Content marketing is the practice of providing relevant content to customers without overtly selling them a product or service. Instead of pitching consumers on why they should buy something, content marketing provides useful information before they make a decision to purchase. 

Some common content types:

• Blogs
• Listicles
• Q&A articles
• Newsletters
• Infographics
• Ebooks
• Whitepapers
• Videos
• Podcasts
• Case studies

In marketing, there’s a phrase called the “hard sell” that means using overt messaging to sell a product. A “hard sell” tactic is direct and forceful. Often times, we use paid advertising to “hard sell” a product. 

Content marketing is the opposite of hard selling—it’s a “soft sell” tactic. Soft selling is subtle, more conversational, and casual. 

Soft sell tactics, like content marketing, can be just as beneficial as hard sell tactics, as long as they tie to specific business goals. We call this, “mapping content to business goals.” To do this, a company must answer some basic questions:

• Who is our audience?
• What is our specific and measurable goal?
• What is our lofty and aspirational goal?
• How will content marketing help? (This question relates to the following strategic initiatives)
  • How will content achieve goals?
  • How will content meet audience needs?

Do you need help answering some of these questions? Or, are you ready to begin the content ideation and creation process? Either way, don’t hesitate to reach out.