You may be wondering, just what is content marketing, and what is its purpose? The term does get thrown around quite a lot, and that very act of being thrown around has clouded its meaning.
So let’s look at it from another perspective. The difference between content marketing and regular marketing is that content marketing is not actually focused on selling. There is no sales pitch or effort to get anyone to buy anything. Instead, the focus is on creating content that gives a person a reason to visit your site.
This naturally leads into the purpose of content marketing: to get customers interested in your online store. This goal is achieved by creating and disseminating media that makes your site look interesting and appealing to your customers.
What is content marketing?
A good way to think of content marketing is as follows:
You are establishing and maintaining a line of communication with your customers and potential customers. That’s it in a nutshell.
Online customers are not like traditional consumers. They are often interested in specific information or products. That means your communication must be more informative, interesting, and involved than a traditional advertisement.
The good news is there are many kinds of content marketing, both online and offline, and some of them are very cheap. When done right, content marketing is one of the most cost-effective forms of promotion around.
How content marketing can help your online store
Before you can get people interested in your store, you first need to get your message out there. The message should be focused on helping people with a particular problem. And you should position your store as the solution to that problem in an entertaining and informative way.
Once this is accomplished and you create an audience, you can slowly turn that audience into a customer base. But you should always think of those you are targeting as the audience and not as customers. Remember, your purpose is to entertain and inform, not to sell.
Another way that content marketing can help your online store is that it gives you the opportunity to position yourself as an authority in your niche. People are more likely to buy from a person they think of as an authority. To establish yourself as an authority, all you have to do is share your unique knowledge with others.
One great way to do this is to write an e-book and offer it as a free giveaway like in the image below (this is also an excellent strategy to combine with email marketing).
Another is to provide hints and instructions via a blog. If you’re selling kitchen utensils, write a cookbook and share recipes. If you’re selling gardening supplies, give advice on gardening on your YouTube channel.
One point to keep in mind: your content should be timeless. One of the great things about content marketing is that the message keeps circulating. So try not to date the message to the point that your readers won't find it irrelevant a month, two months, or even a year or two later.
Examples of online content marketing
- Blogging: Blogs are perhaps the easiest and cheapest form of online content marketing. The challenge is not creating the blog, but getting people to read it. A good blog should be informative, entertaining, and well written. If you don’t know how to write, hire a writer to write your blog posts for you. Lots of excellent freelance writers are available through platforms such as Elance.com and Freelancer.com.
- How-to Guides and Articles: Hobbyists and other enthusiasts are always looking for more information. How-to guides and tips are an excellent means to attract their attention. This is a great way to promote niche items in your store.
- E-books: A free eBook, particularly one full of useful information, is a great way to establish yourself as an expert on a topic. Creating an e-book is easy; simply collect all of your articles and blog posts and add an introduction and a conclusion. You can also hire a credentialed professional to write a foreword for you to give your book even more credibility.
- YouTube Videos: A lot people today get most of their information online, and videos are a great way to reach them. The video must contain some movement or action, such as a person working on a project or, at the very least, standing in front of a white board. A talking head is boring and a surefire way to drive viewers away.
- Podcasts: These can be highly effective, particularly if you are able to tell a story in a compelling way. A good way to use podcasts is to interview celebrities or experts in your field.
- Infographics and Pictures: The old cliché is true—a picture is worth a thousand words. Since most communication is visual, pictures and infographics are two very effective means of communication. Good pictures of products will lead to sales. Not surprisingly, the best pictures to attract attention are those of human faces, particularly cute children and attractive women.
- Animated GIFs: GIF stands for Graphics Interchange Format. These are animated clips that are great for attracting attention. A good way to use them is for humor, but be careful because one person’s idea of a joke could offend others.
These are just a handful of forms that online content marketing can take. There are many others that you can take advantage of that were not mentioned here, so if you are interested in learning more, check out Neil Patel's excellent resource.
Examples of offline content marketing
Despite what some people think, content marketing in the real world (offline) does take place. Some examples of offline content marketing include:
- Print materials: fliers, posters, pamphlets, brochures, and so on.
- Direct mail: informational material such as catalogs sent through the mail.
- Broadcast: Radio and television interviews are a good way to establish yourself as an authority if you have a large advertising budget.
Examples of content marketing done right
The best way to understand this concept is to take a look at examples of effective content marketing. Whatever you create should engage and pique the interest of potential customers at the same time.
Some examples of effective content marketing are:
- City One from IBM: This is an addictive game that spotlights the technology giant’s infrastructure expertise. The game shows visitors how IBM’s technologies can deal with real world problems, such as power outages. It establishes IBM’s credentials as an authority on infrastructure issues.
- From One Engineer to Another Blog Series: Indium Corp found a way to establish its engineers’ credibility as experts by having them write blogs on engineering topics related to the company. Some of the most successful topics were how-to videos on using Indium’s products.
- Blendtec: Blendtec create entertaining video that demonstrate the power of its blenders by blending just about anything—including an iPad. The effect? Millions of video views and product sales. Kids, don't try this at home.
Just remember to start slowly and build one step at a time. If you want to learn more, this ultimate e-book of content marketing examples will give you some ideas and inspiration.
If you’re still confused by content marketing and perhaps a little frightened by it, some of SaleHoo’s content marketing resources will help. Check out the traffic training videos and other content in SaleHoo’s seller training center.
For Premium SaleHoo Store owners, we include some traffic training videos to help you get the most out of content and other forms of marketing, to help drive traffic and sales.
CLICK HERE TO VISIT SALEHOO’S SELLER TRAINING CENTeR
