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Small Business Marketing Tips: What Is Content Marketing?
By Cheryl Pickett

Define Content Marketing

According to Copyblogger.com, a trusted authority in this topic, content marketing: means creating and freely sharing informative content as a means of converting prospects into customers and customers into repeat buyers. I would add that it involves multi-media (text, audio and video are all possibilities) and that what you offer might be entertaining, or inspirational as well.

Another way to look at it is this strategy is pretty much the opposite of many old school marketing tactics which involved getting in the face of your potential clients and trying to convince them to do business. It is a shift from "Hey, look what I've got! You gotta get it now!" to, "What problem are you experiencing?, How can I help you? Here's what I offer, let's see if it's a good fit".

A Clear Difference

It's pretty easy to sense the difference there. In a world where it's easy to skip commercials altogether, and where someone somewhere is almost always cheaper, making a connection with prospects and customers is one of the few ways to cut through the noise. Offering helpful, informative or inspiring content helps you do that. The desired outcome for your business is that your customer gains your trust and does business with you when the time is right, not because they were pressured into it by slick sales tactics. From there, you continue to cultivate that relationship with more content, and hopefully they also stick around and refer friends too.

Part of the Big Picture

Content marketing isn't an either/or situation. It likely won't replace all the marketing strategies and tools you use now. In fact, it can easily compliment or blend into traditional things like print advertising or direct mail. If you're just starting, it probably won't be the only thing you do, but it's a great, low cost way to kick things off. Again, it's one strategy, part of the bigger whole of "business marketing'.

Simply Effective

One last thing, content marketing doesn't have to be complicated. Yes, it can have a lot of moving parts, but your individual strategy can be simple, yet fully effective and compelling. You can start with a blog, or a few articles on a traditional site or maybe even a short video. You don't have to do it all at once. Try something, see what your see what you like to do, what your customers like and grow from there.

If you'd like to learn how to create trust, authority and influence online through content marketing, I invite you to visit http://www.cherylpickett.com for free, weekly tips and strategies. I look forward to seeing you there!

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