Content marketing is a marketing strategy that encompasses creating, publishing, and distributing valuable, relevant, and consistent content.
It aims to attract and conquer a specific audience and educate potential and current customers about the company’s products and services to capture leads, generate sales opportunities, and help retain customers.
Important Points
- Promotes the sharing of online and offline materials such as videos, blogs, social media posts, and magazines.
- Its purpose is not explicitly promoting a brand but rather stimulating interest in the products or services offered.
The Role Of Content Marketing In Digital Marketing
Content marketing helps attract the right people to the company website and move them along the shopping journey to help generate leads and sales opportunities for the business.
With this strategy, it is possible to produce content for consumers who are at any of the levels of awareness below:
Unconscious Or Alien
At this stage, the consumer does not yet know that he has a problem or pain. Here, it is necessary to arouse curiosity to gain his attention and move him to the next level.
For example, you may not have any plans to buy a new double mattress, but when you see an online article, “Mattresses: 1/3 of your life you spend on them”, you may be curious to know more, and you may start to think about the subject.
Aware Of The Problem
At this stage, the consumer already knows where their pain is most vital but has no idea how to solve it. Here, it’s time for the mattress company to start pointing out possible origins and solutions to this problem.
For example, a person with constant back pain but has not yet linked the source of this problem to his lousy mattress. When you see the article “Back pain: a bad mattress can be the main cause,” it may be interesting to know more.
Aware Of The Solution
At this stage, the consumer already knows what he needs to solve his problem. Here, the brand’s role is to reinforce the best solutions by presenting the consumer with products and services that can alleviate or eliminate their pain.
For example, a consumer who knows that a comfortable and well-sleep night is the recipe for not suffering from back pain anymore starts looking for the best mattress and pillows. The article “X Best Mattresses and Pillows to Eliminate Back Pain” might gain your attention.
Product Conscious
At this stage, the consumer is very close to making the purchase. He already knows which brands can help him, but he’s unsure which one to choose. Here, it is the company’s role to make it clear that its offer is the best.
For example, a consumer in doubt about Ortobom and Plumatex mattresses can respond positively to comparative content and in-depth analyses such as “Ortobom or Plumatex: which is the best mattress brand according to orthopedists.”
The Most Conscious
At this stage, the customer is very aware of the available options and understands that your company has the best product or service to solve their problem.
Here, the brand’s role is to be as direct as possible in its message and offer so that the consumer purchases confidently.
For example, the consumer is already clear that the brand and a particular mattress model it sells is the right choice for him to have a good night’s sleep.
Material Formats Used In Content Marketing
Do you realize how important content marketing is to attract more and more potential customers to your business? Here are the top types of content that help you attract the right audience.
Blog Articles
With SEO-optimized articles, your business attracts the right audience to your blog without disrupting its online experience. Potential customers arrive on your site at the right time when they need it most.
eBooks
Digital books are excellent content for generating leads. That is: to capture the contacts of potential customers for your business. eBooks are usually free materials that help generate leads at different levels of awareness, sophistication, and purchase intent.
Through eBooks, it is possible, for example, for a company to direct potential customers to its products and services, such as training, workshops, and lectures.
Infographics
Composed of visual and textual elements such as images, graphs, tables, and hyperlinks, infographics explain or inform the reader about a particular subject.
When they are part of a well-developed and executed action, they can be very effective, as their publication and dissemination on social networks and websites can last for years.
Videos And Podcasts
Videos and podcasts are growing formats that fuel a content strategy.
In the past, they were seen as expensive strategies and challenging to publicize. But today, with the cost of equipment falling, creating high-quality audio and video content is easier than ever.
Audio and video content marketing has been increasingly used to sell and market products and services on the Internet.
Email Marketing
In content marketing, email marketing is used to generate traffic, generate new sales and retain customers, in addition to helping to improve relationships.
When a brand wants to reach subscribers through content relevant to their needs and interests, email marketing and content marketing can work hand in hand to educate and engage users and convert them into customers.
Spreadsheets, Checklists, White Paper
These three types of materials can be produced to help generate more leads for the company.
Spreadsheets and checklists are rich materials to help potential customers perform an essential activity. A white paper, on the other hand, is a persuasive, reliable, and detailed report on a topic that presents a problem, also providing a solution for the same — they are advanced guides to troubleshooting.
Success Cases
In content marketing, success stories are used as social proof, providing potential customers with context to determine if they are making a good choice.
This content reinforces that a particular process, product, or service is the ideal choice to meet consumer needs.
