by Kingsley Emezie | Copywriter | Lead Generation Expert | Facebook Growth Expert | Marketing Consultant
When you hear those words ‘Content Marketing’ what comes to your mind?
Or perhaps you are thinking what on earth is Content Marketing? Dont worry too much, you are not alone. I too had no idea of what it was until I discovered it.
You see, over the years traditional marketing was designed for hard selling. You were taught never to entertain ‘Marketers’ or give them a glimpse of your attention.
As you can imagine, majority of those beliefs came from the notion of Marketers being liars, too expensive, ineffective, and often too salesy.
Traditional Marketing was designed to chase customers while modern day Content Marketing does the opposite. It attracts!
You will also be surprised to learn that content marketing is cost effective, it is cheap but structurally solid.
Content marketing doesn’t cost money. You don’t often need a significant amount of financial investment, just time investment. Everyone in business needs content marketing.
So, what is content marketing?
Content marketing is the act of creating a piece of content with the aim to educate or inform.
This could be created in any form which is transferable, sharable, for the consumption of the general public (well not general public per se, but I will come to that!)
Content marketing is targeted, purposeful to a certain audience, community. Your content isn’t for everyone. When you discover the particular group you want to serve with your content, you become aligned to that mission.
Content marketing is all about teaching. It helps to start great conversations, it sparks arguments, and it creates engagement.
In short, sharing vital information to enlighten others on a certain topic helps to build trust between your audience and you. Your audience will feel like they know you personally.
Content marketing is not salesy, it has no barrier of entry and works just for any industry. If you are a manufacturer, by constantly providing industry insights, you will help connect your industry with your consumers who find your information valuable.
And that’s not all, content marketing is easy. I have come to realise that, alot of people get worried about creating content.
For some reason, most business owners I have spoken to see it as a tedious task that requires a lot of time and effort.
In this post, I will show you how to create powerful content that sparks conversations and creates a welcoming atmosphere for your customers.
We use content marketing to motivate, to create awareness, to create engagement, to set trends, to increase brand exposure.
Content Marketing for motivation
Do you have a business that requires extra motivation for your audience to take action?
For example, businesses like the gym, eating healthy, fitness clubs, etc.
Motivation is a good form of content strategy. If you are a fitness instructor, by constantly posting content that teaches easy steps, before and after photos of your clients, client stories before they came to you vs what they have achieved after working with you.
This type of content marketing helps to build the courage of your audience and gives them that extra motivation to take action.
Content Marketing for awareness
My childhood friend used to be and still is an amazing artist. He is one of the most talented artists I have come across.
His drawings are fabulous which makes his artwork look real. I recently came across my friend who was struggling to make ends meet.
He wanted some handouts which I gladly gave but I also gave him something worth more than handouts. I asked him about his artistic talent in which he replied he was even better now.
To summarise this, I advised him on the importance of awareness by leveraging content marketing. Up until that moment he never taught something like that was possible.
You see, you could be the best artist in the world but if no one knows you, your artistry won’t count for much.
A few months later, my friend started posting his artwork and displaying it for the world to see. Today he has a good number of clients he is working with.
Let me ask you, what is that skill, talent, service, or product, that you possess but people are not seeing? How many people are engaging with your products, and your services? How many people are asking questions about your offers?
Could it be that you are like my artist friend who had all the great skills but zero awareness?
Content marketing creates awareness that leads to brand exposure.
Content Marketing to create engagement
When was the last time you saw a post you liked? What did you do afterwards? I am sure you liked and commented on that post.
Well, you could have done it for one of these reasons,
- You liked the post because it was something you were interested in.
- You found something that grabbed your attention.
- It was something you are knowledgeable about or interested in learning.
The reasons are countless, why you need to post more content but it falls down to one simple thing interest.
Come to think of it, how many people do you think are interested in what you do? There must be a significant amount out there you know! Because, for anything you are interested in, you will find others who are.
When you create a piece of content people are interested in, you are likely to get some form of engagement.
Every single engagement on your post has the ability to expand your reach and introduce you to more people who are interested in your offerings.
Engagement could be answering questions, creating interactions, responding to queries, sharing stories, sharing useful post.
Content Marketing to set trends
If you have been hanging around the internet for as long as I have, then you must have come across the word TRENDS.
What is a trend?
A trend simply means a change in a situation or in the way people are behaving.
When something starts to trend on the internet, it creates a wave of attention. Everyone is talking about it, tweeting about it. Wouldn’t like your product or business to trend?
Lucky for you, there are various platforms that could help you predict trending topics ahead of their supposed trending time.
This means you will be able to create content on a particular topic that is guaranteed to trend in the nearest future.
For example, you can use Google trends, Youtube, and Twitter to find out what is trending in your industry and then create specific topics closely related to that trend to start trending.
Content Marketing to increase brand exposure
Gone are the days when getting brand exposure will cost you an arm and a leg lol.
Today, you don’t have to pay huge fees to TV broadcasters or Radio broadcasters just to be seen. You can do it on your own by creating content that will benefit your audience.
In short, it’s never been easier than it is today to get in front of the entire world and showcase your product.
Most global brands you know are currently leveraging content marketing to put out great content that engages the fans, audience, and consumers in order to create massive exposure.
When you create a post that is valuable, there is no limit to who is going to see it. Do you have the best burgers? Post it.
Do you sell the best wine? Post it.
Are you the best artist? Post it.
Are you the best nail technician? Post it.
Whatever it is you are doing, the major goal is to serve as many people as you can. Content marketing helps make that happen by improving your brand exposure significantly.
Conclusion
The best time to start content marketing is now. Start today, post content you know people in your connection will benefit from.
Mind you, it don’t always have to be your content. You can also re-post other contents you find useful or share it with people you know will also benefit from it.
Remember, service always leads to greatness. Content marketing is the best definition of service. Serve others and you will be served in return.
Are you struggling to create content?
Do you find creating content exhausting?
Are you nervous about the content calendar and how to stay committed?
Book a free 30 mins call with me to help you determine the best 5-step content marketing plan for you.
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If you have any questions, feel free to ask.