There’s no need to be redundant here. The Content Marketing Institute sums it up nicely:

“Content marketing is a strategic marketing approach focused on creating and distributing valuable, relevant, and consistent content to attract and retain a clearly-defined audience — and, ultimately, to drive profitable customer action.”

Pretty straightforward, right? This content can range from blog posts to webinars. There is a rapid rise in video production and visual marketing content. The concept might be simple, but develop

ing an effective strategy requires a convergence of storytelling, design, technology and analytics to deliver the best ROI for each individual brand.

So why content marketing?

Content marketing costs 62% less than traditional marketing and generates about 3 times as many leads. (source: Demandmetric)

An estimated 200 million people now use some form of ad blockers. How many TV commercials do you sit through these days? Do you open your direct marketing email? If you do, are you more likely to click through to an offer or unsubscribe out of annoyance?

I’m convinced the quality of the content people digest is more important than the source. You can reach customers if you tell can tell your story well. If you know your target audience and can solve a problem for them, what’s more compelling content than that?

The benefits of content marketing are evident. You can develop trust with a consumer, building a positive relationship as opposed to simply a transactional one. They are not only more likely to convert, but they are far more likely to become a brand ambassador.

Content marketing boosts your company’s brand visibility, reputation, customer engagement and retention and of course your actual sales. It is essential for your search results and social media platforms.

So what are you waiting for? Publish or perish.

For more data on content marketing, I find CMI’s annual research to be quite useful: