¿Qué es el marketing de contenidos? ¿Y por qué es importante?

Masterclass de Marketing de Contenidos: Primera parte

How do you make sure you’re marketing your business in the most effective way? In today’s world, traditional forms of marketing have become far less persuasive than they once were.

Introduzca el marketing de contenidos: una forma de ofrecer a su público contenidos atractivos al tiempo que aumenta las conversiones, incrementa la notoriedad de la marca, aumenta los ingresos y mucho más.

But what IS content marketing exactly? And where do you even start implementing? 🤔

If you’d like to learn how your business can benefit from content marketing, keep reading. You’ll find out everything you need to learn in this comprehensive, step-by-step guide.

This post is Part One in a brand spanking new Masterclass Series on Content Marketing. We believe it’s an incredibly important topic – and according to a little survey we did, you do too. Trouble is: there is so much content on content marketing out there (talk about meta) and a lot of the intel is conflicting.

We bring this Masterclass to you in partnership with Anouck Meier, Chief Storytelling Officer at Ampersand. Anouck is a conversion copywriter and a content marketing strategist who has worked with numerous brands, big and small, to help them achieve their business goals through strategic content. Let’s get the story on content straight once and for all in a comprehensive guide. Ready to dive in?

- Jeroen Corthout, Cofundador Salesflare, un CRM de ventas fácil de usar para pequeñas empresas B2B.

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¿Qué es el marketing de contenidos?

Aunque el concepto mismo de marketing de contenidos existe desde hace siglos (literalmente, echa un vistazo a este ejemplo de 1672), todavía parece haber mucha confusión sobre lo que implica exactamente.

I’m reminded of this fact pretty much every single holiday period, when random family members ask me for an update on the job front. My response is consistently received with a quizzical look. “So what is it exactly that you do”, my uncle asks after I’ve explained what I do for a living.

What usually does the trick is contrasting content marketing to the traditional marketing he knows all too well. 🙂

Traditional marketing revolves around bombarding your audience with a sales message over and over and over again. It’s Mad Men-style marketing: hitting prospects hard with a promotional message (“BUY. ME. NOW.”) on mass media, like print, radio or TV. Because it’s hard to target a specific audience or differentiate the message, it’s like marketing with a bazooka (which comes with a hefty price tag too).

marketing tradicional frente a marketing de contenidos: marketing tradicional
Traditional marketing tries turning complete strangers into paying customers in – well – one step.

And there are more problems on the horizon for the classic approach to marketing: audiences have become more wary and critical. 🧐

People are just not that into ads anymore. According to Nielsen’s Global Trust In Advertising report, people trust text ads less than any other content medium, especially on mobile.

Moreover, the noise has increased dramatically since Don Draper’s heydays, making it even more difficult to make your message heard. Let alone convert customers.

Enter content marketing. ✨


Definición de marketing de contenidos

According to the Content Marketing Institute (you’d figure they know what they’re talking about), the definition of content marketing is:

“Content marketing is a strategic marketing approach focused on creating and distributing valuable, relevant, and consistent content to attract and retain a clearly defined audience — and, ultimately, to drive profitable customer action.”

So instead of pitching your products or services, you’re providing relevant and useful content to your prospects and customers to help them solve their issues. It’s is a long-term strategy that focuses on building a relationship with your audience.

When it eventually comes to making a purchase decision, the loyalty of your audience already lies with you. You’ve already shown them that a) you have the relevant expertise and b) you care enough to share that knowledge with them.

El contenido de alta calidad le permite hacer avanzar a los clientes por el camino del conocimiento y la confianza (y, finalmente, de la compra) sin forzarlos.

Think about it like dating: if traditional marketing is like popping the question on a first date (good luck with that!), content marketing is like pulling out all the stops to woo your object of desire customer bit by bit until they feel weak in the knees. 🥰

marketing tradicional frente a marketing de contenidos
Comparación del marketing tradicional y el marketing de contenidos: ¿puede detectar la diferencia?

