The Role Content Marketing Plays in Increasing Brand Awareness

The Essence of Content Marketing and why it works

The Internet is, without a doubt, a game-changer. It has changed the way we communicate, the way we conduct business and the way we promote products and services. Huge billboards, television and radio ads, print advertisements and other traditional marketing channels are no longer as effective as they once were.

Enter content marketing. Is this a new marketing tool? And why is it so important today?

To answer these questions, let’s start with the basics.

What is Content Marketing?

Content marketing is a long-term marketing strategy that involves the creation and distribution of useful, targeted content designed to attract and retain a specific audience and to ultimately lead to conversions.

Content marketing is all about storytelling – something we’re all interested in and know very well. So, how do you distinguish it from traditional marketing?

Let’s say you opened a new bakeshop in your neighbourhood. The first thing you obviously need is exposure so that people know about it. You need to communicate that there’s this quaint new bakery located in such and such a place, selling different types of cakes, pies, pastries and breads.

Using traditional marketing, you’ll have fliers printed containing your price list and contact details, and perhaps an invitation to drop by and sample your baked goods. You can also have banners hung up in key points in your community, and have radio ads aired. By using all of these channels, you’re telling other people that you’re selling something and they need to buy it.

If you employ content marketing, you can still use fliers. This time, however, you’ll share some tidbits about your bakery. You’ll let people know what led you to open one, who you are, and where you’re coming from. You may even talk a bit about your advocacies, such as your commitment to using organic ingredients and supporting local farms, etc. You can also have an interesting menu describing how you sourced your recipes, especially if your recipes are a family legacy.

Perhaps prior to opening the bakery, you already started contributing useful baking advice via local websites and to global sites dedicated to cooking and baking. Maybe you even started your own blog which talks about your love for bread and passion for baking, with a few impressive recipes thrown in on a weekly basis.

This is content marketing in action.

Why is it so important for business?

Aside from being a cost-effective brand awareness-building tool, content marketing provides businesses with the perfect opportunity to connect and engage with their target market. By providing useful, high-quality content that’s relevant to the lives of your audience, you get to relate with them on a deeper level. This connection builds trust, with loyalty not far behind.

With optimised content, search engines can bring your content closer to users searching for a solution that you provide. This is why it’s important not only to consider search engine guidelines or best practices (which can sometimes change) but also to ensure you churn out engaging, informative, insightful, well-researched, updated original content. These are things that’ll make a big difference to how you rank in search engines, and what will bring your brand to the forefront.

How to create a content strategy

To ensure you’re not shooting in the dark content-wise, you need to have a plan or a content strategy in place. How do you do it? Consider the following steps:

• Identify your mission and objectives
• Set KPIs
• Know who your audience is
• Evaluate your current position
• Target the best content channels
• Decide on what type of content you’ll publish
• Set a budget
• Use a content calendar
• Start writing (don’t forget to revise, proofread and edit)
• Distribute content to quality websites and channels
• Evaluate content performance

Of course, each of these steps involves people, resources and processes. Once you have everything down pat, producing quality content and putting it in front of your audience should be easier.

• Set an objective.
• Create a compelling headline.
• Hook the reader with an attention-grabbing statement.
• Conduct in-depth research.
• Share a unique perspective.
• Optimise content.
• Revise and edit your work.

Content writing is a process that you need to master if you are to use it as a marketing strategy  successfully. 

If you need help with content marketing in Malaysia, Primal has the professional experience and expertise to guide you through the process.

With the right people supporting you, you can never go wrong with telling your story.