Effective digital marketing faces one major obstacle: everyone hates ads.  With new ad-blocking technology, people are less likely to view an advertisement than ever before.  In fact, from 2015 to 2017, the number of devices using ad blockers exploded from 200 million to over 615 million.  So what’s a savvy digital marketer to do in the age of ad blockers? With content marketing, you can build trust in your brand, bring in new leads, and convert them without ever having to pay for an ad!  Even small businesses can take advantage of the opportunities presented by content marketing.

What is Content Marketing?

Content marketing is blogs, videos, and social media posts that attract people to your website and ultimately to your business.  When you create content, you should have at least one of these three goals in mind: entice, entertain, educate.  If you can fulfill these needs for your viewers, you develop trust, and people will be more likely to seek you out in the future.  

Try writing a blog explaining a complex topic related to your field.  Or you can work on creating entertaining video content that will bring people to your site.  This is the time to let your creativity shine through; create useful content and you won’t have to pay for ads!

Types of Content Marketing

The great thing about content marketing is that you don’t have to just take one approach.  Try one or all of the following:

• Blogs
• Videos
• User-generated content
• Downloadables
• Anything you can imagine!

While blogs and social media posts are good standbys, creating your own video content can be even more engaging. With current smartphone technology, video creation is easier and more affordable than ever.  Sites like YouTube have found tremendous success with user-generated content.  Depending on your business, you can offer downloadables like PDFs, games, 3-D printer schematics, and more.  You don’t have to limit yourself with content marketing; anything you can give away will give you an opportunity to reach potential customers and introduce them to your brand.

Getting Started with Content Marketing

If you think you can’t break into the world of content marketing, think again!  Getting started may be easier than you thought.  First, pick a few primary content types you’d like to provide and focus on creating original content in those media.  Don’t overthink it.  As long as you entice, educate, or entertain, you have the potential to find an audience.  Once you have some content ready to go, post them on your website and share links across your social media platforms.  The most important thing is to be consistent.  If you’re posting content once a week, stick to that schedule and don’t be discouraged if it doesn’t take off right away.  It can take some time to find your audience and fine-tune your content, so hang in there.  You can reap big returns for a relatively small investment, so don’t give up!

Outsourcing Content Creation

Of course, not everyone is a creative genius (and that’s okay).  If you prefer to focus on your core business, it may make sense to outsource your content marketing to a company like TIC Digital Marketing.  In addition to helping you create engaging content like blogs and social media posts, we can help you with digital marketing, website design, and more.  In times when budgets are getting tighter all around the world, we can provide top-notch digital marketing services at a price that’s cheaper than hiring an in-house marketing team.  Contact us directly or fill out our contact form to find out more about content marketing and all the other digital marketing services we offer.