What is content marketing and why is it important?

Content marketing focuses on creating, publishing and distributing valuable, relevant and consistent content to attract and retain a defined target audience or customer base.

Content marketing is not about selling directly, it's about storytelling. Humans have been telling and listening to stories since languages existed and naturally we enjoy being entertained, our attention is often drawn to the best storytellers.

Content marketing is a long term strategy focusing on building a strong relationship and trust with customers.

Some of the most common content marketing tools are blog articles or video clips. Blog posts published on a website are important not only for engaging with existing clients but for attracting new customers through search engines. Blog posts are often the first contact a potential customer has with your brand.

Blog posts and video clips are perfect for sending via email newsletters and to be posted on social media channels.

Some fact about content marketing

Businesses with blogs get 67% more leads than other companies.
47% of buyers view 3 to 5 pieces of content before engaging.
Around 80% of companies use content marketing to generate quality leads.
Companies using content marketing see 30% higher growth rates than businesses not using it.
35% of organisations do not have dedicated content marketing teams.

Benefits of content marketing

It generates a higher engagement as audiences stick around longer.
It amplifies your brand awareness.
It grows your social media followers.
It creates content for newsletters.
It boosts search engine rankings (Google likes fresh content).
It increases lead generation through keyword searches.
It establishes expertise, authority and trust.
It’s less invasive than traditional marketing.
It increased customer loyalty.

Content marketing strategy

Besides setting budgets and goals when planning your content marketing, you should map out:

Who will read your content?
What is the value for the reader?
What problem will you be solving for your audience?
What makes your content unique?
What content formats are you focusing on?
What channel will your content be published on?
How will you manage the content creation?
Timelines for content publishing.

Content marketing examples

The Australian Sports Technologies Network

The content strategy is based on publishing and sharing Podcasts, Media Releases, Industry Insights and Case Studies. www.astn.com.au

Why We Love Golf

A dedicated SEO and strategic content environment built from the ground up. With the sole aim to get as many clicks as possible from people with an interest in golf. Within 2 years we achieved monthly traffic of 40,000 users and 70,000 page views (August 2022). With 70% of the traffic coming from the US. www.whywelovegolf.com

ART NEWS PORTAL

ART NEWS PORTAL is a crowd sourced art news feed. Since the site has been launched in 2012 we have achieved over 11,000 news article submissions. www.artnewsportal.com

Satara

A furniture and homewares business that lists and sells hundreds of beautifully crafted high quality products online. They build the brand and create customer awareness of new product lines through their numerous social channels and newsletter campaigns. Satara’s content marketing is primarily driven by their quality product photography and continuous flow of content. www.satara.com.au