The title of this article may be a bit confusing given that marketing is, by definition, the act of promoting your business and trying to sell your products and services. Online Marketing, then, is marketing that takes place over the internet and constitutes strategies such as social media marketing, search engine optimization, influencer marketing, and paid advertising.
However, there is one kind of internet marketing, i.e. content marketing, that does not directly attempt to sell you things. The term ‘content marketing’ was formulated by the Content Marketing Institute, and is defined as “creating and distributing valuable, relevant, and consistent content to attract and retain a clearly-defined audience — and, ultimately, to drive profitable customer action.” Essentially, content marketing, unlike other forms of marketing, focuses on generating content that is useful and interesting to your niche so that you can build a solid customer base, and eventually, increase revenues.
Content marketing does not overtly advertise your products or services but seeks to build loyal, long-term customers. To achieve success at content marketing and acquire and retain an audience, the content you create must not just be interesting, but also unique. If you’re simply rehashing what ten other companies have done, it’s a good idea to sit down and think about why anyone would choose to consume your content over theirs. How is your content better than and different from that created by all the other ten companies?
Furthermore, content marketing can be done in several different ways, with varying levels of effectiveness. Following are some of the ways in which you can create and distribute stimulating content:
• Blog posts
• Videos
• Podcasts
• Infographics
• E-mails
• E-books
With multiple types of content you can produce, you have the creative space to generate original, innovative, enjoyable content. And here’s why you should take advantage of that space:
• Content marketing costs 62% less than traditional marketing but generates three times the leads.
• If you’re a small business and have a blog, you’ll witness 126% more lead growth than similar companies without a blog.
• According to Social Media Today, by 2021, 82% of all internet traffic will be generated by videos. Therefore, creating video content can assist your company considerably in attracting more clients
Thus, content marketing not only saves you money on marketing but also leads to more loyal customers and increases your sales. In the age of the Internet, Online Marketing is an indispensable tool for companies that are looking to grow. It is harder today than ever to attract people’s attention; creating unique, innovative content free of blatant advertising will help your business do just that.
