Content marketing has become an essential element of any successful PR or digital marketing strategy. But, as content marketing increasingly becomes an intrinsic element of any successful PR campaign, what actually is content marketing and why is it important?
Whatever form it may take, content marketing is essential to allowing companies to stand out from the crowd as an authoritative and compelling voice in their sector. If used correctly, content marketing can transform a businesses’ ideas into a powerful narrative which is reaching their target audiences in the right places.
What is content marketing?
It is clear that content marketing has become an integral part of any successful PR strategy. In fact, it is so popular that 66% of a group of marketers expect their content marketing budget to increase over 2022 with one in five anticipating that increase to be more than 9%.
Clearly, content marketing is a popular tool, but what actually is it? Content marketing is the process of delivering high-quality and relevant content to key audiences in order to drive inbound leads and establish a company’s authoritative voice. Content marketing is designed to reach your target audience in a way that feel natural with content often needs to be thought-provoking and insightful.
With a variety of mediums available, from social media to blogs or even long-form thought leadership, content marketing can be tailored to a specific audience. This enables a brand to reach their market in a natural and targeted way as it builds a strong relationship with its key audiences through the consistent delivery of high-quality content.
What forms does content marketing take?
Whilst the benefits of content marketing are clear, there are a variety of options available for brands looking to integrate it into their PR strategies. Selecting the right medium for your content can be the key for reaching the right audience and is often dependent on each individual brand. Working with an expert team of public relations and digital marketing professionals can be essential to identifying where your content marketing should be placed.
Thought leadership and blogs
Long form thought leadership can be an essential part of a successful content marketing strategy. Thought-provoking comment pieces which engage with wider industry issues can help to establish a brand as a leading voice across its sector. Equally, if crafted correctly, high-quality and consistent delivery of thought leadership can help a brand begin to build a strong relationship with their key audiences.
Blogs can also be an essential part of any content marketing strategy’s toolkit. Blogs can allow a great deal of creativity and enable a brand to redirect their audiences to other internal resources. They also allow for greater freedom in terms of incorporating links to social media or other forms of content marketing, allowing cross pollination of a brand’s wider content marketing effort.
However, brining in the experts can often be essential to delivering successful thought leadership and blog content marketing. For example, at Sapience, our team of content marketing specialists can leverage their longstanding relationships with a range of publications to ensure your thought leadership is reaching the right audiences. Equally, our team of expert and creative writers are able to take your brand’s ideas and transform them into a compelling and insightful piece of long form content.
Podcasts
The rise of podcasts has been taking over the world of content marketing in recent years. With a 2021 survey of podcast listenership in the UK revealing that 41% of respondents had listened to at least one podcast in the prior month, the growth in podcast popularity is clear. As a result, podcasts can be a useful tool for getting your brand in front of a targeted audience.
Podcasts also allow for greater creativity in terms of content and allow a brand to speak directly to their audience. Equally, with the opportunity for guest slots and collaborations, podcasts are a strong way to engage with other leaders in the sector and establish a brand as a productive voice in its industry.
Social media
Social media is, of course, now an essential tool for any successful strategy. With 4.62 million global social media users as of January 2022, any brand aiming to reach its key audiences must be engaging with social media. Equally, with a variety of content available to share, from photos, to videos and text, social media offers brands an opportunity to expand their range of content marketing.
However, with a variety of platforms available, brands should ensure they are selecting the correct social media platforms for their voice and message. An experienced team which is able to implement a strong social media PR strategy can help brands break through the white noise on social media.
Video content
Ultimately, one of the most significant emerging forms of content marketing is making use of video content. As attention spans shorten and TikTok or Instagram take over the social media world, video is becoming one of the most important tools to have in your content marketing arsenal. In fact, 88% of respondents to a recent survey said that they have been convinced to buy a product or service by watching a brand’s video and 73% said video was their preferred way to learn about a brand.
Additionally, with people twice as likely to share video content with their friends than any other form of content, making use of video can enable a brand to ensure their message is being spread far and wide. With a wide variety of platforms and styles of content available for brands to engage with, video content can allow brands to reach the audience that is right for them and engage in a more direct manner.
Why does content marketing matter?
Whilst it is clear that content marketing is now a mainstream element of any digital PR strategy, it is vital to understand what content marketing can do for your brand. The ultimate goal of any successful content marketing plan is to underpin a business’ objectives and help drive audiences to engage with its products or services.
There are a variety of stages to an audience deciding to engage with a band’s product or service. However, one of the most important stages is building awareness. Awareness both of the need for a solution to a particular issue that a brand might fulfil and awareness of a brand as a trusted provider of that solution.
Where traditional advertising may be great for engaging with audiences further down the line when they are actively seeking a solution, content marketing is essential for building awareness. Content marketing can help educate audiences to issues and solutions they were previously unaware of. It is also a vital tool for developing a more natural relationship with your audiences and, as a result, building a strong sense of trust and brand identity.
At Sapience, our team of talented and experienced writers as well as content marketing specialists can help your brand develop the right content marketing strategy for you. With a wealth of experience across all forms of content marketing, both digital and traditional, we can help you reach the right audiences with the right message.
For more information on how content marketing can help your brand, get in touch now.
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