In marketing, which comprises several elements, content can be regarded as the heart of the entire process. Content is the message that brands or communicators aim to convey to their target audience or recipients.
Whether it’s advertising on social media…
Articles, Blogs, News
Videos, Posts, Statuses
Reviews, Testimonials, Emails, and More
Everyone needs content to share their stories.
In the realm of marketing, content serves as a communication tool that informs the audience about what the brand (or the messenger) is up to, highlights intriguing aspects, and invites or encourages the audience to engage and participate.
In this article, we will get to know the science of content marketing. From its definition and benefits to how to start strategizing your content marketing efforts, we’ve got you covered.
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- What is Content Marketing?
- Why is Content Marketing crucial for Digital Marketing?
- The benefits of content marketing for brand building and marketing efforts
- 7 Steps to Kickstart Your Brand’s Content Marketing Strategy
- Summary of Successful Content Marketing That Meets Business Goals
- Resource เพิ่มเติมเกี่ยวกับการทำ Content Marketing
What is Content Marketing?
Content Marketing is a strategy that leverages content for marketing purposes. It combines two key concepts: “Content,” which refers to the substance or message, and “Marketing,” which encompasses the broader marketing efforts. Therefore, we can conclude that Content Marketing is about creating content to achieve specific marketing goals, whether it’s delivering value or knowledge, attracting target audiences, building brand recognition, or influencing decision-making.
From the definition above, it may sound a lot like advertising, but when it comes to the science of Content Marketing, it encompasses strategy, planning, and brand identity. Content serves as the narrative of your brand, engaging everyone from those who are unaware, to those who recognize you, and to loyal followers or customers. Therefore, content is not just information; it represents your essence.
Developing a Content Marketing Strategy is akin to establishing a Brand Position. It creates awareness and builds credibility while effectively communicating key messages aligned with the brand’s marketing objectives.
Why is Content Marketing crucial for Digital Marketing?
Content Marketing vs Digital Marketing
Content has become an essential tool in our daily lives, manifested in various forms through the activities we engage in. For instance, we search for product information to compare prices and features, read reviews of restaurants, tourist spots, and cafes on apps, and consume lifestyle content across diverse online media. All of this content plays a significant role in helping us make informed purchase decisions and deal-making.
Effective content marketing often involves creating and promoting content that aligns with consumer behavior, while also addressing the marketing and business objectives of the brand or organization.
Image from gartner
Furthermore, from a broader marketing perspective, the diagram above represents the universe of Digital Marketing, where Content Marketing serves as a vital component interconnected with various other disciplines. In Digital Marketing, we rely on materials or “substances” for communication, whether it involves creating website content for SEO, crafting social posts, running social ads, or implementing marketing automation. Content Marketing plays a crucial role in driving Digital Marketing forward.
That is why content plays a crucial role in digital marketing, aiding in brand communication (as seen in the previous example) while also enhancing product presentation and encouraging/supporting decision-making.
The benefits of content marketing for brand building and marketing efforts
1) Create brand awareness
Content is the message and a tool that connects brands/organizations with their target audience. Creating content, whether it’s educational content on websites, social media posts, or viral content, builds brand awareness. It helps people become familiar with the brand and understand which audience the brand is suitable for, while also establishing credibility for the brand.
- Make your brand known and shape its identity
- Make your products or services known, helping people understand the benefits.
- Familiarity with a brand makes the decision-making process and brand selection easier.
An example of GQ’s content marketing: shedding the “dad look” with clothing that appeals to the new generation.
GQ, once associated with the style of previous generations, has successfully transformed and rebranded to connect with a younger audience. In addition to featuring models that resonate with working professionals and younger demographics, GQ has collaborated with a content creator who has over 1.1 million followers on his Facebook page to showcase GQ’s products.
2) Help boost sales
Of course, businesses want to use content for sales. In addition to promoting discounts and announcing campaigns, content plays a crucial role during the Pre Sales phase, or before a sale occurs. For example, our brand educates people about fitness. As the target audience becomes familiar with and follows us, when they encounter our products or services, it makes their decision easier because they trust us.
Additionally, another popular technique these days is creating review content and collaborating with influencers. This is one of the most effective strategies in content marketing that helps reach target audiences (or even new audiences). The results are impressive as people tend to trust the reviews or influencers they are familiar with and follow.
An example of educational content from HubSpot that helps build understanding about the product
HubSpot is a provider of Inbound Software, offering marketing and sales tools designed to enhance your Content Marketing strategy. Their approach involves utilizing blogs to educate audiences on Digital Marketing, effectively attracting your target market through Inbound Marketing techniques. Simultaneously, they provide valuable insights to help people understand and appreciate complex products and services. Additionally, HubSpot offers a variety of resources such as e-books, checklists, and guidelines for download, enabling you to gather leads for further marketing efforts.
