Content Marketing in the digital age plays a very important role in Marketing campaigns. So if you’ve heard of Content Marketing but don’t really understand what it is, read this article. Who knows, maybe you will use this knowledge for your work or business activities in the future!
I. Definition of Content Marketing
1. What is Content Marketing?
Content Marketing is an integral part of Marketing, focusing on creating, publishing and distributing content to a target audience on an online platform. Businesses use Content Marketing to attract target customers by creating free shareable content. From there, it helps to increase awareness and build brand loyalty, as well as motivate customers to buy products/services in the future.
In the current 4.0 era, about 90% of the population has access to online content on websites, blogs, social networks, emails, videos, etc. Besides, the speed of spread on these channels is very low. very fast and powerful. It is a great opportunity for the company to leverage Content Marketing to reach its customers in many different channels.
If the content is psychologically correct, useful and creative, it will bring many business benefits without spending too much on Marketing. Several studies have proven that companies that do good content marketing increase their competitive advantage, growing 30% faster than companies that don’t.
2. Distinguishing Content and Content Marketing
Both forms of Content and Content Marketing are aimed at readers and viewers. However, the goals of the two are different. Specifically, Content includes all content created on all online and offline platforms. The purpose is to convey the author’s message to people. Those messages and topics can be sharing knowledge, stories, experiences in life, etc. In short, Content can include Content Marketing and is created by anyone, on any platform. which platform.
As for Content Marketing, the goal is to attract and encourage customers to take specific actions related to the company’s business. For example, motivating customers to visit the sales website, make a purchase, make a payment. Content Marketing is usually only used by companies or business units to increase their revenue.
3. Role of Content Marketing
– Support to shape the brand: Each company has built its own brand with its own characteristics that are suitable for target customers and distinguish it from competitors. So for the brand to be formed in the customer’s mind, Content Marketing is what does it, through posts on social networks or content on the website.
– Increase interactive traffic: Articles with attractive, interesting content, “catching trends” quickly are easy to attract customers to interact, comment or share for many others. This helps the brand become closer to customers and consumers.
– Create professionalism for businesses: With a well-thought-out Content Marketing plan, the published content will be of very good quality, without basic spelling or font errors. That helps businesses show their professionalism in the eyes of customers.
– Collect customer information: On channels such as Facebook or website, there are often specific call-to-action articles such as dropping emotions, commenting, leaving email, phone number, … If the content is motivating, Action customers will help businesses collect useful information without spending a lot of money. For example, measuring product love through emotional drop rates, comments or collecting customer contact information.
– Increase connection with customers: Content Marketing campaigns are implemented from the needs and psychology of customers, so it is easy to attract attention and interest. When customers surf through the content they are interested in or are interested in, they will have more connection with the brand and the company.
– Improve sales: This is an important and core step of Content Marketing. No matter how good the content is, it is not really successful until the step of attracting customers to stop watching or drop emotions and comments. So with a well-constructed Content Marketing plan, in the decision stage can drive customer purchase action. Help increase sales for the company.
– Saving costs for advertising: The content published on the media channels, if the right psychology, arouses the curiosity and interest of customers, sometimes works better than advertising. Especially on social media channels, with the ability to spread quickly and reach a wide audience, if the content touches emotions, viewers will share it with more people. As a result, your brand is automatically reached to many people without the cost of running ads.
II. The Most Popular Types of Content Marketing
1. Blog
Blog is one of the best forms of content marketing because it is for long articles, has an eye-catching interface, can incorporate images or videos in the article. Businesses can easily convey their messages in a profound and intimate way through blog posts.
Another advantage that cannot be ignored is that the content on the blog is completely free, readers do not need to pay any money. Blog Marketing can be created by the business itself or the business hires bloggers in the same field to collaborate to promote products in a subtle and appropriate way.
2. Content Video
Video content is the script or content of viral or TVC videos/clips produced by brands themselves or hired by advertising agencies. Today, users tend to prefer watching videos over articles or images because of the interesting, lively with sound, movement and stories. Videos are often easy to attract and interest viewers, so it is easy to increase marketing metrics such as conversion rates, interactions, views, shares…
3. Content Infographic
Content Infographic is a form of content that is converted into colorful graphic images that attract viewers. It can be said that after video, Content Infographic is the easiest form to attract users’ attention. You can convert a lot of content into this form from brand stories, tutorials to statistics, promotion information, etc. With this form if you are creative and do good image stitching, It will be very effective for the whole Marketing campaign.
4. Email Marketing
Email Marketing is a form of sending information directly to customers through personal emails that businesses have collected. Although it is difficult to collect emails, this form is quite effective because a lot of people check email every day, especially those who go to office. If the content sent to the customer is right, the conversion rate is very high.
5. Social Media
Social Media, also known as social network, is considered the main communication channel of many businesses from large to small in Vietnam. Businesses use Social Media to provide information about promotions, advertising, and interact with customers very effectively.
