What is Content Marketing? (A step by step guide)

‘Content is king’

This phrase emphasizes the importance of content marketing in the success of any business.
This guide is geared towards any individual or Business who is interested in leveraging content marketing for the growth of their Brand.

The guide will completely take you through the concept of content marketing

What is content Marketing?

First of, I'd like to define what content is.

What is Content?

according to Wikipedia,

content is the information and experiences that are directed toward an end-user or audience.

As usual, Wiki lets us down when it comes to providing a satisfactory definition of terms.
Anyways, Simply put...

Content is any purposeful information that is shared or presented in a particular format to an audience through a channel

Did you take note of the components of this definition?

• Audience
• Purpose
• Information
• Format
• Channel

These components will be useful in the journey to learning content marketing
Now, What is Content Marketing?

Content marketing is a form of marketing geared towards attracting a specific audience through the creation and distribution of valuable contents with the sole aim of building a loyal customer base and ultimately, driving sales

Take note of the intent of content marketing:

• Building a Loyal costumer base, and
• Driving Sales.

Of course we all know that the goal of every business is to drive sales and make profit. However, if we intend to use content to drive sales, we must first Build a loyal customer base by offering free valuable and relevant solution to the problems of our audience. This is what builds the trust.

My point is: in every content marketing campaign, valuable content comes first before pitching of sales.

Content marketers put first the interests of their targeted audience, win their trust before trying to sell them services or products.

This is why the main strategy in content marketing involves Creating Contents that revolve around solving the problem, thereby building trust and bridging the gap between customers and brands

Why Content marketing Is important

The gains of employing content marketing in your business strategy is countless. Here are a few:

Content Marketing Helps Build Brand Awareness and Reputation

Most people who don't know about your business become aware through the useful contents you create and share across all platforms.

Because building trust helps establish a positive reputation for brands, Businesses use content marketing to enhance their credibility by providing quality and relevant informational contents that are valuable to their targeted audience

This helps to create a positive opinion about your brand on the minds of your customers

It is Cost effective

Content marketing is quite affordable compared to traditional marketing. It generates 3X more leads according to Demand metric. This makes it an adaptable strategy for small businesses on a low budget because even a little financial input yields much bigger and satisfying results

It Enables brands showcase their expertise

Your expertise in your field is noticeable in the informational materials you pitch to your targeted audience. The value your content gives can give them the impression that you do what you do better than your competition. They easily separate you from competitors especially if you consistently answer their questions and provide solution to their problems

Generates Leads

Leads are what we need to sell our products. That is why most businesses do marketing. Thanks to content marketing, strangers can now know about your business through the useful and informative contents you create. If they find it appealing enough, they could make a purchase.

All you need do is streamline your content to their needs. The deeper they come to trust you, the sooner they'll make a purchase decision

Attract Ideal Buyers

As important as lead generation is, it comes to nothing if it attracts the wrong people. That is why an ideal content marketing strategy is streamlined to reach targeted audience, these are people who are interested in buying what you sell. Just give them good reasons to make that decision and watch your sales skyrocket

The Journey to Content Marketing, How to start

Now that you are aware of the advantages of content marketing. How do you get started?
Well, every successful marketing plan begins with two important steps according to content marketing institute. These steps serve as guides to what type of content you should be creating and what not to

1. Understand Your Goals

Before jumping into content creation, it would do you much good if you first ask yourself what you want to achieve with your content. How is it going to benefit your business?
A reasonable content marketing plan needs to do at least one of these

• Build Brand awareness
• Build your mailing list
• Convert your audience into paying costumers
• Retain current costumers or push them into making more purchases

2. Create a Mission Statement

I usually term this “Your why”.
A good mission statement is one that clearly answers questions such as:

• why does your business exist?
• What is your overall goal
• What measures are you taking to achieve that goal

Likewise, in the buildup to your content marketing strategy, the creation of your mission statement must include:

Who Your Target Customers Are (Audience) : This helps you narrow down the specific kind of person you are trying to reach with your content

What Value You Want To give (Information): What kind of knowledge do you intend passing out to your targeted audience through your content?

The Desired Outcome (Purpose): How would the information you give help your audience? what would they be able to do with the knowledge that comes from the consumption of your content. How do you want your audience to feel after consuming your content. What actions should they take that will first of all benefit them (call to action). Whats's in it for you?

Where the information will be accessible (Channel): Where are your target audience located? Which channels best serve your purpose helping you achieve your desired result? Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, youtube, or LinkedIn?

What form the Information comes in (Format): How will your content be presented to them? What works best on your chosen channel? Would it be videos, podcasts, or written articles? Don't forget to decide the size, length and style, etc. for your content based on your chosen channel