What is content marketing and what are its effects?

What is content marketing and why do brands invest in content marketing? We explain one of the hottest marketing trends of recent years!

What is content marketing?

There are many myths around the concept of content marketing – what is content marketing and what are its effects? Let’s start with the fact that modern consumers do not choose products of a given brand only because of a practical need, but because of the values associated with a given brand. It is on this that brands such as Nike or Supreme build their phenomenon, and almost everyone in the industry is copying it. What is building a marketing communication strategy with content as the main tool? It is worth learning more about what content marketing is. Especially if you dream of a career in the advertising industry in the future.

What is this trend based on? We mean not only blog texts and articles, but also video formats, animations and graphics. To work, they must have a consistent message and reach the right audience. Therefore, every self-respecting brand also designs the so-called marketing personas, thanks to which it is easier for them to profile various groups of their clients and adapt the message to their needs. However, if you have heard that content is at the heart of content marketing, someone has misled you. A real content marketing strategy starts with a rather meticulous analysis. All activities are based on e-commerce work, creating content, optimizing pages and creating advertising campaigns.

Content marketing – examples

First, you need to define the goals that a given company wants to achieve (e.g. increase in sales), and then analyze the activities of the competition, the initial situation of the brand and the aforementioned personas. Once we determine our KPIs – key performance indicators – we can start developing tactics and specific distribution channels for our content. Sounds complicated? Because it’s a bit…

And yet, there is no better way to promote a given brand and attract loyal customers. What is content marketing if not a magnet for new customers and effective support for the sales department? Exactly. Content marketing is a kind of supplement to traditional forms of advertising. However, while pop-ups that pop up stubbornly on the opened page can be easily eliminated by installing AdBlock, we cannot ignore solidly prepared content that is valuable to us, providing complete and exhaustive information on a given topic. And that’s what it’s all about!

It is easiest to understand this with a specific example.

One standout TV advertisement from a UK company is the John Lewis Christmas ad from 2013. The ad featured a cover of “Somewhere Only We Know” by Lily Allen and followed the story of a hare and a bear who are the best of friends, but the bear has never experienced Christmas as he hibernates through the winter. The hare comes up with a plan to give the bear a magical Christmas experience by bringing him out of hibernation just in time for the festivities. The ad was heartwarming and captured the spirit of Christmas, while also promoting John Lewis as a company that cares about bringing people together. The ad was a huge success and helped to solidify John Lewis as a top retailer in the UK.

Content marketing: why is it worth it?

What is content marketing for an ordinary recipient? Thanks to it he/she begins to identify with a given brand, which no longer represents a specific product for them, but a system of values that fits into their identity. Have you ever wondered why you actually prefer one brand over another?

Sometimes it’s a matter of the aesthetics of its communication, other times it’s about a charity campaign in which it got involved, or just a memorable advertising spot that aroused our emotions. It’s all the effect of a carefully planned and successful content communication strategy!

The message of a given brand is as effective as it has been thought out. This is why analysis is the basis of content marketing, and not the content itself, although this is of course its main tool. Remember – those brands that are passionate about building their image and know their recipients well, win on the market! And we can please the eye with successive, successful advertising campaigns that bring something.

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