In this digital age, content is king. We often hear words of praise for the significance of content in doing marketing. Nowadays, brands cannot survive the tough competition in their industry without a good content marketing strategy. It has become an important aspect in attracting and retaining customers. For a marketing campaign to be considered successful, great content should be the heart and soul.
What is content marketing?
According to the Content Marketing Institute, content marketing is a strategic marketing technique focused on creating and distributing valuable, relevant, and consistent content to attract and acquire a clearly defined audience, with the intention of driving profitable customer action.
In other words, it is basically creating content and putting it out there for the world to see. Of course, it comes with a purpose of capturing the attention of your target market and making them stay for more. You want your brand to be associated with awesome content because it drives people to your website and social media pages.
Marketing is impossible without creating quality output. To achieve your goals, here are the three E’s that you should apply to your content marketing strategy.
1. Content must be engaging
The first objective of content marketing is to attract. How can you get digital media users with short attention span to notice you? An engaging content means that the readers are hooked and they form some sort of connection to your message. One trick to make a content engaging is to use a conversational style and friendly tone. This makes it easier for people to read and would make them feel at ease knowing that your brand talks to them.
2. Content must be educational
A useful and helpful content is shareable. It doesn’t just hook the readers and make them stay for more, they also want others to learn from it. For a content to be considered educational, it should be informative and interesting. You can include facts, trivia, statistics, and other fun information but be sure not to sound too technical or else, the readers might get bored. Pay attention to your target market to ensure that the content you produce to educate them can still be easily understood. Some examples of educational content are tips and how-to’s.
3. Content must be entertaining
Most people spend time online just to browse for original content that appeals to them in terms of entertainment value. A viral content is an example of something that is entertaining. Whether it makes the readers cry, laugh, or think, the emotional factor of the content makes it shareable and unforgettable. Nowadays, brands make use of this through their advertising materials. They create emotionally riveting advertisements, stunning visuals, and even memes. Also, a content that is truly entertaining can stand the test of time. It can continuously be read and shared even after years from when it was written.
Your output is not limited to just sticking to one of the three E’s mentioned. A content can be engaging, educational, and entertaining at the same time. Content marketing is a broad spectrum and another “E” that you can add is to “experiment” with other types of content. In your strategy, you might want to include the process of discovering what captivates your target market. Getting to know your readers on a deeper level is still the best way to know what type of content will work with them. At the end of the day, there is a need for a profitable customer action. Finding out what will make them take action through your content is a great method of achieving your content marketing goals.
As content marketers, were you able to apply the 3 E’s in your strategy? Aside from these definitions, what else must the content be in order to achieve a successful marketing campaign?