In the past "marketing days," the only way to reach potential customers was through so-called OOH (Out of Home) ads. This means using ads like radio, television, and email marketing to reach people where they live.
Those days are long gone.
Unfortunately, the "old-school marketers" have not yet disappeared or faced the new realities. As a result, many companies still invest expensive money in their ineffective and inefficient strategies.
For comparison: old marketing is like a Schwinn 10-speed bike, while content marketing is like a Ducati racing motorcycle – it’s sleek, it’s fast, and it can do more for every cent you invest.
Marketing vs. Communication
"It's always been marketing first and communications as a servant, I see the emergence of a new paradigm, which is 'communications marketing' instead of 'marketing communications.'" - Richard Edelman, of Edelman PR
With marketing communications, the marketer can target a specific group. However, with communications marketing, it's possible to create something that is interesting and useful for every reader or visitor.
This then leads to sharing and traffic generation.
You might be thinking, this sounds simple, so why aren't all companies doing it already?
Simply put, it is hard.
"Traditional marketing talks at people. Content marketing talks with them." - Doug Kessler
It requires a significant shift in mindset and a serious commitment. It's challenging for companies to invest time and money into creating content that doesn't have an immediately measurable impact on the desired end result.
The new marketing is a "long game" – but if executed well, it yields significant returns.
Before you implement the new marketing, familiarize yourself with these five fundamental principles of content marketing:
1. Pull, don´t push
You need to give something to the customer to get something in return! Give, give, give, and know that your generosity will be rewarded.
Present yourself as the brilliant industry leader and share your expertise with the whole world. If someone is willing to pay for what you do, they will come to you first and visit your website.
2. Entertain and educate
This is not a "hard" sale, don't overwhelm your visitor with price details. Constantly pushing prices in their face will make them think twice about buying something from your site. You need to prove your value first – later, the customer will seek out the price for your services on their own.
The goal, or the guiding force behind your content, should be to create something visitors might like, not what brings you the quickest profit!
3. Don’t directly advertise your product:
It looks like bad, disguised advertising and seems desperate if you use the name of your product or service directly in your texts!
Example: An inbound marketing agency writing an article on how to find the right inbound marketing agency should not recommend itself! This just comes off as sleazy.
4. Be relevant and up-to-date:
It's hard but extremely important to always stay "up to date" with current trends and constantly produce new content that is relevant right now. Address issues that are "hot" and related to what you do, even if it requires a bit of a balancing act to get there..
5. Be personal:
Your content, whether blog posts or social media updates, should show that you are a human and that you are aware that your target audience is as well.
Conclusion
I know that some of these facts are hard to swallow because they may feel foreign and probably seem unrelated to marketing in your eyes. But if you want to continue to be successful, you need to go with the flow, and this flow has long broken away and moved towards this new marketing concept.
So, if you don’t want to be left behind, it’s time to embrace this new definition and the associated strategies.