Unless you’ve been living under a rock, I’m sure that by now you’ve heard of content marketing. Or maybe you’ve heard of it and don’t even know it. Content marketing goes by many other names, such as: custom publishing, custom media, customer media, customer publishing, member media, private media, branded content, corporate media, corporate publishing, corporate journalism and branded media. Now that we’ve cleared that up, what is content marketing exactly? Simply put, content marketing is creating relevant content, articles, and or blog posts that are valuable to your target audience without trying to sell them something. In this post we hope to explain the benefits of content marketing for your business. 
Educating your readers
Instead of giving your readers a sales pitch, try educating them. By educating your target audience on your area of expertise you are creating more intelligent consumers, and hopefully building relationships in the process. Ultimately the success of content marketing comes when consumers reward your efforts with their business and loyalty because you have delivered constant relevant information that has helped them in some way.
Because ads are ignored
We live in the age of DVRs and Netflix where consumers can virtually eliminate commercials from their daily television routines. Today’s customers know how to put their blinders on while surfing the web, which means they are ignoring pop-ups and sidebar ads. If consumers want information, they know where to find it. So why are we still trying to sell to them? Content marketing is no longer a future concept; it’s a present necessity.
Content for SEO
Google keeps online marketing companies on their toes by releasing new algorithms practically everyday. This makes it virtually impossible to keep up with the latest ways to beat the system and increase your Google ratings artificially. However, there is a common thread that has persisted and survived the many Google changes, and that thread is content. Google is looking for real, relevant content on the Internet that people want to read and tell other people about. If Google doesn’t bring you the most relevant content when you search they aren’t doing their job. If you are delivering star quality content, you wont be ignored by Google and your rankings will increase as a result.
Relevant and quality content stands out
There is a difference between content marketing, and quality content marketing. Many companies understand that they need to produce a large amount of content, but they may not understand how to do so correctly. These are the companies you send directly to your junk or spam boxes. So how do you market with content correctly? Think quality instead of focusing on quantity. Good content marketing makes a person stop dead in their tracks, read the things you wrote, and as a result causes them to think and behave differently. Keep this in mind every time you post content to the web, or send e-mails to your client base.
Good content is sought out
What if your readers or customers actually anticipated your next blog post, article, or e-mail? You would feel like a marketing God right? According to Roper Public Affairs, 80% of business decision makers prefer to get company information in a series of articles versus an advertisement. 70% say content marketing makes them feel closer to the sponsoring company, while 60% say that company content helps them make better product decisions. Your target audience is searching for quality content to help them make better purchase decisions. If you want to build better relationships and even friendships with your customers, then give them an inside scoop and make them feel like they are valued. Writing content will make your brand seem more transparent and as a result you will gain the trust and respect of your target market.
We hope this brief introduction to content marketing helps you understand why content marketing is so crucial in today’s business world. Remember that the purpose of content marketing above all is to educate and not to hawk your merchandise. Also if you’ve been looking for ways to gain more attention online, starting an informative blog is a great place to start.
Good Luck Marketing!
For these and other blogs from Orange Tail Marketing go to www.OrangeTailMarketing.com. Orange Tail Marketing an Ogden Utah Business provides quality search engine marketing, social media marketing, local search marketing as well as long term email nurture campaigns for businesses all around North America. Feel free to call us today at 801-317-TAIL (8245)