There are many “buzzwords” in the world of internet marketing.   Most business owners know that they need to invest money in some form of internet marketing, but struggle to understand what each subset even means, let alone know how to implement a strategy that works for them.   One of these “buzzwords” is content marketing.

What exactly is content marketing?  In order to understand exactly what content marketing is, the first idea to remove from your head is that it’s a direct sales method.   Rather, it’s a strategy by which a business creates interesting, relevant and exciting content that is directly tailored to what your target audience to increase the likelihood that they will become a loyal customer.  It’s about creativity and appearing interesting to your target audience more than it is outwardly asking them to purchase something through you.

The purpose of content marketing is to provide your customer base with something that will make them want to follow you on Twitter, “like” your Facebook page, or interact with you via your blog or website.  They key is that this “something” (content) isn’t even the product or service that you’re promoting, but the fact that you’re naturally engaging them.

What is a good example of this?   Suppose you are the inventor of a new pet food.   Rather than constantly pushing ads for your product, perhaps you post funny videos of dogs reacting to tasting your product for the first time.  Or, you ask your audience to share their favorite pet adoption stories, resulting in a huge engagement thread on your Facebook page.   The end result?  Potential customers will keep coming back to see what you’re posting about next.   This naturally will cause them to become interested in and eventually purchase your product.

It doesn’t take a genius to determine that in today’s digital world, simply placing an advertisement in front of your audience isn’t always effective.  In fact, those days are becoming more and more numbered and interesting content and online engagement is becoming the norm. Just ask any company who solely uses their social media outlets to post advertisements how much new traffic and business they’re receiving through doing so.   Alternatively, talk to a company who has hired an internet marketing professional to help them with creative content whether or not they’re gaining new business.    The results will clearly illustrate why taking the time to understand an implement content marketing is key to your business’ success.