Making the most of the Age of Content

The website looks great. It’s fresh, clean, well organized, and gives prospects direct and not overly complicated access to all the information they could possibly want.  To the mix, you have added a blog, which is frequently updated, at least once a week, but usually more often. The website also has a great resources section, providing white papers, videos, webinars, eBook, infographics etc; or at least some of them.  As a marketer, you understand that content marketing is the way forward and the scene is set to attract prospects. But is setting the scene enough?

We are definitely entering the Age of Content marketing, or Inbound Marketing, if we are to listen to the buzz and look at the success of HubSpot, Marketo and others. And this starts with creating compelling, and useful, content in various forms, including:

• Articles
• Blog
• White Papers
• Case Studies
• Data Sheets
• Webinars
• Webcasts
• Podcasts
• Videos
• Online Magazines
• Newsletters

But the work has only started, so what next? Are you only relying on prospects to find all the amazing content you created through search engines or are you taking action to actively promote it and share it with interested people, wherever they may be?

Of course, creating good content requires talent, and its value depends on the skill of the marketer. But this holds equally true for the work of identifying the best outlets for promoting it.  Precisely defining verticals, channels, and how to approach them requires a different, but equally important, set of skills. So what are the choices? Well, they are limitless, if we are to look at this very popular graphic. But there is a method in the madness and it’s up to the good marketer to find it:

• Identify the channels where your audience is.
• Precisely define where what are they doing: in what groups are they active, what discussions they start or join, what other type of activities they are engaging.
• Determine what is the best way to approach them in order to showcase your content, without interrupting or looking spammy.
• Keep them engaged and stay involved in the conversation.

Yes, it is time consuming, but it will pay off both on the short term, by immediately increasing the number of interested visitors to your website, and on the long term, by establishing a long term presence in the communities where your target audience is active.

A recent study from HubSpot, shows that inbound marketing deliver a cost per lead dramatically lower than outbound.  So, we think the investment is worth it, what do you think?