The beauty of content marketing lies in its ability to engage and build rapport. And if you don’t think that’s effective, consider all the singers that have come through American Idol and The Voice. Now I’m not trying to step on any toes here, but you have to wonder how much success many of them would have had if we hadn’t gotten to watch them struggle through a lengthy competition over several months. By the time the season is over, you feel like you know these people!
Of course you want to buy their albums, see their concerts, and follow them on social media. They’ve provided you with entertainment, built rapport, and you bought in. That’s how content media works.
“We need to stop interrupting what people are interested in and be what people are interested in.”
Craig Davis, former Chief Creative Officer at J. Walter Thompson
But you don’t need to win a TV singing competition to do those things. I say this a lot, but you’re the world expert on what you do. Others may have had more success in your field, but in terms of the specifics on what you do every day, nobody knows more. In content marketing, you share that with your target audience. And you do it in a way that appeals to them.
If you really have your audience at heart, that’s going to come out. If you’re just in it for yourself, if you’re deceitful in your business, if you don’t care about the people you’re doing business with, you might ought to stick to banner ads.
