When we think of the word ‘content’ several different mediums pop in our head– articles, blogs, videos, e-letters, and many more all of them loosely threaded by the word content.
So, when we say, “Content is King” a term coined by Summer Redstone regarding programming followed by Bill gates referring to software and the future of the internet, two things become clear – The term has since evolved to ascertain the value and originality of the content & content now acts as a piece of a much bigger puzzle in the business world.
In Gates’ 1996 article, Content is King, published on the Microsoft website, he writes – “One of the exciting things about the internet is that anyone with a PC and a modem can publish whatever content they can create. The internet allows information to be distributed worldwide at basically zero marginal cost to the publisher.”
Almost 24 years later, we see this idea come into fruition, but there’s a lot more than content that has evolved in this time. The strategies to market content have also tremendously evolved and, simply creating amazing content to drive readers from around the world does not really work.
Importance of Content Marketing Strategy:
Content Marketing is one of the biggest and subtle forms of marketing in the digital age. It’s like planting a seed of curiosity in your audience’s psyche to drive demand and provide value to your content. This happens because content marketing works directly with the customer, unlike advertising, a method that has suffered a decline in recent years.
With ad blockers on a constant rise and the general annoyance of the public with traditional methods of advertising, marketers now stand in front of a challenge to provide their customers with something that entertains and offers utility to them, and this is where content marketing comes into play.
Multiple forms of Content Marketing:
Amongst the most dynamic shifts in how content is marketed with advertising in decline have been through social media influencers. Businesses hire a creative and allow them to give input on their content and any criticism that follows using posts on apps such as instagram, facebook and snapchat. This freedom of opinion helps create a unique bond of trust and loyalty between the brand and the customer through the creative.
A similar alternative is reviews and rankings written by content writers that either specialize in a particular field/product or are paid to specifically boast about a brand on websites. These articles can then lead to better sales through affiliate links in them.
Cost Efficiency of Content Marketing:
In previous years brands put in a bunch of money into huge campaigns to make their content visible using models, billboards, and pop-ups but with content marketing and availability of content writers and influencers at such great prices, the cost has declined tremendously. Not only are brands providing customers with the opportunity to assess where their best interest lies by engaging in meaningful content but also saving their pockets from bearing the brunt of hefty campaigns, especially in the middle of a global pandemic.
After understanding the world of content marketing, the burning question that hits us is – Does the quality of the content matter if top-notch Content Marketing Strategies are applied?
The simple answer to that question is, yes, the quality of the content does matter. Unless and until the customers are not receiving the content they crave and sign up for by being lured in through your content marketing strategies, they are not going to stay. Customer retention is as important as luring the customer in the first place and, it’s what makes the business successful in the long run. Therefore, the quality of the content should be paid attention to.
But content produced without any marketing strategy in the works is invisible content waiting to be forgotten, therefore, generating no returns. Hence, we can safely conclude that content is not the king until marketing is seen as the torchbearer, continuously shedding light on it and making it visible.
