Content Marketing Digitally Delivers Cimplications
Tuesday 27th March by Stephanie Clark
As more and marketers consider how content can work for them in the digital mix, a certain degree of complication is starting to obfuscate discussions and debates. A couple of very distinct disciplines, content strategy and content marketing, are beginning to blur. And if they aren't blurring, too many people are too thoughtlessly using the terms interchangeably.
The Umbrella Term
Content marketing is an umbrella phrase incorporating all marketing formats that include the production or sharing of content for the function of engaging current and potential consumer bases. Content marketing subscribes to the notion that delivering high-quality, applicable, and valuable data to prospects and customers pushes profitable consumer action. Content marketing has advantages in terms of maintaining reader awareness and improving brand loyalty.
Content Strategy
Content strategy underpins content marketing. Without examining the competitive landscape, current assets, gaps, resources, the market, and plenty of other aspects, content marketing barely has a leg to stand on.
Content marketing is all very well and good, but the rationale to do it isn't because all the cool kids are doing it. Without a decisive base, a framework, an analysis of resources and needs, and a system in place to measure results, all you're accomplishing is Facebooking
Marketing Spend
If not right now, then soon-- very soon-- your marketing spend will shift away from advertising and direct response campaigns and into content initiatives that strengthen ties and deepen partnerships with customers and prospects. The best way to prepare is to start developing content marketing initiatives. And the only way to do that is to primarily developing a solid content strategy framework around these content marketing initiatives.
Most senior managers ought to have an organisation strategy with which they are charged to implement. Instead content professionals want a content strategy, user understanding professionals want a user experience strategy, IT professionals want an IT strategy, and senior managers, of course, have (or should have) an organization strategy.
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