No one likes ads. In fact, one of the chief selling points of a lot of our modern entertainment options is they are ad-free. Netflix and other subscription services prove that people would rather pay a small fee than deal with commercials, particularly in the case of television. The same is true for satellite radio, and podcasts; they’ve grown in popularity at least partially because there’s no advertisement for the audience to deal with. And now that we have access to programs like AdBlock, which stop us from even seeing ads when we get online, it’s entirely possible to live a life free of annoying ads.
This is a problem for companies who are trying to reach out to their audience. No matter how much cash they sink into snappy slogans and carefully crafted commercials, those marketing tools won’t do them any good if no one sees them. Like the proverbial tree falling in the forest, with no one around to see it or hear it, that commercial may as well not exist.
That’s why so many businesses are trying to get in on content marketing. The way content marketing works is that a business will create some form of content, such as a blog, a web series, a comic, etc. which will draw an audience to them. The content’s goal is to amass an audience, to win their good will, and to convince them to buy your product down the line. So, for example, a business that deals in gardening equipment and landscaping products might create a blog all about gardening hacks. The more people who follow the blog, the bigger the audience the company has to try to sell their products to.
If you’re going to throw your hat into the content marketing ring, there is one thing you need to remember above all others. One, key thing that will make or break your success as a content marketer.
It isn’t about you. It’s about your audience, and what you’re giving them.
Value Is The Key To Successful Content Marketing
Value is a word that often gets overlooked when it comes to content marketing, but it is the most important term to remember. Because when you create content to win an audience, you need to ask what your audience is getting out of it. What are you providing them that they can’t get anywhere else?
This isn’t an idle question, either. If you are writing a blog, for example, then what does your blog provide to your audience they can’t get from your competition? Is it the unique, insider interviews you’re providing? Is it your biting wit? Or is it that you provide helpful guides week after week? Whether it’s news, entertainment, or just helpful information, you need to know what you’re giving your audience. Or, phrased another way, you need to ask what product you’re giving them, and what it’s value is.
Your eventual goal is to build an audience to market yourself to. However, before you can market yourself to that audience, you need to get your foot in the door. You need to win their goodwill, and their loyalty, before you can try to sell them a product. And before you can do that, you have to give them something they value. Something they’re going to use, and want more of. Something only you can give them, in order to keep them coming back for more.
For more information on how you can step up your content marketing game, all you have to do is contact us today. We’re here to give you an edge!
