People use the Internet mainly because of the content that is available, and the volumes are increasing at a high pace. In fact, the latest global online content consumption study done by DoubleVerify revealed that the daily time spent consuming content has doubled since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.
How much content did people consume every day in 2020?
If at the start of the pandemic people were consuming on average 3 hours and 17 minutes of online content, in September 2020 the average went up to a staggering 6 hours and 59 minutes – says DoubleVerify research study.
The main reason for this increase appears to be the CTV ( Connected TV sets), represented by the smart television sets used to watch videos streamed over the internet.
What is the definition of content marketing?
It is a strategic marketing activity focused on creating and distributing relevant, valuable and consistent content. Its main goal is to attract and retain a defined audience in order to generate revenue.
If you are a marketeer you know that your audiences consume mainly content that helps them in their day to day activities, for hobbies, their job or just entertainment. The most successful brands today pay close attention to the types of content that their target audiences are searching for, and for that reason, they design and improve content for higher conversion rates.
A quick history of Content Marketing
The first company to use content marketing is the American manufacturer John Deere. It happened in 1895 when they launched The Furrow magazine on agriculture. The magazine has survived until today and has a circulation of 1.5 million in 40 countries, being translated into 12 languages.
The Michelin Guide
The year 1900 brought to life another famous content book: The Michelin Guide, a 400-page guide that helped drivers maintain their cars.
Content Marketing in Romania
But, let’s see how my country of origin Romania did in the area of content marketing. In 1835 a Transilvanian group published the magazine “Paper for the mind, heart and literature” (in Romanian “Foaie pentru minte, inimă și literatură“), a cultural publication that used hot social topics in order to encourage debates: the cultural and political emancipation of the Romanian people, the struggle to cultivate the language, economic growth, the educational and civic role of theatre, other quality topics.
Top 7 benefits of using Content Marketing
Direct benefits of implementing a strong Content Marketing Strategy in digital marketing include:
- Increases brand’s footprint (and traffic share)
- Higher brand awareness
- Boosts average monthly visits
- Increases brand engagement
- Builds trust
- Generates brand buzz and word of mouth
- Increases sales
- Optimizes the PPC advertising budget
- (last but not least) Educates the consumer and the market
Most of the times content is about storytelling, so just as books have adapted, content also changed and became ultra-specialized, so now people divide their content time in smaller chunks and get distracted easier. Today content marketing can be just online, offline or hybrid.
A research study from 2020 carried on by the Content Marketing Institute revealed that the most important content marketing goals were:
- Increase brand awareness (86%)
- Education purpose (79%)
- Building credibility (75%)
Where is content mainly marketing used?
Because content became a mandatory line in almost every digital marketing campaign, it is present in various types of activities and adapted for each one of them:
- SEO – Here content has to be original, respecting E-A-T rating, optimized for mobile devices
- Social Media Marketing – Content needs to be liked and shared
- Inbound marketing – Content needs to generate website or app traffic and potential customers
- Public Relations – Content ads legitimacy for a company or brand to act on the market
- PPC campaigns – Adds quality arguments for landing pages and the sales funnel
Content strategy requires a skilled content manager
A content manager usually sketches content around the main campaign idea. Content can be represented through stories, scientific articles, “how-to” posts or others and has the responsibility to assign the right channels to stimulate people to relate positively with the brand.
Also, the content strategist needs to set the right language and story in order to work effectively among communities, customer personas and publications.
Responsibilities of a Content Manager
In general, the current job posts on Linkedin or on Glassdoor require that a Content Manager has 3-5 years of relevant experience in content marketing.
The main job requirements for a Content Manager position are:
- In-depth audience, field, topics and keywords research
- Competitive monitoring and analysis on content topics, channels used, strategies, tactics
- Use specific tools to analyze and distribute new content
- Prepare content marketing plans
- Design editorial calendars
- Manage a team of creatives and designers
- Partner with freelancers and agencies, including photographers, illustrators for multimedia materials that are required for content
- Deep understanding of SEO strategies and supervise the optimization of content strategy materials
- Edit and maintain consistency of the brand style
- Publish and promote content with the help of the Social Media team
- Monitor performance
- Prepare periodical content marketing activity reports
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