Como he mencionado antes, el marketing de contenidos no es un concepto nuevo. Las marcas ya publicaban contenidos en revistas y periódicos hace siglos. Entonces, como ahora, el objetivo era reforzar la captación de clientes, la adquisición y la notoriedad de la marca proporcionando información relevante y atractiva.

Of course, in recent years, content marketing has exploded. The reason is obvious: the internet, and arguably even more, the smartphone. 📱 There are even now content generators that enable you to produce content at scale.

With the rise of digital and the possibility for brands to speak to prospects even when they’re spending time in the tiniest room of the house, brands are using content marketing as an advanced method to attract high-quality leads, nurture their engagement down the funnel, and convert them into paying customers.

marketing tradicional frente a marketing de contenidos: marketing de contenidos
El marketing de contenidos consiste en establecer relaciones a largo plazo.

¿Por qué es importante el marketing de contenidos?

Enseñar a tus clientes y darles los recursos para que te conozcan, les gustes y confíen en ti es el nuevo marketing. En la lista de medios de confianza, los contenidos editoriales superan a los anuncios en todos los canales tradicionales, como la televisión, la radio, las vallas publicitarias, los periódicos y las revistas.

All the leading brands are doing it. Your competitors are too. In fact, over 91% of B2B companies are using content marketing. And marketing guru’s with yellow glasses have been claiming for over a decade now that it’s really the only marketing left. 😎

But you shouldn’t even think about adopting a content marketing strategy because it’s what the cool kids do. You should because the benefits of content marketing will knock your socks off.

So what are some of these benefits of content marketing? Let’s take a closer look.

 

1. El marketing de contenidos atiende a las necesidades de su audiencia (y merece la pena poner a su audiencia en primer lugar)

Content marketing addresses a shift in the needs of audiences across industries. When consumers change, marketers need to apply different strategies. At least: if they want their messages to stick. 😏

Or as Virgin Media’s Head of Digital Marketing, Gill Worby, said:

“Previously we always thought about what we wanted to talk about and now we talk about what our audience wants us to say. This is against a backdrop of people wanting to be educated, entertained, and stimulated every minute of every day, and it is harder than ever to grab people’s attention.” (fuente: Cómo Virgin Media consiguió el apoyo de los ejecutivos al marketing de contenidos)

Basta con echar un vistazo a algunas de estas estadísticas clave:

  • People want content from brands. According to Havas Group’s Meaningful Brands study, El 84% de la gente espera que las marcas creen contenidos.
  • El 70% de los internautas desean conocer los productos a través de contenidos frente a los anuncios tradicionales. (Publicidad MDG)
  • Consumers can smell a sales pitch a mile away – and they think it stinks. Puede que piense en su publicidad está resonando entre su audiencia, pero el 71% de los lectores afirman que les desaniman los contenidos que parecen un mero argumento de venta. (Economist Group’s “Missing the Mark” report)
  • 96% of B2B buyers want content with more input from industry thought leaders. (Demand Gen Report, 2016)
  • Nearly all of the most successful B2B content marketers (92%) prioritize the audience’s informational needs over their promotional message. (Content Marketing Institute, 2018)

 

2. El marketing de contenidos impulsa el viaje del cliente

So just imagine that you’re in the market for noise-cancelling headphones (good call, by the way, it should help you focus on getting all that content out of the door).

Now what is the first thing you’re going to do? My guess is that you’ll head on over to Google and type in some sort of query: “best noise-cancelling headphones” or maybe “comparison noise-cancelling headphones” or even “what noise-cancelling headphones should I get to look like the office hipster?”.

Well, guess what, if that’s your strategy, you’re not alone. According to research by GroupMUn 86% de los compradores iniciar el viaje del cliente with non-branded search queries. 🖱️

What’s more: users put their trust in the (non-promotional) content they encounter along the way. When researching a buying decision, 85 percent of users ignore paid ads and focus on organic search results.

