Move over traditional marketing. Content Marketing is the new sheriff in town

Billboards and back page ads in the local newspaper just don’t provide the outreach or revenue that business’ need to succeed into 2016. While they may generate a few phone calls a year it is nearly impossible to sustain a business off these types of advertisements. The way business’ interact with their consumers is constantly evolving. Unless a business keeps up with the trends, they risk losing prospective customers. Enter the new sheriff in town, content marketing.

The internet gives business’ an unprecedented access to consumers but until recently they haven’t been achieving their maximum potential. We have all been bombarded with banner ads online before; promising free this, or bonus that, or a bigger whatever. For a while this practice was acceptable and even moderately successful, but the landscape is drastically changing. Today’s consumers are looking for a conversation, not to be shouted at. In the last year alone the use of Adblocking software has increased 41%, in 2015 this practice cost publishers almost $22 billion.

Consumers love to to be marketed to but you have to do it in the correct way. Consumers want to interact with your brand in a compelling way, not be spammed by ads. Enter Content Marketing.

Content Marketing is creating a new or fun way to interact with customers in a non-business way.

The more consumers enjoy your non-business content the more they will come to appreciate your brand and your products. Content Marketing can be as simple as a blog post about your industry that you share on your social media account or as complex as responding to tweets with personalized youtube videos like Old Spice.  While every Content Marketing plan has to be unique to work, this guide from AddThis.com  gives a fantastic breakdown of how to build your own Content Marketing strategy.

Content Marketing can make or break a marketing plan and companies that employee a good Content Marketing plan have been richly rewarded in the past. Using Content Marketing you can build your brand, increase your sales, and establish a social media presence in a way that keeps consumers happy and returning. Content Marketing isn’t new, it has been around since 1885 when John Deere released The Furrow magazine; a magazine that still runs today.

Regardless of if you are trying to market a new business or drum up sales for a current business, you can use this step-by-step guide to break the fourth wall of advertising and stop shouting unsuccessfully into the void that is the internet.