Example of a HubSpot blog that provides knowledge related to products
For HubSpot, it serves as an example of effective content marketing for businesses that require explanation and understanding from customers. Purchases in these sectors often take time to consider, such as in finance, high-priced products, healthcare, and education.
3) Help build credibility and engagement
Consistent and purposeful content creation will help you
- The brand becomes the top-of-mind choice that people think of first
- People want to follow brands
- People trust the brand, making decision-making easier because of that trust.
- The brand has been mentioned and referenced in discussions of knowledge.
The more a brand consistently addresses specific topics and creates content that answers people’s questions, the more trust it will gain and the greater the benefits listed above will become.
An example of engaging content marketing from FitJunctions that is worth following
FitJunctions is a personal training service and educational institute focused on fitness and body maintenance. Their approach involves creating engaging content that reaches a broad audience while also being highly shareable. This strategy not only helps in building brand recognition but also establishes expertise in the fitness industry, making FitJunctions a top-of-mind choice for personal training and fitness courses.
FitJuctions YouTube channel boasts over 900,000 subscribers
7 Steps to Kickstart Your Brand’s Content Marketing Strategy
If you’ve read this far, you’re probably wondering what it takes to get started with Content Marketing. We’ve distilled our experience into 7 steps that you can use as a guideline for planning your content.
1. Goal Setting
The method for setting goals in Content Marketing is essentially about establishing marketing objectives. However, we will leverage content to drive those objectives into reality. A good goal should be based on the SMART criteria. For instance,
S – Specific means clear and focused, for example, having visitors come to your website (not just raising brand awareness).
M – Measurable means it can be quantified, such as achieving 10,000 views (specifying a measurable number).
A – Attainable means something that is realistically achievable, for example, accumulating 3,000 followers is a feasible goal, not an excessive number.
R – Relevant means having a connection that aligns with marketing or business goals.
T – Time-bound means having a specific timeframe, such as accumulating 3,000 followers within 3 months.
Examples of interesting metrics for setting goals in Content Marketing include
- Pageviews / Page visits – website visitor stats
- Follower / Subscriber Count
- Social Engagement: like, share, comment, tweet, and follow us to stay connected. Your voice matters—join the conversation and become part of our community. Let’s engage and grow together.
- Brand Mentions
- Page Ranking on Search Results
- Number of Leads to Customers
- Return on Investment (ROI) revenue generated from investment
- Cost per Acquisition: The expense incurred for each action taken by a customer segment
- and many more
The metrics mentioned above are just examples and do not cover everything. There are many more complex and strategic goals to consider. However, keep in mind that the goals should result in benefits for the business, whether in terms of brand building or driving sales. If the content marketing objectives do not align with the business goals, they become wasted investment and effort.
2. Landscape Research
In the second step, it’s important to carry this out alongside the first step. Goals, brand, and customers must align. For the Landscape Research phase, there are three key aspects to focus on.
1) Who are we?
Brands need to have a deep understanding of themselves: what they sell, where their value lies, their strengths and weaknesses, opportunities and threats, and where their differentiation (Brand Position) stands. A popular framework to comprehend and define business direction is SWOT.
2) Who are our customers?
Brands or messengers must understand who their target audience is. Knowing Brand Personality & Position and which products resonate with specific groups is crucial. This understanding allows us to design effective communication strategies, select appropriate channels, and plan a content strategy tailored to them.
Example of Creating a Persona
[Download the Ready-to-Use Persona Template]
A highly effective tool for reviewing and defining our target audience is called a Persona. This involves outlining the ideal customers or audience for our brand. Additionally, it helps create a shared understanding of customer profiles across the company.
3) Who are our competitors?
Competitors in this context refer to other brands or organizations that serve as alternatives for our target audience or persona. It’s essential to familiarize ourselves with them to study their strategies, which can help us refine our own approach or find ways to attract more of our target audience to follow us.
To identify competitors, we can use simple methods like interviewing our Persona groups to see what they follow. We can explore where they seek knowledge or consume content in a similar vein. Alternatively, we can conduct searches on Google and social media to find products or content in the same niche and see which players are out there.
3. Brand Voice
Brand Voice is the tone and attitude in a brand’s communication. It encompasses not only the language used in speaking and writing but also other elements that define the brand’s characteristics or persona. This includes the colors used, the logo, the approach to imagery, the concepts in audio and video editing, as well as the speaker or writer. Collectively, we refer to this as Brand Identity.
