Content Marketing - 3 Keys to Success!

Today's consumer has shut out traditional marketing. They have DVRs so they don't have to view commercials, apps and browser preferences that keep pop-ups and banners to a minimum. They are so over saturated getting their attention is more and more difficult.

So what next?
So where do you turn? Many voices, like Jay Baer, author of Youtility, say it is far easier to be useful than it is amazing and we agree.


Content marketing is that very thing; 

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It's a technique of building high quality, relevant content that will drive positive, profitable audience engagement.

Like most everything else in marketing, there are some basics to content marketing as well. 

1. Have a plan
   Seems like that's a blinding flash of the obvious but we've all seen the social posts or tweets that bring literally no value to the audience. This is like the case of a company knowing they need to be involved yet unwilling to invest time or resources. 
   
   Simple things such as who are you as a company, what are you wanting to accomplish, what is your USP (unique selling proposition), who is your audience? Those are just a few of the questions that will lead you to begin to develop a content strategy.
2. Serve the audience
   In 2009, Marcus Sheridan of River Pools,  turned his failing pool business around with content marketing by simply answering "every question we've ever been asked and publishing them on a blog." If you want to get a sense of their commitment to this strategy of providing their audience with information they can use consider this; River Pools have 923 pages indexed in Google. There is little a consumer could want to know about pools and spas they won't find at www.riverpoolsandspas.com.
3. Engage the audience
   You don't simply want information consumers you want your audience to engage. Through downloadable content, calls to action and video you want to encourage your audience to take as much as they want. Do be afraid to give away your knowledge. Knowledge is only of value with the skill to execute. You will have some in your audience that can run with what you're giving them, you'll have more that can't. When they can't, who will they call, the company that has helped them with great content or one that has not?

Do you have any examples of great content marketing? We'd love to hear your comment