In the ever-changing field of marketing, not everything has stood the test of time. Just because something worked five years ago does not mean that in today’s market it still will. This means constantly adapting to new techniques, skills, and strategies. One new strategy that’s come up within the last few years is the rise of content marketing. So what is content marketing? What makes it so new and different? And, most importantly, why is it necessary?
What’s New
To begin, content marketing isn’t new by any means. It’s actually been around since the 1600s. What is new, however, is the demand for this kind of marketing. What makes content marketing different than other kinds? At its core, content marketing is educational as opposed to promotional. It’s less about pushing your product and more about telling consumers why they need it. You’re still selling something – marketing is almost always about sales. But it’s about building an image, a voice, and providing content that inspires your viewers to make the purchase, rather than shoving it down their throat.
It’s a tricky line, and a difficult one to understand sometimes, but it’s something you consume on a regular basis. A couple of examples of great content marketing are Burberry’s “Burberry’s Kisses” and Charmin’s “Sit or Squat” app. As one of Burberry’s most successful beauty campaigns, users could send a “digital kiss” to someone using a Burberry lipstick color of their choice. This kind of strategy causes people to think of Burberry every time they shopped for cosmetics.
The Sit or Squat app, on the other hand, is an app developed by Charmin where users rate bathrooms, helping other people find clean restrooms in their area. While not selling their products directly with this concept, the brand is still embedding itself in the mind of its users.
What Matters
In today’s market, brands that build trust build business. You aren’t going to build that trust by spending every cent you give to marketing on convincing them to buy your product. In today’s market, it’s better to let them decide that they should buy it. In today’s market, appealing to consumers trust through engaging, consistent content is the key to success. Looking for help creating this content? Apply to be a client with Wolf & Key today. We can build your brand and its customer base together.
