Content Marketing Strategies
Here is a report that will give you an insight into the type of activities that you can focus on when marketing your business in 2014.
The following report is based on a survey by Content Marketing Institute and Marketing Profs’ fourth annual B2B Content Marketing: 2014 Benchmarks, Budgets, and Trends—North America.
Top 10 Content Marketing Strategies
You can see from the survey results that the top 10 content marketing strategies are:
- Social Media (Other than blogs)
- Articles on Your Website
- eNewsletters
- Blogs and In-person Events (both sharing the fourth spot at 76%)
- Case Studies
- Videos
- Articles on Other Websites
- White Papers
- Webinars/Webcast
- Infographics
Now here is a surprise, according to the survey, In-person Events which usually holds the top spot when in comes to effectiveness as a marketing strategy has now dropped to the 4th spot.
We agree that Events and Trade Shows have been a great way to market your product or services but usually at a very high cost and requires a lot of preparation, resourcing and time.
Blogging on the other hand is something that should be routine and be practised as a way to promote your brand, services and products consistently. As such, it is seen as more from an operational perspective and will not cost as much as putting up a stand at a Trade Show.
The returns from blogging as a marketing strategy would be higher. Used appropriately, a blog not only serves to communicate with your customers and promote your brand but attract new customers, builds an audience, establishes trust leading to more conversions.
Other Marketing Strategies You Can Use
We have learnt that apart from the strategies listed above, businesses can also:
- Publish Research Reports
- Microsites
- Branded Content Tools
- Mobile Content
- Print Magazine
- eBooks
- Books
- Mobile App
- Digital Magazines
- Podcasts
- Licensed/Syndicated Content
- Virtual Conference
- Annual Reports
- Print Newsletters
- Games/Gamifications
As you can see, there are lots to take away from this report. While we have used some of these strategies ourselves, it goes without saying that the more avenues you use to market yourself the better you are at selling.
Start with the first list on top and work on the top 5 strategies which will require you to:
- Setting up a website and blog for your business (to publish articles, blogs and case studies)
- Making an early start on the Social Media scene with a solid strategy
- Build a mailing list and set up a series of timed eNewsletters
And if you have the budget for it, plan your visit to the major Trade Shows for your industry, if not to exhibit, at least check out what the industry’s main players are focusing on and assess for yourself if they are doing the right thing.
Over to You
Once you have mastered the Top 5 Marketing Strategies, don’t forget to explore the other strategies such as creating videos, online presentations and infographics, all of which should be easy to do.
As you mastered the Top 10 Marketing Strategies, start looking at the second list above to broaden your reach. What you will find is that once you have considered things like blogging, eNewsletters, hosting webinars or webcasts and videos, you will have no problem tackling the other avenues.
Keep checking back with as as we will continue to share resources and tools that will help you and your business grow.
