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“Content Marketing”BUZZWORD OR GAME CHANGER?

yellowpencil.com

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“Content marketing is

nothing new. It’s just a buzzword

for inbound marketing”

(Right? ...)

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Actually, “inbound marketing” is a relatively new term that could be labeled a buzzword itself...so what do these terms really mean?

Inbound Marketing Marketing activities that organically attract potential buyers (i.e. SEO, Blogs, Social Media etc.). Alternatively, outbound marketing is purchased (TV, Print, Radio etc.)

Content Marketing Consistently creating highly engaging, custom “content” (text, video, images) that will resonate specifically with your targeted audience.

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“Well don’t we try to create customized, engaging “content” for every marketing

message we produce, paid or not?”

(YUP!...)

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And why is this even important?

Because whether or not you use these “buzzwords”, the way we develop and communicate our

marketing messages has changed.

Content marketing might not be “new”, but our approach

should be!

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So what’s changed?

1. Customers are more informed: they’ve done thorough research and are already 80% of the way through their purchasing decision before even reaching your website.

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2. Companies are more informed: we can find out much more information regarding our target market, what they find engaging, and how we can best reach them. So invest in quality research and understand your users!

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3. Advertising clutter is incredibly high, and attention spans are much, much shorter: so we need to get a bit more creative on how we tell our stories. Images and video play a lead role now.

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4. More companies are realizing the value of great content: so, content marketing isn’t new, it’s just “newly sensationalized”. Which means that if you want to stay competitive, then having a content specific strategy is essential to the overall success of your entire marketing strategy.

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The main takeaway?

A solid content marketing strategy should be at the

core of all your marketing activities, regardless of the

channels you use.

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88% of B2B marketers currently use content marketing as part of their marketing strategy, yet only 32% have it documented.

The most effective B2B content marketers allocate 42% of their budget to content marketing, compared to 28% for less-effective marketers.

51% of business owners report that content management is “very important” or “absolutely critical” to creating a cohesive customer journey.

45% of marketers say blogging is their #1 most important content strategy.

71% of marketers use visual assets as part of their content marketing strategy.

Content marketing stats

*Source: contentmarketinginstitute.com

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In essence, it doesn’t really matter whether or not “content marketing” is a buzzword, an innovative new strategy, or simply a branded term for a marketing concept that we’ve been using for decades.

What does matter is that we now know that we need to start being more intentional in these activities. So....develop a plan. Measure your successes and failures. Then keep refining.

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Not sure how to get started?Always start with a plan! Which means you’ll need to:

1. Set your goals & objectives.2. Research: who are you trying to target and how can you reach them?3. Define your target audience & user personas.4. Audit your existing content.5. Evaluate the competitive environment.

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Some helpful resources:• DEFINING A DIRECTION FOR YOUR DIGITAL CONTENT STRATEGY : https://yellowpencil.com/blog/putting-flag-in-the-sand/

• AUDIT YOUR EXISTING CONTENT: http://flockforcontent.com/

• OR CONTACT US DIRECTLY! https://yellowpencil.com/contact/

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Yellow Pencil#503, 10158-103 StreetEdmonton, AB, CanadaT5J 0X6

Sales & Marketing780.423.5917

sales@yellowpencil.comyellowpencil.com