Content marketing is an important project for any kind of business. Be it an already established brand or a start-up that is just willing to make a name for itself, the possibilities provided by content marketing are too immense.
I don’t want you to miss out on that, so we are going to do some learning on the topic.
Today, how about we look at some of the golden rules of content marketing to get you started?
The Golden Rules of Content Marketing
To be candid, you can get onto the internet and read hundreds of rules on this same subject. That is not to say they don’t all work, and it is surely not to say they all do.
However, I have taken an example from some of the most successful brands in the world, studied their content marketing strategies, and come up with these three golden rules of content marketing for you. Excited, are we?
1. Be Creative
This is content we are talking about, so why won’t you be creative? Would you take your time to read through something if it wasn’t a work of art? So why make your audience pass through such an otherwise harrowing experience?
The case study for this point is the Coca-Cola brand. This drink-manufacturing company has been able to stay on top of its game not just because of its amazing product, but because it knows how to be creative with its campaigns.
If you don’t agree with me, look at how much traffic they drove to the product with their simple #ShareACoke campaign. Count the number of people in your area who got the drink personalised for their birthdays, weddings, and other ceremonies, and see if the 2% spike in sales the company recorded in that period was a fluke.
2. Be Apt
No one needs you to give them a barrage of words before they know what you are talking about. Overdoing things in content marketing is commonplace, and I don’t know why brands aren’t seeing that it simply doesn’t work.
The simpler it is, the better your audience can grab it and retain the information.
One would think that Apple, with the vast resources it has acquired, would launch a full-blown campaign for the Mac against PCs. Instead, they went for the simple explainer video, which showed a man (in a suit) against a younger man (in ‘fly’ clothes).
Needless to say, anyone who saw that ad would agree that Macs are better than PCs.
3. Be Useful
Do you think having something to sell to the public is useful enough? I think not. In fact, I think it is useful for you because you want to make sales.
If you are to properly embrace all the gifts content marketing comes bearing, you need to be useful to others. Create a product that beats others in the market, offers better quality to the customers, and gives them a reason to pick it.
Make your content do some of the work, leaving your product to bring the prize home.
That is what the NaijaTechGuide brand has done. There are tech niches all around, but who brings a twist to it? The brand has focused its business on not just making affiliate sales but also providing real value to the customers.
Not just that, but with a dedicated news outlet, everyone is kept in the loop. Creating a quality product/ service, see?
No matter how many more rules there are in content marketing, you will agree that they all boil down to the three provided above. Little wonder they are considered our golden rules of content marketing, and they are surely going to get you by.
