Content Marketing – Storytelling must be planned

What is content marketing?

Content marketing is a strategic marketing direction that involves creating and delivering valuable, relevant and consistent content. All of this is aimed at attracting a clearly defined target group, retaining that group and ultimately capturing beneficial customer actions. Content marketing is a marketing method that is not about advertising messages, but about useful content that many people are looking for online. Companies that provide helpful content along the customer journey are more likely to be found, build trust and thus win customers. Today, the Buyer's Journey takes place mainly on digital platforms. With content marketing, companies can meet potential customers on this journey, get in touch with customers and interact with them. Of course, companies can also use advertising on digital platforms. However, the advantage of content marketing is that it is easier to build trust with useful content. Users today try to avoid advertising. They use ad blockers or increasingly ad-free platforms.

• Strategy requires planning. Therefore, it is important to set goals and take steps to achieve them. Typical strategic elements are content strategy, social media strategy or lead generation strategy.
• To create and deliver valuable, relevant and consistent content, you need a content workflow that consists of at least an editorial team, regular editorial meetings and the necessary tools.
• Clearly define the target group; unfortunately, content is often created past the target group.
• Define target projects and increase conversions. This begins with new customer acquisition and ends with the maintenance of existing customer relationships.

Why Content Marketing?

Basically, there is no getting around content marketing today. If one were to give just one reason for the importance of content marketing, it would be: because you can only reach the target group online with relevant and valuable content, and the customer or buyer journey is now primarily almost exclusively digital. The classic advertising message has had its day. But there are other reasons that clearly speak for content marketing. Content marketing increases the awareness and relevance of the company. Trust in a brand or a service also grows. If you make important and high-quality content available to the potential target group, it will be found online and compared with other content. With appropriate analysis, it is also possible to find out a lot about the target group and its needs. Content marketing is more cost-efficient than, for example, ads, because once created it has a much more long-term effect than time-limited campaigns. Good content also brings more traffic to the website, is also measurable and at the same time positions a company as an expert in the corresponding or desired industry. Last but not least, content marketing also contributes to customer loyalty. As a customer, you are confirmed that you are working with a competent service provider.

The most popular content formats

When we think of stories and content for our own website, we often immediately think of texts. Blog posts, white papers, e-books, how-to-dos, etc. Even though texts are of high importance for a digital presence, the content idea should always be thought of separately from the chosen format. Perhaps a video, an infographic, or an audio interview is more suitable for this type of idea than a blog article?

Text content

The most common content format for content creation is text. However, the texts must be adapted according to the message, the chosen output channel or the benefit for the reader.

• Blog posts are contributions that are published on a blog. There are various forms of implementation such as comments, interviews and guest posts.
• Press releases are primarily suitable for relevant news to be reported. Keyword media relations.
• Whitepapers cover a topic in depth and are usually offered for download as a PDF to generate leads. In return for providing contact details, interested parties receive premium content.
• E-books are the longer version of the white paper. They are also premium content and are used for lead generation.
• Checklists are clear and very popular with readers.
• Mailings and newsletters help to stay in touch with (potential) customers and are considered an essential tool to interact with the audience during the funnel. Keyword lead nurturing.
• Social media postings should generally be used as a fixed channel to distribute new content quickly and in line with the target group.
• Case studies describe successful client projects and are an excellent way to share them with other potential clients. Client projects are an important part of a funnel and do a lot to gain the trust of prospects.

Video content

Video manages to convey emotions and dynamics like no other format. As with texts, there are various video formats that can be used very well for corresponding messaging.

• Image and corporate videos offer the opportunity to present yourself as a company. This is usually content that is used over a longer period of time, which is why it is worth investing in a professional video.
• Live videos are spontaneous and live from the here and now. They enjoy great popularity on social networks and are often rewarded with higher organic reach.  
• Product videos are usually located at a later stage of the customer journey, because they are already aimed at the sale.
• Animated videos are best when you want to introduce a topic to potential customers but don't have a place to shoot it, or when the topic is so complex that it needs to be broken down to a meta-level.
• Employer branding videos are increasingly becoming an important HR tool and serve to attract talent in order to position oneself as an attractive employer.
• Webinars are online seminars that people can attend regardless of location. These should offer added value to the audience and should not be a sales presentation.

