Social media, if used effectively, can provide huge opportunities for businesses to reach customers directly ; think of Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, blogs and so on. Companies realise that they can use social media as a platform to market their business in a controlled and cost effective way. No longer do companies have to pay for an advert to promote discounts or generate a buzz about a product e.g. promotion on Facebook (win a prize in return for shares or ‘likes’), instant ‘tweets’ boasting discounts, new products, new shop openings or endorsing a product on LinkedIn and so on.
What is content marketing?
If you have ever researched how to use social media, you will find that one word regularly pops up: content. So we arrive neatly at the term ‘content marketing’. In a nut shell the single most important thing a business must get right when using social media is the subject matter. What is the significance to the business? How can it best promote the company? What message is the business sending to its clients and potential customers? How does it benefit the business and ultimately customers?
Statistics from the US show that 90% of enterprises used content marketing in 2014 to promote their business; out of this 88% are using social media with blogging being one of the most popular forms of content marketing at 72% (source: Postcron, 2014).
As the statistic shows, blogging is a branch of the social media tree which has become a huge phenomenon in the US and is on the increase worldwide. Perhaps its success lies in the fact that it can reach everyone who has access to a laptop / tablet / phone. As easy as it is for the reader, it is equally within reach for every company to be blogging, all that is needed is internet access.
Before commencing with a blog a company might want to ask some questions, such as:
Who are the target audience?
What is the message to this audience?
Should the information be funny /witty/serious/educational/useful/who cares?
What to write about?
Content should be normal and natural, use the 80/20 principle: 80% informative and 20% about the company. Let people look inside the business – allow a sneak peek into the company’s operations and employees. Variety is a must and it is advantageous to be both useful and educational to readers. It is all well and good having a fab product and a brilliant website with extra SEO but if your content is weak, you might as well be piddling in the wind
A company’s website should not be overlooked when considering the importance of content marketing. It can be the platform which showcases a company’s blogs, links to Facebook , provides the latest news or updates on new products. In fact, a person reading a blog might be curious to see the company’s website. It is best to have a tidy house for potential visitors!
Finally, once you are satisfied with your blogging objectives and topics the next step is attracting traffic to your content…
Next week’s blog: Content with your content? Part 2 – Video