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.

Covered in this article

What Is Content Marketing?
Why Content Marketing?
How Do I Use Content Marketing?
Your Very Own Content Strategy
Content Is About Story Telling

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 riskier 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 straightforward 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 into 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 2021 Super Listeners survey found that listeners spend an average of 11.2 hours listening to podcasts weekly. For this reason, many businesses and media outlets have begun 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.

Your Very Own Content Strategy

The first step to getting a leg up on the competition — and actively engaging your audience — is to have a solid, smart content marketing plan in place.

When you develop a content strategy, there are a few questions to answer. Let's dive into those, now.

1. Who will be reading your content?
2. What problem will you be solving for your audience(s)?
3. What makes you unique?
4. What content formats will you focus on?
5. What channels will you publish on?
6. How will you manage content creation and publication?

Today's content strategies prevent clutter by managing content from a topic standpoint — as explained in the video above. When planning a content editorial calendar around topics, you can easily visualise your company's message and assert yourself as an authority in your market over time.

Content Is About Story Telling

Storytelling is an effective tool in the content marketer’s belt. It allows you to communicate information in a way that is engaging, memorable and touches on readers’ emotions.

Stories are a central part of human existence, a great connector, and way to inspire and move others to action. Above, you have learned the basic building blocks of storytelling and how to make stories compelling. In addition, we have gone over the basic process of creating your own story.

By following the instructions, you are able to infuse your web pages, blog posts, and marketing material with more life and make them more magnetic. This, in turn, will make your readers happy and help you move them along in their journey.