Image content and graphics

Visual content is of great importance because it is often easier to digest and stays in the memory longer. However, it makes sense to use different content formats so that the same type of images are not always used in content creation:

• Infographics are visual representations of content.
• Animated images are, for example, GIFs or cinemagraphs.
• Slideshows offer the possibility to present several images without having to sacrifice too much space on the website.
• 360° images allow (potential) customers to feel in the middle of things instead of just being there. They are an extension of a panoramic image and allow viewers to see their own backdrop all around.
• Normal photos that offer insights into everyday professional life, introduce the staff and show special events and happenings.

Audio

Audio is probably the most underestimated format in content production or content strategy.

• Podcasts have also become increasingly relevant for content marketing in the B2B sector in recent years.
• O-tones are excellent for making texts a little more lively. Search engines rate it very highly when several content formats are present in a post.

Important KPIs in content marketing

If you do content marketing in the sense of a blog, you should keep an eye on the following KPIs. It is important to monitor these KPIs on the level of the entire blog as well as on the level of individual blog posts.

• Page views: How often was the page accessed?
• Bounce rate: The bounce rate expresses the visit of a single page on the website.
• Dwell time: How long did someone stay on the respective page?
• How many clicks and impressions were displayed?
• Average click-through rate (CTR): How many people have seen the result in the search results and clicked further?
• Average ranking position: What is the average position of the page in the search results?

KPIs in the Inbound Marketing expansion stage

• Visits to leads: How many of the visitors become new contacts?
• Leads to Marketing Qualified Leads (MQLs): How many of the leads are suitable to become customers?
• Marketing Qualified Leads to Sales Qualified Leads (SQLs): How many of the MQLs have an urgent problem and the budget to solve it?
• Sales Qualified Leads to customers: How many of these SQLs can be closed?

What is content marketing?

Content marketing is a strategic marketing direction that involves creating and delivering valuable, relevant and consistent content. All of this is aimed at attracting a clearly defined target group, retaining that group and ultimately capturing beneficial customer actions. Content marketing is a marketing method that is not about advertising messages, but about useful content that many people are looking for online. Companies that provide helpful content along the customer journey are more likely to be found, build trust and thus win customers. Today, the Buyer's Journey takes place mainly on digital platforms. With content marketing, companies can meet potential customers on this journey, get in touch with customers and interact with them. Of course, companies can also use advertising on digital platforms. However, the advantage of content marketing is that it is easier to build trust with useful content. Users today try to avoid advertising. They use ad blockers or increasingly ad-free platforms.

• Strategy requires planning. Therefore, it is important to set goals and take steps to achieve them. Typical strategic elements are content strategy, social media strategy or lead generation strategy.
• To create and deliver valuable, relevant and consistent content, you need a content workflow that consists of at least an editorial team, regular editorial meetings and the necessary tools.
• Clearly define the target group; unfortunately, content is often created past the target group.
• Define target projects and increase conversions. This begins with new customer acquisition and ends with the maintenance of existing customer relationships.

Why Content Marketing?

Basically, there is no getting around content marketing today. If one were to give just one reason for the importance of content marketing, it would be: because you can only reach the target group online with relevant and valuable content, and the customer or buyer journey is now primarily almost exclusively digital. The classic advertising message has had its day. But there are other reasons that clearly speak for content marketing. Content marketing increases the awareness and relevance of the company. Trust in a brand or a service also grows. If you make important and high-quality content available to the potential target group, it will be found online and compared with other content. With appropriate analysis, it is also possible to find out a lot about the target group and its needs. Content marketing is more cost-efficient than, for example, ads, because once created it has a much more long-term effect than time-limited campaigns. Good content also brings more traffic to the website, is also measurable and at the same time positions a company as an expert in the corresponding or desired industry. Last but not least, content marketing also contributes to customer loyalty. As a customer, you are confirmed that you are working with a competent service provider.

The most popular content formats

When we think of stories and content for our own website, we often immediately think of texts. Blog posts, white papers, e-books, how-to-dos, etc. Even though texts are of high importance for a digital presence, the content idea should always be thought of separately from the chosen format. Perhaps a video, an infographic, or an audio interview is more suitable for this type of idea than a blog article?

Text content

The most common content format for content creation is text. However, the texts must be adapted according to the message, the chosen output channel or the benefit for the reader.

• Blog posts are contributions that are published on a blog. There are various forms of implementation such as comments, interviews and guest posts.
• Press releases are primarily suitable for relevant news to be reported. Keyword media relations.
• Whitepapers cover a topic in depth and are usually offered for download as a PDF to generate leads. In return for providing contact details, interested parties receive premium content.
• E-books are the longer version of the white paper. They are also premium content and are used for lead generation.
• Checklists are clear and very popular with readers.
• Mailings and newsletters help to stay in touch with (potential) customers and are considered an essential tool to interact with the audience during the funnel. Keyword lead nurturing.
• Social media postings should generally be used as a fixed channel to distribute new content quickly and in line with the target group.
• Case studies describe successful client projects and are an excellent way to share them with other potential clients. Client projects are an important part of a funnel and do a lot to gain the trust of prospects.

Video content

Video manages to convey emotions and dynamics like no other format. As with texts, there are various video formats that can be used very well for corresponding messaging.

• Image and corporate videos offer the opportunity to present yourself as a company. This is usually content that is used over a longer period of time, which is why it is worth investing in a professional video.
• Live videos are spontaneous and live from the here and now. They enjoy great popularity on social networks and are often rewarded with higher organic reach.  
• Product videos are usually located at a later stage of the customer journey, because they are already aimed at the sale.
• Animated videos are best when you want to introduce a topic to potential customers but don't have a place to shoot it, or when the topic is so complex that it needs to be broken down to a meta-level.
• Employer branding videos are increasingly becoming an important HR tool and serve to attract talent in order to position oneself as an attractive employer.
• Webinars are online seminars that people can attend regardless of location. These should offer added value to the audience and should not be a sales presentation.

Image content and graphics

Visual content is of great importance because it is often easier to digest and stays in the memory longer. However, it makes sense to use different content formats so that the same type of images are not always used in content creation:

• Infographics are visual representations of content.
• Animated images are, for example, GIFs or cinemagraphs.
• Slideshows offer the possibility to present several images without having to sacrifice too much space on the website.
• 360° images allow (potential) customers to feel in the middle of things instead of just being there. They are an extension of a panoramic image and allow viewers to see their own backdrop all around.
• Normal photos that offer insights into everyday professional life, introduce the staff and show special events and happenings.

Audio

Audio is probably the most underestimated format in content production or content strategy.

• Podcasts have also become increasingly relevant for content marketing in the B2B sector in recent years.
• O-tones are excellent for making texts a little more lively. Search engines rate it very highly when several content formats are present in a post.

Important KPIs in content marketing

If you do content marketing in the sense of a blog, you should keep an eye on the following KPIs. It is important to monitor these KPIs on the level of the entire blog as well as on the level of individual blog posts.

• Page views: How often was the page accessed?
• Bounce rate: The bounce rate expresses the visit of a single page on the website.
• Dwell time: How long did someone stay on the respective page?
• How many clicks and impressions were displayed?
• Average click-through rate (CTR): How many people have seen the result in the search results and clicked further?
• Average ranking position: What is the average position of the page in the search results?

KPIs in the Inbound Marketing expansion stage

• Visits to leads: How many of the visitors become new contacts?
• Leads to Marketing Qualified Leads (MQLs): How many of the leads are suitable to become customers?
• Marketing Qualified Leads to Sales Qualified Leads (SQLs): How many of the MQLs have an urgent problem and the budget to solve it?
• Sales Qualified Leads to customers: How many of these SQLs can be closed?