Contrary to popular opinion, the idea of ‘content marketing’ and its importance isn’t a new one. Bill Gates first drew attention to the concept in his appropriately-titled 1996 essay ‘Content Is King’. In the essay, he talks about his predictions for the Internet after its recent birth and his message is simple: understand that companies who find ways to inform and entertain will thrive on the Internet and reign supreme. Content marketing is on the rise.
Gates’ 18-year-old prediction was accurate – it’s still an extremely important issue today. Content marketing should be adopted as a philosophy, not taken to and tested like a trend. There are plenty of misconceptions and assumptions about content marketing, so what’s it all about?
What is content marketing?
Put simply, it’s the strategy of attracting and retaining customers by way of creating content.
Who’s using this strategy?
Almost everyone. Nowadays, most businesses create content (whether they’re aware of it or not). Content marketing is big – it’s second only to Internet advertising in accelerated growth and it’s said to account for more than 20% of marketing budgets.
