Every illustrator needs an elevator pitch. Mine usually goes something like this:
“I’m an illustrator. I create visuals for social media and content marketing.”
Everyone knows an illustrator draws pictures. Nowadays, he does at least some of his work on a computer. And most people know “social media” refers to blogs and platforms like Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, etc. But what’s “content marketing”?
I like this little summary by the Content Marketing Institute:
Basically, content marketing is the art of communicating with your customers and prospects without selling. It is non-interruption marketing. Instead of pitching your products or services, you are delivering information that makes your buyer more intelligent. The essence of this content strategy is the belief that if we, as businesses, deliver consistent, ongoing valuable information to buyers, they ultimately reward us with their business and loyalty.
I’d qualify that slightly: some content might simply be entertaining. You’re making the prospect happy, and your brand will be linked to that experience. Making people happy, making them laugh, creates goodwill and keeps you top-of-mind.
I recently came across an interview with Lukas Kircher. Mr. Kircher is the managing director of C3, Europe’s largest content marketing agency. He summed up content marketing in a way that brought it into sharper focus for me. I thought his insights deserved wider distribution. I decided to create an infographic to that end.
Here it is. I hope it gives you a better understanding of what content marketing is, and what makes it successful.
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Do you follow any brands because you enjoy the content they post?
Have you ever googled “how-to” information and found it on a company’s site or YouTube channel?
Have you ever seen a cat using a fishbowl computer??