As one of the most effective marketing approaches since the last few years, content marketing is all set to dominate 2015 as well. (And probably a few more years as well!)

According to Content Marketing Institute, even though over 85% of brands are making use of content for marketing today, not all of them believe that they’re good at it. Be it an established brand or someone who is just setting foot in the industry, content is often frowned upon with innumerable doubts in mind.

“Is this blog really going to get me traction?”
“Just how long do I need to keep writing for things to start showing some results?”
“Is it even a wise idea to invest time and money into boosting this 800 word write up?”
“Wait, why did I even start this post? Where am I heading with this?”

So what exactly is content marketing? Why the hell is it so important and how on earth do I actually do it?

Well, we got you covered.

What is content marketing?

Content marketing is a technique that involves a brand educating its target audience about its products and services; with the end goal to offer tips, tricks and just about any knowledge that would be helpful to the customer.

B2B marketers are employing 12-14 formats of content on an average; including blogs, white papers, webinars, videos, social posts, etc. (source)

Why is it so important?

In short, because it is the only way you can establish the image as an authority in your field. Let’s face it, there could be hundreds (or at least tens) out there who are offering the same things as you and the need to stand out is the ‘need of the hour’.

But if that isn’t convincing enough, here are top 3 reasons why we think content marketing is oh-so-important today:

• Brand awareness: There is absolutely nothing – no ad, no person, no website that can put your brand message across to hundreds (maybe thousands), the way content does. Crisp and snack-able content is by far the most shareable on social media – now, wasn’t that the whole idea – creating a hype, letting people know who you are, what you do, and what makes you so different.

• Increases engagement and leads: When you publish relevant as well as engaging data, there is just no stopping engagement. People today no longer just restrict themselves to reading the information available on the internet, they try and interact with it to know more. This hunger for knowledge often results in leads, and the only way to put yourself across as a reliable source of information is – content.

• Evergreen resource: A piece of content – irrespective of its format, never goes stale. Relevant, engaging and smart content doesn’t have an expiry date – it continues to generate web traffic via search and social media, helping remove purchase related monthly blocks.

Personally, content marketing is #1 for me and anything that I write about why it is so important, will only be scratching the surface of the potential it holds.

Where do you think content is headed by the end of 2015? Is it the whitepapers and case studies that are going to rule the internet or are snack-able content formats destined to be more successful?

Sources:
http://www.marketingprofs.com/charts/2014/26154/2015-b2b-content-marketing-benchmarks-budgets-and-trends

http://contentmarketinginstitute.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/2015_B2C_Research.pdf