The brand should clearly define the “tone of voice” to be used, whether it’s aimed at children or adults, and whether it’s more serious or playful. This clarity helps build a strong brand identity through consistent tone of voice, allowing people to become familiar with and connect with the target audience.
4. Buyer Persona & Buyer Journey
At this stage, we need to delve deeper into the concept of the Buyer’s Journey, which refers to the customer’s decision-making process. We must understand their problems, interests, and needs so that we can create content that aligns perfectly with what they are looking for. The marketing framework we commonly use to match the journey with the content is the Sales Funnel.
Buyer’s Journey และ Sales Funnel
In the illustration, we can see that the Buyer’s Journey and the Sales Funnel are two different perspectives. By understanding the journey of our target audience, we can set goals and create content that aligns with their decision-making process. Each stage of the decision-making journey involves various topics and formats that differ accordingly.
- Awareness: At this stage, people might still be unaware or just beginning to realize that they have a problem or a need. The content that should be created is educational, helping them understand the importance of the issue at hand. This content aims to spark their interest and desire, making them want to own or address the solution.
- Consideration: This stage is when people understand the problem and are evaluating different options. We should create content that makes it easier for them to consider choosing us. This includes providing product details, comparing pros and cons, demonstrating value, and offering free trials, among others.
- IDecision stage: Individuals make choices about brands, products, or services. Our task is to deliver content that facilitates their purchasing journey. This includes providing guidance on how to buy, payment options, and location details.
5. Content Strategy
Content Strategy is the plan for developing content that outlines what we will create, in what format, and in what quantity to align with our marketing and business goals. Therefore, the Content Strategy of each organization and brand varies.
In the process of planning our Content Strategy, we will gather insights from landscape research, personas, and our understanding of the Buyer Journey to synthesize ideas, analyze, and make informed decisions on content creation.
If you’re struggling to come up with content ideas, try using the Content Matrix to help you out.
Content Marketing Matrix
Image from smartinsights.com
The diagram above is divided into four sections based on the objectives of the content, including
- Entertaining content to bring joy and fun
- Inspire content that ignites motivation and encourages action, driving desire to purchase and take steps forward.
- Educate content to provide knowledge and build credibility
- Convince content to invite and encourage you to explore and give it a try.
Additionally, the vertical axis represents the customer’s or audience’s decision on whether to engage emotionally or rationally. Meanwhile, the horizontal axis indicates the content outcome, determining whether it focuses more on creating awareness or driving purchases.
- What type of content is best suited for your products/services?
- What type of content does your target audience need to aid their decision-making?
- What type of content makes people decide to follow a brand?
If you believe that you can answer clearly, then you probably have some ideas in mind about what content to create and in what quantity to achieve your desired marketing results.
Read more: What type of content should your industry create? Let the Content Matrix guide you.
6. Content Creation
Now we move on to the content production stage. In this step, we refine our Content Strategy by laying out the topics, content formats, and the intended quantity. It’s time to plan how to execute the content production. You can use Excel or Google Sheets for this planning, but ideally, we recommend using project management software or a content calendar. This approach is more user-friendly and allows for task delegation, as well as easier communication among your team.
For simple content planning, essential elements include
- Task or content to be created, including topics,
- Job details brief or idea
- Due Date
- Publish Date
- Responsible parties include Author, Designer, Video Creator
- Campaign and purpose of the work
- Channels for dissemination include websites, email, social media, and YouTube
Example of using Asana to create a Content Calendar
Image from asana.com
7. Content Promotion
Once we complete the planning and content creation, the next step is distribution. In fact, the strategy for promoting content—whether it’s a blog, a video, or a social post—should be developed alongside the production plan. We need to specify which content formats will be published on which channels and at what times. Is it going to be real-time or not? It’s important to recognize that simply releasing content at any time or on any channel won’t guarantee positive results.
Some things might perform well on Social Media.
Some things may perform well on search engines due to high search volumes.
When it comes to choosing the right media, the most important factor to consider is our Persona or Audience. We need to understand where they consume content and follow us. That way, we can deliver engaging content directly to them.
- Understand the three main types of media: Paid, Owned, and Earned Media, and how to choose the right one to achieve your goals.
Summary of Successful Content Marketing That Meets Business Goals
Content marketing is the way brands connect with their target audience through the power of content. Whether to inform, persuade, or educate, it plays a pivotal role in building brand awareness and strengthening brand identity. By embodying the brand’s voice and style, content marketing elevates the brand’s presence in a competitive landscape.
What content marketers should prioritize is audience centricity. Placing the recipient of the message at the center is crucial because in a world overflowing with content, only valuable content that meets the needs of the audience will survive.
To wrap things up, let’s address some common misconceptions about Content Marketing. This will help you start your journey with a clear understanding.