The Only Content Marketing Guide You Will Ever Need

You've heard or read it before: content is king. And it truly is. But not all content is created equal. When used correctly, it can be turned into a powerful marketing tool. Let's explore that concept.

We can't write a professional article about content marketing if we don't mention Gary Vee at least once. So, let's get the ball rolling with one of our favourite quotes by this marketing genius: "If you’re not putting relevant content in relevant places, you don’t exist."

With that in mind, it is important to not only understand what content you're creating, but where you will be placing it. When sitting in the 'brainstorming' phase of your production schedule, you need to keep in mind that where you will be publishing your content will dictate its structure.

Without going into too much detail too quickly, you're not setting out to create an Instagram story type of post for LinkedIn, or a customer retention skill for Tik-Tok. So, without saddling the horse up before we've learned to ride, let's take a step back and break out the Velocity Media Guide to Content Marketing.

What Is Content Marketing?

You’ve just heard someone mention “content marketing” and you get the idea you should already know what it is, but you’re too embarrassed to ask anyone. Content marketing is a marketing technique of creating and distributing valuable, relevant and consistent content to attract and acquire a clearly defined audience, with the objective of driving profitable customer action.

There are as many types of content marketing as there are types of content — far too many to cover here. Our intent is to give you an introduction to content marketing and get you thinking like a content marketer, so you’ll see the opportunities all around you. Soon, you’ll be coming up with 50 content marketing ideas every day.

Why Do I Need To Use Content Marketing?

Content marketing is important, not just because it works for building trust, generating leads, and cultivating customer loyalty, but because it has become the new normal from the consumer side. It is, in itself, helping to evolve what customers expect from the brands they interact with. Neglecting it is way more risky than investing in it.

The reality is, content marketing has fostered the customer-centric reality we’re now operating in. From well-researched white papers to podcast series listeners can’t live without, content is changing the relationship between the brand and consumer.

It's not only a straight-forward exclusive B2B thing. In the B2C sector, content marketing is just as important. Look at brands like Nike, which has become way more than a company. Nike has become a way of life that has inspired generations.

How Do I Use Content Marketing?

There are many types of content marketing that you may choose to incorporate in your strategy — here are some of the most common:

Social Media Content Marketing
With over 3.6 billion global social media users, it’s easy to understand why so many businesses invest in social media marketing. There are a number of platforms (e.g. Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, LinkedIn, Snapchat) to work with and several ways you can create and share content on each of them (e.g. photos, live videos, pre-recorded videos, stories).

Infographic Content Marketing
Infographics display content, information, and data in an easy-to-understand, graphic format. With a mix of simple wording, short statements, and clear images, infographics are a great way to effectively communicate your content. They work well if you’re trying to distill an educational and/ or complex topic down so all audience members can understand it.

Blog Content Marketing
Blogs are a powerful type of inbound content and allow for a lot of creativity in terms of their purpose and topic. With a blog, you can do things like promote other internal and external content and blog articles via links, add social share buttons, and incorporate product information.

Podcast Content Marketing
A 2020 survey found that 49% of 12 to 32-year-olds in the U.S. had listened to a podcast within the last month, with an average of six listening hours a week. For this reason, many businesses and media outlets have began creating and sharing their own podcasts.

Podcasts allow for a lot of creativity as they can be about any topic of choice. Additionally, you determine other factors related to the podcast such as cadence of episodes, who's on the podcast, where you advertise the podcast, and how long episodes are.

Video Content Marketing
According to Wyzowl research, 69% of consumers say they prefer to learn about a brand's product or service through video. Additionally, video marketing can boost conversions, improve ROI, and help you build relationships with audience members. You may choose to share your video content on social media platforms, landing pages, or on a co-marketer's website.

Paid Ad Content Marketing
Paid ads can help you reach a broad audience and allow you to position yourself in all of the places you want to be seen — paid ads are especially beneficial when paired with inbound marketing. There are many places you can share paid ads including on social media, landing pages, banners, and sponsored content.

Lastly, let’s cover your content marketing strategy. By implementing a strategy, your content marketing efforts will be impactful and effective in converting leads and reaching your target audience.

• Set SMART goals.
• Determine your KPIs.
• Choose your content channels.
• Decide on the type of content.
• Set a budget.
• Create and distribute the content.
• Analyze and measure results.