Over the last several years, Content Marketing has emerged as a key focus area for Marketers—both B2B and B2C—as consumers have shut off traditional forms of “interruption” media and marketing vehicles in favor of more personalized, relevant, educational, and entertaining content that isn’t so much an overt pitch-to-the-face, but more of an informative conversation.
What is Content Marketing?
Content marketing’s purpose is to attract and retain customers by consistently creating and curating relevant and valuable content with the intention of changing or enhancing consumer behavior. It is an ongoing process that is best integrated into your overall marketing strategy, and it focuses on owning media, not renting it.
– Content Marketing Institute
Effective Content Marketing delivers consistent, valuable information to buyers at no cost or obligation, and demonstrates thought leadership, expertise, and a genuine understanding of your buyers’ needs. Of course, the hope is that your prospect will recognize your firm’s value and will reward you with their business and loyalty.
It’s easy to recognize the value in the principles behind Content Marketing and they have caught on rather quickly in the Marketing world. Just take a look at the worldwide Web Search interest in Content Marketing, according to Google Trends:
There are now even institutes, conferences, specialized jobs, and hundreds of consultants dedicated to the Content Marketing discipline, yet there are still two big pieces that are missing from the conversation:
- How do you measure the effectiveness of your content marketing efforts?
- How do you ensure that sales teams deliver relevant content that addresses the needs of buyers at the right stage in the sales cycle?
Our latest infographic, below, highlights many of the Content Marketing challenges facing Sales and Marketing teams:
