Start Thinking Like a Publisher to Promote your Brand
Gone are the traditional ways of marketing and advertising. It used to be that companies could put together an expensive campaign by running a flashy television ad or by purchasing a colorful full page ad in the local newspaper and consumers would believe their message and run out to buy their products. Now, consumers are growing smart. They can check reviews, search Social Media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter for recommendations or perform searches on Google, Yahoo or other search engines for more information about particular products before making a decision on whether to purchase it. Just the other day, I asked a question on Facebook about whether I should purchase a Kindle or a Nook – I had about 25 people give recommendations to me. I also Googled ‘kindle vs. nook’ and read about the differences and reviews before making my final purchase. (For those of you who are curious as to which one I chose to buy – I went for the Nook.) In fact, 90% or more of buying decisions begin with a web search.
Now, more than ever it is important to educate your customers about your product BEFORE they want it, before they need it. You can do this by creating content and distributing your message across multiple channels. This is called content marketing. You become a resource to consumers. It’s important to remain authentic, consistent, original and entertaining – by doing these things you will gain brand recognition, trust, credibility and loyalty. You will also encourage engagement, which is the key to a successful Social Media Campaign. Marketers are starting to think like publishers – what will people read and interact with? What will they recommend to others? With digital media platforms such as WordPress and Facebook, marketers can publish their content for free – and consistently. There are over 11.4 million hosted WordPress blogs on the web today. Companies are starting to take advantage and rely on content marketing to promote their products and services.
Content marketing can also help with Search Engine Optimization (SEO). Companies need to be found on the web – providing valuable content that points to your website or storefront is just the beginning. The more content you create – the higher you will rank in Search Engine results.
Consumers have come to expect content from brands. Make sure you are using all of the available tools to promote your business.
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