What is a Content Marketing Strategy?

Content marketing is a marketing technique of creating and distributing relevant and valuable content to attract, acquire, and engage a clearly defined and understood target audience – with the objective of driving profitable customer action.-- Courtesy of Content Marketing Institute

A content marketing strategy allows you to connect with potential customers without having to spend money. Content marketing is very effective for marketing in general and for building your brand. The idea behind content marketing is to provide quality and valuable information to a targeted audience to encourage brand loyalty-- thus, producing higher profits. Your content marketing strategy is also a large aspect of your social media strategy as content marketing involves various types of content (IE- blogs, videos and images.)

Content marketing differs from traditional marketing because you aren't trying to sell anything. Instead, your providing information, which will encourage audience engagement, resulting in sales. By producing good content, you'll catch your targeted audience's attention, causing a reaction-- which is a different reaction than what occurs with advertising.

So, is a content marketing strategy really effective? Does it really produce benefits? Here are a few quick little facts to help you determine if content marketing will be beneficial for you:

• 70 percent of customers report content marketing makes them feel a closer connection to a company.
• 80 percent of customers report to make a decision with content marketing when compared to advertisements.
• 60 percent of customers report to enjoy content marketing as it informs them about a product, encouraging their purchase decision.

Statistics courtesy of Roper Public Affairs

With high positive results, you can't afford not to develop a content marketing strategy. There are a number of methods you can use and various forms of content to create the perfect strategy. Common forms of content used for a content marketing strategy include:

• Blogs
• Articles
• Videos
• Newsletters

Have you found a content marketing strategy to be beneficial? What are some forms of content you use for your strategy?