From videos to podcasts, blog posts to eBooks…

What is content marketing and why should you care about it?

Have you been avoiding content marketing like the plague because you think it’s just a trendy buzzword for “advertising”?

Turns out, it’s not and it’s actually a super important part of every marketing strategy.

You can think of content marketing like that perfect friend who not only brings a cake to your party but also helps you clean up afterward. You know, the one who doesn’t just show up to show off, but offers something genuinely helpful.

Content marketing is not about screaming “Buy me! Buy me!” but about giving insights, advice, and solutions that’ll make your audience flock to you like bees to honey.

So, in this blog post, we’re going to talk about what content marketing is, how it’s different from traditional advertising, and why it’s as important for your business as a morning cup of coffee.

What Is Content Marketing?

Content marketing uses online material—such as blog posts, videos, and podcasts—to promote your business’ products or services.

“But Julie, isn’t that just called ‘advertising’?”

First of all, don’t ever question my expertise again. Secondly, no. There are a few key factors that separate content marketing from traditional marketing or advertising.

1. Content marketing is valuable.

Think of your favorite TV commercial. Even when they’re heartwarming, intriguing, or downright hilarious, advertisements don’t give you anything functional. You aren’t drinking the soda or seeing the movie, just being encouraged to do so.

Content marketing, on the other hand, gives away a little of the “secret sauce.”

It tells you the 10 unique ways you can get more followers on TikTok. It walks you through the process of how to write a professional email. It shares the best tips for acing that job interview.

Good advertising leaves you wanting more. Good content marketing leaves you feeling satisfied.

2. Content marketing is organic.

Businesses have to pay to put advertising anywhere—whether it’s through TV, radio, magazines, or the internet—but your potential customers don’t have to pay to consume it.

Content marketing, however, is free for businesses to put out and for people to use.

You’re not paying to put your content in front of them, but your target audience finds it anyway (as long as it’s optimized) during a Google search.

Think about it: people are always clicking “skip ad,” but content marketing delivers what they’re actually looking for while simultaneously driving traffic to your site.

3. Content marketing is long-term.

Advertising can be done in a concentrated blitz campaign, but content marketing works best when you build on it, layer by layer, over a longer period of time.

Posting one piece of content is great, and it might even bring a lot of potential customers to your site. But you’ll get the most out of your content marketing efforts by continuing to produce high-quality, relevant content month after month.

Types of Content Marketing

You know what content marketing is in a general way, but what is content marketing specifically?

Here are some of the most popular types of content marketing that you can start wielding.

• Blog posts and articles
• Landing pages
• Videos
• Podcasts
• White papers and eBooks
• Infographics
• Webinars
• Case studies
• Checklists
• Memes
• Social media content

The type of content you use isn’t as important as how you use it (or how well you understand it). In fact, the ideal content marketing campaign will include a variety of different content types.

Why You Should Care About Content Marketing

Now that you have a better understanding of what content marketing is, the biggest question is: “Why should I care?”

My response to that is to say that you’ve been, like, really sassy today, chill out. But I can answer your question as well.

One of the biggest reasons to create content is that it has a tremendous impact in terms of search engine optimization (SEO).

Google’s algorithm looks a lot of different things when deciding how highly to rank a web page, and content is really far up on that list.

If you aren’t content marketing, you’re not giving your website the best chance of reaching your target audience.

Content marketing is also the best way to educate your customers and increase your credibility.

When you speak knowledgeably about a given topic, your customers go, “That’s an expert right there!” They start to learn about your industry. They make more informed decisions.

Most importantly, they start to take you seriously.

Developing a Content Marketing Strategy

Remember, content marketing works best when you put effort into optimizing it for search engines. In short: you need a strategy.

So, what does a good content marketing strategy look like?

First, you want to start with a goal. This can be to increase leads, increase revenue, or just increase the traffic to your website.

Next, define your audience. Who is your ideal customer? How do they spend their time? What questions do they have about your product or service?

Then, create content and optimize it for search engine visibility. A content calendar can help you organize your content over multiple platforms and long periods of time, so you’ll never have to scramble around at the last minute to get a video uploaded or a blog post published.

But you’re not done yet. Your final step is to analyze that piece of content to make sure it helped you reach your goal. Why did one video get more engagement than another? Did increasing the word count help a blog post do better?

Once you’ve identified the highs and lows, you can use that to fuel your content marketing efforts in the future.

Conclusion

Content marketing is a crucial part of any digital marketing strategy. I would even go so far as to say it gives small business owners the highest return on investment.

Whether you’re interested in podcasts, videos, eBooks, or blog posts, content marketing is all about creating valuable, organic online resources that drive your business to success in the long-term.

But it can also take a lot of work.

This is where working with a digital marketing agency can be incredibly helpful and save you a lot of time.

At Clarity Creative Group, we specialize in content marketing that gets eyes on your site, period. We’ve helped dozens of business owners just like you increase traffic, leads, and sales, all from putting out and optimizing the right content.

Curious about how it all works? We’d love a chance to flex our muscles. Drop us a line so we can talk.