A Content Marketing Strategy is “the mindset, culture and approach to delivering your customer’s information needs in all the places they are searching for it, across each stage of the buying process…. a strategic approach to managing content as an asset with a quantifiable ROI” [1]
Prospects across all service categories are increasingly more selective about making purchase decisions. Therefore the information they require must meet these high expectations in order for businesses to remain competitive and to attract and retain a loyal customer base.
Adding another layer of complexity to this is each market segment requiring a specific delivery channel. This is the plight of Content Marketing. To maintain a competitive advantage in today’s business environment, businesses need to provide relevant, and timely content to their target audience.
“Content Marketing – creating and distributing relevant and valuable content to attract, acquire, and engage a clearly defined and understood target audience – with the objective of driving profitable customer action.” [2] Such practice within an organization needs to be embedded within the business culture, so that every piece of material produced has a purpose and meaning, this is the aim of a Content Marketing Strategy. This strategy ensures a consistent methodology of content planning, creation and delivery. It is a repeatable system that governs the entire editorial content development process. [3]
Traditional marketing has often been about business promotion, however Content Marketing is about the customer and what their wants and needs are, and providing them with information which is truly relevant and helpful. The Content Marketing Strategy ensures that your customers are at the center of everything you do, it is the why and the how and Content Marketing is what you actually deliver. [1]
Whilst the end point of a Content Marketing Strategy seeks to drive customer loyalty to then increase sales and profit, it is not the primary goal. Content Marketing Strategy seeks to ensure your intellectual property is presented to your target audience in a way in which they feel their information needs are being met and the correct internal narrative they associate with your brand resonates with them long after they have been directly engaging with your product, service or marketing channel/s.
REFERENCES:
[1] “What Is A Content Strategy And Why Do You Need It? – Forbes”
[2] http://contentmarketinginstitute.com/what-is-content-marketing/
[3] Wikipedia
