Julie's Ocean Writing Consultancy

While you may have only recently heard the term, there’s nothing new about content based marketing. Content based marketing is the creation of materials that are designed to attract and retain customers. For example, it’s not unusual for a food producer to create a free cookbook or distribute free recipes that naturally feature the company’s products. Along the same vein, a travel agency or an airline may produce free travel guides in the hope of inspiring would-be travelers to book a trip.

5 content based marketing tips for 2016

In a successful content-based marketing strategy, the key is to produce good, useful and engaging content that doesn’t come off as an overt sales pitch. A tool that helps people understand the value of your product or service is better received than traditional marketing content. But how can you do that? Consider these five tactics to upgrade your content marketing strategy in 2016.

Reach with resonance. Reaching an audience isn’t nearly as tricky as resonating with them once you have their attention. Your content based marketing strategy needs to give them something they value, or let them know that you understand their problems. The best way to prove that you understand their pain is to provide a ready-and-waiting solution that makes the problem a thing of the past. Step-by-step guides, product suggestions, case studies and other similar tools can help your marketing strategy resonate with your target audience.

Try emerging content formats It’s really hard to ignore video, and that’s the reason it’s becoming the go-to content format in 2016. Engaging, well-scripted, professionally produced videos on your landing page will draw in and hold visitors. Make sure your video content plays to the medium’s strengths – visual information. Video is great for “how-to” pieces and demonstrations. Other potential content based marketing outlets: podcasting, live-casting and blogging.

Aim to be unique. Unique content is always better than canned or “me-too” content. If you really know your customers, and know what they’re looking for, coming up with unique materials for your content based marketing strategy won’t be too difficult. There’s no better way to show that you really understand the needs of your customers than by providing them with something they just don’t get anywhere else.

Be consistent. If there’s one great challenge to content based marketing, it’s consistency. Consistency can trip up the best strategies in some unexpected ways: inconsistent production and quality, or conflicting messages and uncoordinated cross-channel strategies can leave customers wondering which company they’re dealing with. As you adopt and incorporate content based marketing, make sure your messages remain consistent across your entire marketing strategy.

Data-driven marketing. Data-driven decisions have a self-made pedigree. Data makes it easy to see what’s working, what’s not working and what direction you should be moving in. Content based marketing strategies become stronger and more effective when you have the data to back up your decisions. If you’re not looking seriously at marketing data, find a way to incorporate data into your long-term strategy. If you are collecting marketing data, make sure you understand what the metrics are telling you. Last but not least, even if the data tell you something you don’t like, don’t ignore the message. Modify your strategy accordingly, because at the end of the day, it’s about the results.

If you’d like help with creating engaging content to support your content based marketing strategy, including text, white papers, video scripts or blogs, please contact me at eileen@juliesocean.com.
Photo Credit: Steven Bulhoes, via FreeImages.com