Content marketing is all the rage nowadays.
From grocery stores and tax attorneys to financial planners and plumbers, everyone seems to be doing it.
And there’s no shortage of marketing firms touting content marketing as the latest bandwagon you don’t want to miss.
Yet, truth be told, content marketing is nothing new. It’s just a new-fangled term for storytelling, which, let’s face it, is as old as the hills. Well, maybe not the hills . . . but definitely old.
In 1891, August Oetker sold baking powder with recipes printed on the back. Four years later, John Deere launched The Furrow, a magazine providing information to farmers on how to become more profitable. And in 1900, Michelin gave drivers information on auto maintenance and roadside travel in its inaugural Michelin Guide.
Whether you’re a neophyte content marketer or a grizzled pro, you’ll get better results if you approach content marketing as a strategic discipline. Below are 5 essentials of an effective content marketing strategy. Keep them in mind when creating your content, and you’ll greatly improve your chances of reaching your business goals.
