join the conversation? Make sure to leave your thoughts in the comments below.
