The term “content
marketing” sounds like a hip buzzword to describe the latest marketing
craze, but in reality, the concept has been around since the first newsletters
came rolling off the presses.
“Content marketing is an umbrella
term encompassing all marketing formats that involve the creation or sharing of
content for the purpose of engaging current and potential consumer bases.” Simply,
content marketing informs your audience. The best content shows readers
something that they’ve never seen before. It surfaces information that
readers find helpful.
Content
marketing also educates. It shows readers how to think about a topic.
Done right, content marketing establishes an approach for considering a
product, service, or topic.
Example of content marketing
Mint.com
started out as a tool to help people understand and do more with their money,
so it has a leg up on many other financial services sites. Mint Life, linked to
from the Education section of Mint.com, is a community where most of the
content (versus the tools) resides.
The
format is a visually attractive three-column blog format, and Mint isn’t afraid
to use color and graphics. The page has space for recent tweets, articles and
links to the Mint Life Guides and its popular Facebook page. Articles are readable
and relevant, creatively addressing topics that run the gamut of personal
finance concerns: Foodie Vacations on the Cheap, 5 Incredibly Stupid Things
Consumers Do Online, or Choosing a Broker (a compelling infographic).
The
site also continues to evolve with the times and remains relevant with its
target audience; for example, it has a free mobile app to help customers keep
track of their finances while they are on the go.
Improving the ability to "attract" is what modern optimization is all about. Understand what matters to your audience, craft the content that informs and inspires them to action. Improving that process is optimization - even if it has nothing to do with Google :)
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