Be a thought leader in your industry

Consumers are all over the Internet looking for information, watching videos, downloading white papers, scanning websites, and engaging through social media. Content marketing uses all those tools, and then some. The goal is to provide content that engages the consumer and gets them to really think about the information you’ve provided them — thereby increasing your value. This isn’t hard sell, but soft sell that can build customer loyalty and ultimately establish you as the thought leader in your category.

The best use of content marketing

While your website is one of the most valuable tools of your content marketing strategy, here are some other suggestions:

• Social media – Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter are currently the top social media platforms, with Instagram and Snapchat gaining ground. All are great ways to engage targeted consumers, based on your target audience.
• Visual content – Visual content gets attention. Whether it’s an infographic, videos, or dynamic images, include them wherever and whenever you can.
• Content strategy – Strategy matters and content is no exception. Start with your website and build from there.
• Re-using content – It’s about maximizing the content you put out there. So if you have a blog, re-publish key ideas from it on Twitter.
• Segmentation – Forbes reports that for today and into the future, going for niche audiences is how to stand out on the Internet. Their suggestions include, “incorporating long tail keywords, linking up with industry blogs, and focusing on social media…”¹

Talking to consumers vs. talking at them

In a nutshell, that’s the power of content marketing. You are engaging in a conversation, sharing information that will make your consumer smarter, and ultimately encouraging the consumer to look to you for what they need.

SOURCE: FORBES Online