What is CONTENT

?

It’s nothing new

we create and consume it everyday

and have done so for many many years

It forms the…

magazines, whitepapers, apps, NEWSFEEDS, programs, adverts, articles, newspapers, videos, music, films, Emails, websites, books, coffee cups, games, photos, social channels, ONLINE PIN BOARDS, TV, billboards & BLOGS

…we view, visit and consume in our everyday lives

In its traditional sense it is custom publishing

John Deere’s ‘The Furrow’ magazine. Started in the late 1890’s it helped farmers to learn new techniques and most importantly better ways to be profitable when harvesting the land. “Feet on the ground, eyes on the horizon”

Not only did this provide farmers with relevant, valuable and interesting content but it positioned John Deere as a thought leader for those who cultivated and harvested the land. This still remains relevant today with a net revenue of +$32Billion (USD) in 2012.

So… What is the difference between

Custom Publishing & Content Marketing

?

The term ‘Custom Publishing’ was created by traditional magazine publishers as they needed a way to differentiate it from their core

publishing businesses which involved creating assets not for media companies but for advertisers

In many respects this was possibly the wrong name as publishing is not necessarily marketing and creating content to sell products or services

in its pure sense is ‘marketing’

The reason for the phrase content marketing

is a result of the advances in technology and

the channels available for distribution and consumer engagement

Never before has content been so easy to

create…

What once looked like this…

Now looks like this…

and this…

The reason…

What was once a process that involved journalists, copywriters and photographers gathering content for custom publications, which were printed

on machines, manually operated by teams of people and distributed by vehicles and handed out by people

is now a process which see’s anyone with a phone creating unique

and engaging content in less than a few minutes.

The problem however is that…

http://vimeo.com/48736559

Our lives are full of disruptions

With the advances and advantages of technology and the ability to create and publish content instantly, content in its marketing form has become its own worst enemy

Creating content to sell features or functions is adding noise to an already

distracting environment

It cannot be about you/us/or the brand

It must be consumer centric and relevant to their wants, needs and interests

So… How SHOULD WE APPROACH

content marketing ?

It starts with culture and changing the belief that marketing has to promote a products

features

Put simply content marketing should inform an audience

Good content gives consumers something that they’ve

not seen or engaged with before.

It is information that people find helpful, educational and thought provoking

done well it should establish and reinforce an

awareness, consideration and loyalty for a given product, service or topic.

In a nutshell…

It is the art of marketing and selling a product or service by ultimately NOT selling, but instead by educating, entertaining or

adding value to a target audience through the things that they like or need to do.

Good content marketing

should influence consumers in a way which makes them think and

behave differently.

It is not easy and it is not a campaign, it takes time and commitment.

It is an approach and business strategy that with careful planning and by listening to consumers can have massive effects both now and for many years to come.

Thank you

www.reborn.com.au