Content marketing - you've heard the term but do you really know what it means? In this article I'm going to give you a simple guide to understanding and developing your own content marketing stategy.

What is content marketing?

In a nutshell, businesses develop and produce valuable and consistent information that will offer authentic value to attract customers and drive profitable results - selling the 'idea' as opposed to the product itself.  

How does it work?

Before you consider creating content you must be clear about the purpose of its use and who your audience is. Content must be planned, developed, produced and measured consistently to achieve success. It takes time and effort, so be prepared if you want it to work for you.

How does it add value?

Remember, content marketing is information that your customer - your audience needs. Your purpose is to offer helpful tips, advice and pieces of information (visual and textual) that your audience will enjoy, appreciate and connect with, driving positive engagement, trust and ultimately a positive return on investment. 

Where do I start?

• Understand your audience's needs.
• Create valuable, solid, consistent content that is of genuine value to your customer and reflects your brand integrity and it's objectives. 
• Plan, collate and develop a content calendar that aligns with your overall marketing strategy.
• Analyse the results of your content delivery regularly, to ensure your content is being read by your target market, and if not, look at why and change accordingly.

Remember it can take up to twelve touch points to convert a lead into a customer. Creating a valuable information resource for your audience can propel your conversion rate, define your brand, increase your credibility and ultimately improve your bottom line. Add to this your potential pool of social media posts that can be created from your content development and you'll be leading the charge in no time!

Investing time and/or money into your content marketing strategy takes a concerted effort but once done properly, with good planning and a firm approach, there is no doubt you'll start seeing the benefits.

Got any tips on creating great content marketing? Want to learn more? Leave me a comment and I'd love to help you further. It would be amazing if you could share this post with someone you know could use it.