What the Business Would Be Like If Content Marketing Didn't Exist

Content marketing is becoming more than just a buzzword in the Internet marketing and SEO industries.

Here's an in-depth look at content marketing, including the ideas of Content Marketing System and the idea behind it, its potential problems, and what it means to create "quality" content.

Contrary to popular opinion, the idea of "content marketing" and its importance isn't a new one. Bill Gates first drew attention to the concept in his appropriately titled 1996 essay "Content Is King." In the essay, he talks about his predictions for the Internet after its recent birth and his message is simple: understand that companies who find ways to inform and entertain will thrive on the Internet and reign supreme.

Gates' 18-year-old prediction was accurate - it's still an extremely important issue today. Content marketing should be adopted as a philosophy, not taken to and tested like a trend. There are plenty of misconceptions and assumptions about content marketing, so what's it all about?

Marketers now understand that brands must become publishers. The “why” of content marketing is no longer in question. But marketers are still asking “how?” How can marketers or team in marketing department able to generate the high quality and quantity of content necessary to succeed in the new marketing era.

From my point of view, if you we want to generate high quality and quantity content we should build up and operate a Content Marketing system that outputs accurate, relevant content that attracts leads at the top of the funnel and leads them down. But do you know what the definition of Content Marketing is? Put simply, it's the strategy of attracting and retaining customers by way of creating content.

What Is "Content" Exactly?

That's a pretty subjective question. There are many different types of content and some of the more popular forms are: blogs, e-books, videos, webinars, podcasts, whitepapers, competitions, press releases, emails, newsletters, and info graphics.

As a business owner, the trick is to work out the type of content that's right for your audience. If you sell information technology services, for example, your approach to attracting audiences is probably going be very different than if you sell cars. Either way, the umbrella principle is that compelling stories drive action.

Why Have a Content Marketing System?

People are tuning out to traditional forms of marketing. Marketing is pretty simple in theory: you create something of value and then tell everyone about it. But what if people aren't listening? Well, that's where content marketing comes in.

Thanks to technology, people love looking at content whether they're at work or on the bus - so potential customers have never been so accessible.

Creating great content takes time, but it's a very cost-effective strategy.

Here’s a description of the different components of the system:

• Plan: Create a strategic structure for your content marketing 
• Team: Assemble the group to manage your content marketing operation  
• Ideas: Generate a steady flow of ideas for your content 
• Production and Distribution: Assemble your content and distribute it across the web
• Audience Development: Generate traffic to your content  
• Conversion & Nurture: Convert visitor to leads, nurture them to opportunities 
• Measure & Optimize: Analyze and improve performance

Idea Behind Content Marketing.

Put simply, content marketing is used to attract audiences to your shop window and genuinely nurture relationships. The days of the hard sell are gone - this is about building brand loyalty through emotion, interest, and usefulness. The tactics you use will vary. Some businesses may just need a cool product and people will flock anyway. Many might need a fashionable brand identity. Others aren't so lucky and will have to think a bit more laterally, maybe by using content that's unrelated to the business. Content marketing is subtle. It's used to create a loyal community of people that either don't notice or don't care that they're being sold to.

I would say, content marketing is a hot topic right now. Why? Because it’s an effective method of advertising at a time when old marketing models aren’t as effective as they once were. Rather than buying a full-page newspaper ad and hoping your customers see it.