With its powerful viral nature, it can help businesses increase brand awareness through viral articles or videos without spending too much effort. Because if the content is good and interesting, users will share it with many others. Some popular social networking sites used by businesses and business units in Vietnam are Facebook, Instagram, Tik Tok, etc.
III. How Content Marketing Works
1. Awareness stage
At the first stage, your content needs to focus on the current biggest needs and concerns of your target audience. Write content about the concerns, questions, challenges that customers are facing to attract their attention. Content in this stage must be educational, instructive, and bring solutions to the reader.
2. Consideration stage
In this phase, you must create information that is useful to the customer but must incorporate the marketing. More specifically, the content must help customers learn the features and functions of the product/service, solving their search needs.
Besides, delicately introduce your business and brand as a best choice for that need. You can use content such as video tutorials, articles about the top best products, etc.
3. Closing stage
This is the most important stage because it determines the sales of the business, whether the company will increase or not. In this stage, you need to use arguments, giving reasons why your company’s product is the best, most suitable for customer needs.
You should use CTA (Call to action) words or specific calls to action such as “buy now, register now, order now, limited quantity, …” to motivate customers to make a purchase. Specific content you can use is videos that showcase your product’s outstanding features, user-generated content, or other buyer feedback, etc.
IV. Steps to build Content Marketing
1. Create target customer profile
In any strategy or plan, we also need to identify the target customer. For Content Marketing, it is the audience that the articles need to target to attract their attention.
After selecting a target customer group based on demographic characteristics, interests, or behaviors, it is next necessary to describe the specific characteristics of basic information, psychology, behavior, consumption habits, and so on. use, etc. It’s called the target customer profile. Determining the right target customers is a very important thing to save the company’s resources, time and costs.
2. Identify suitable formats
After identifying and creating a target customer profile, the next thing you need to pay attention to is the content and appearance. For the form, you need to be based on the preferences and behavior of the target customer. Find out which form, article, video or image your customers like. If it’s an article, how many words is reasonable, how many minutes long is the video, or what is the layout of the image that customers will like to see.
3. Selection of communication channels and points of contact
In the age of technology that is closely associated with people’s lives, the points of contact with customers on digital platforms have also increased. The communication channels the company can easily communicate with customers are social networks such as Facebook, Instagram, Tik Tok,… or other channels such as email, apps, forums, etc. So, a Content planner Marketing or the company must determine which touchpoints customers most often “touch” to deploy articles, images, videos there.
4. Content Deployment
Once you’ve prepared the “sink”, that is, the research steps that customers can’t see, the next part you need to invest in is the “float”. The floating part here is the content that will be published and posted on media channels for customers to see. This is a very important part, determining the success of the campaign. Content needs to hit the psychology, concerns, and concerns of customers to attract them to stop and watch.
5. Follow best practices
In addition to popular ways such as articles or uploading images, Content Marketing campaigns should also learn new and unique methods, catch more trends so as not to bore customers. You can use 3D images, 360-degree images, GIFs or organize minigames, livestreams, etc. These forms may be easier to attract young customers.
6. Statistics and evaluation of results
After you have completed the Content Marketing campaign, you need to re-statistic the results achieved to know the level of completion of the campaign’s goals. Besides, you will find out which content, form or channel is good or bad to make appropriate adjustments.
More specifically, continue to implement the parts with good results and reduce or eliminate the parts that do not perform well. Regular evaluation will help your Content plan improve and attract more target customers. This will promote brand preference and increase customer purchasing power
V. For an effective Content Marketing strategy
Bring useful information: Everyone wants to see or read something that benefits them. For example, watching funny videos for entertainment, reading tutorials to know how to use the product, articles to share experiences and skills, etc. Therefore, the content you create needs to be customer-oriented and can do something for them. It is necessary to avoid talking too much about products and brands because sometimes it will make customers uncomfortable.
– Creative, unique and thoughtful content: Creative, unique content is easy to attract viewers. Because everyone simply loves new and unexpected things. That makes it easier for customers to love the company or brand because it gives them excitement and attraction. Besides, professionalism is also something you need to pay attention to because the content published on the channels is also said to be the face, representing the brand and company.
– Ensure high authenticity: Nowadays, not many people like to watch unrealistic and unrealistic content anymore. In particular, customers hate brands that advertise falsely and untrue products. So, the more authentic and relatable the content is, the higher the number of your brand endorsements will definitely be.
– Matching the buyer journey: At each stage, the customer will be interested in a different issue. So in the customer journey, you must identify the right content for the customer in each touchpoint. For example, in the product search step, you need to create articles on the website that introduce full price information, uses, features, product comparisons, etc. . From there, increase the likelihood that customers will convert to purchase.
Hopefully, through this article, students or those who love Content Marketing will better understand this industry to prepare for a career in the future. Please share with more people if you find the article good and useful!
