The phrase “content is king” has been used since the early 2000’s. Digital publishers and merchants watched as their content and how-to articles consistently delivered targeted traffic to their website. But as more and more content marketing and niche publishing services popped up, content became somewhat of a commodity. In fact, for a few years, it seemed like virtually every website had the same article, video or podcast on it. Not much unique about that.
The result was a dip in perceived value for these websites. Subsequently, a dip in website visitors and ultimately conversions started to take place. This helped the industry realize that to truly maximize the benefit of content marketing, the content must be unique and relevant. Thus giving way to a new era of what many are referring to as custom publishing or branded media.
This new era of publishing is allowing marketers to take greater control of their brands. Leveraging tools like Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, LinkedIn, Whitepapers, Blogs and virtually any other stream of content, brands and businesses can now become their own newsroom. It’s a realistic vision too, as more and more of media becomes real-time; marketing departments will need to augment themselves to manage real-time PR and sales oriented opportunities as well as any crisis that may surface. Bottom line, the ability to create, monitor and respond to the conversations inspired by your content is yours.
Ultimately, this is leading to a whole new form of advertising. Wielding the power of quality content, many brands and businesses, large and small are shifting marketing dollars towards content marketing and away from paid models (which typically consist of paid search and media buys). This leads to a few questions:
What forms of content will be most valuable for business?
The short answer is, all content is valuable. The reality is that you should still approach this strategically. Different forms of content require different personnel, production tools and ultimately budget to produce. That being said, it has been revealed lately that search engines are increasingly valuing video content. Results from video publishing platforms such as YouTube, Vimeo and Viddler are climbing search engines faster and providing qualified, targeted website traffic for the content originators. Social Media is a another form of content that is increasingly changing search engine results. Tweets, Facebook and LinkedIn posts are finding their way into search engines as well, making social media a fundamental component of any content marketing strategy.
Does the small business vs. big brand comparison matter?
It sure does. Once again there is an opportunity for a small business to gain market-share and separate itself from larger brands. With the range of digital design and publishing tools available today, looking like a big brand or industry thought leader is less difficult and more affordable than it has ever been. Furthermore, small business owners can learn from the strategies that larger brands are evolving towards. For big brands, the opportunity is equal. The brands that take to content marketing and the custom publishing model seriously will build their consumer following more rapidly than before (think Starbucks, Ford, and most recently Best Buy). What’s in it for big brands? Her’s what, sharing content allows consumers to learn, develop trust and engage more frequently with the brands they support; leading to a more transparent and authentic relationship. When done correctly, both small and large companies will benefit by leveraging content to shift consumers from transactional customers to loyal brand evangelists.
Will content marketing become more challenging and ultimately strategic?
With more companies battling for search results, you bet it will. Competition amongst brands and businesses of all sizes will increase as the content marketing craze continues. With more content being created, the opportunity to generate both qualitative and quantitative insights will also increase. This data will lead to a better understanding of what content consumers prefer and how they interact it with it. This will lead to smarter strategies and improved audience targeting. The most successful companies will spend not only time but also budget to dig deep into what is working and leading to ROI as it relates to content marketing. Once the appropriate content and content publishing platforms have been identified expect these companies to go at it full force. With an expectation of what the ROI will be, these marketers will be in frenzy and frankly competition to not only own their media channel but also the brand recognition within their respected industry.
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