What Is Content Marketing?

One of the key Australian trends for 2013 that we discussed in our article Marketing Predictions For Australian Marketers In 2013 was ‘Content is King’. Everywhere you look, people are discussing the importance of content marketing and why marketers need to develop a sound content marketing strategy to avoid being left behind.

This week we decided to get back to basics, the 101, and look at what content marketing actually is, how marketers can use it and also some juicy statistics on content marketing in Australia.

The term ‘content’ doesn’t just mean written words, posts or articles. It is much more broad. Basically, content marketing refers to the act of distributing relevant, authentic and quality content and multimedia across any number of channels/platforms, with the ultimate aim of engaging with consumers.

By providing consumers with content that they actually want to watch, read, learn, enjoy and share, creates a positive brand experience and strengthens the brand relationship. The end result is increased brand awareness, traffic, customers and ultimately sales.

We’ve compiled a list of some of the common channels/platforms that marketers may use in their content marketing strategy:

• Social media
• Email newsletters
• Commenting, posts and articles
• Graphics, infographics, images, memes, photos and comics (e.g shared on sites like Pinterest and Instagram)
• Slides, graphs and charts (e.g distributing via websites like SlideShare)
• Video, webinars and podcasts
• Events, presentations, papers, ebooks, articles and case studies
• Online forums
• Tools, apps and games

Now you may be thinking, I wonder what other marketers are doing? Well, as promised, let’s get into some juicy Australian statistics released by the Content Marketing Institute a couple of weeks ago:

• 96% of Australian marketers are using content marketing
• 61% plan to increase their content marketing budget over next 12 months
• 25% of marketing budgets are allocated to content marketing
• An average of 12 tactics/channels are used by marketers
• Top 3 tactics/channels used are articles on your website, social media and email newsletters
• Top 3 most effective tactics/channels seen to be in person events, case studies and email newsletters

So now that you know the basics and a little about what other marketers are doing, it’s time to get your skates on. Remember, you can always outsource content creation if you don’t have the time or feel out of your depth. Either way, always remember content marketing is not about a sales pitch or a call to action. It is about sharing quality (and not necessarily quantity) content that is authentic, unique and ultimately engaging.

If you’re looking for more information, check out a couple of our recent articles on Why The Digital Content Revolution Will Not Be Televised and 27 Ways To Improve Your Content. We also came across this great little video by the SEOMOZ crew on How To Win The Content Arms Race:

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Calie Salter

Managing Director at Marketing.com.au

Calie is passionate about all things psychology, marketing, web, social and research. She is also the Managing Director and Co-founder of the Melbourne based digital agency Clickify.

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