Pero no sólo los consumidores leen antes de comprar, el contenido también ayuda a dar forma a la experiencia del cliente. El contenido puede alimentar una experiencia cohesiva en múltiples canales, que es algo que los consumidores simplemente han llegado a esperar en esta era digital.

 

3. El contenido crea conciencia de marca, confianza y lealtad.

Research findings strongly support the importance of customer-first marketing: when brands create valuable content that educates and informs consumers, it’s a win-win situation for both consumers and brands.

El contenido determina lo que la gente siente por su marca. Content strength accounts for 71 percent of how a brand performs on “improving personal well-being,” which determines how meaningful people feel it is. And customers are willing to pay more for meaningful brands. According to Grupo Havas, “meaningfulness” in brand marketing can increase wallet share up to nine times. 💸

Por último, consumir contenidos aumenta enormemente la afinidad y la confianza, y esos sentimientos positivos hacia la marca aumentan realmente con el tiempo. (Fuente: El poder del contenido: How Content Marketing Impacts Purchase Decisions, Brand Affinity, and Trust)

 

4. ¿Quiere más y mejores clientes potenciales? El contenido puede hacerlo.

Los anuncios que se muestran a los consumidores quieran o no verlos son percibidos por éstos como insistentes, interruptores e intrusivos.

Turns out, people today generally don’t respond to this type of product-pushing. 😩

Or are you one out of very few people who don’t hit the fast forward button when commercials come on and interrupt your favorite TV show?

There are other ways to find qualified leads – better ways: content marketing. And it’s not just us saying that. Here’s some of the research to back it up:

  • 74% de las empresas indican que el marketing de contenidos está aumentando la calidad y la cantidad de clientes potenciales. If it’s sales-ready leads you’re looking for, nothing beats high-quality content based on an informed strategy.

Fuente: (Curata)

Finally, paid advertising on digital platforms often relies on good content as well. Or did you think your pushy “BUY NOW” ads would fare well on Facebook?

 

5. El contenido impulsa las ventas y las decisiones de compra

Content marketing may require more time, patience, and effort over the long haul, but the rewards are far greater. Just consider the impact on purchase decisions and sales: 👇

 

6. El marketing de contenidos ahorra dinero

Traditional marketing methods like print, radio, and broadcast media are pretty expensive places to start your marketing campaign. And let’s face it: for some of us, prime ad space on mass media will never be a feasible option.

Content is much more cost effective. What’s more, it’s also easier to target the exact right audience. 🎯 (Source: DemandMetric)

Cuando se enfrentan el marketing de contenidos y la búsqueda de pago:

  • Content marketing has both lower up-front costs and deeper long-term benefits (Source: a recent study by Kapost).
  • El marketing de contenidos cuesta 62% menos que los canales tradicionales y genera 3 veces más clientes potenciales. (Métrica de la demanda)
  • A recent study took into account the cost of hiring a content marketing team vs. creating a paid search campaign. For medium- and large-sized businesses, content marketing cost up to 41% less per lead than paid search.
  • Los profesionales del marketing B2B más eficaces gastan el 42% de su presupuesto en contenidos.  Cuanto más gaste en contenidos, mayor será el rendimiento. Fuente: (Instituto de Marketing de Contenidos)

 

Don’t Even Consider Content Marketing if You Haven’t Got This

If you want to provide a better experience for your customers all while making a positive impact on your business – both in terms of how it’s perceived and its bottom line – content marketing is a great bet.

In fact, with so many tangible benefits, you may be left wondering why everyone isn’t on the content marketing wagon? 🤔

The reality is: content marketing is hard work. It takes consistent effort (hey, these masterclasses don’t exactly write themselves, if you see my point). Moreover, the fruits of your labor are often only enjoyed in the long run. No instant gratification or dopamine shots to be had right here, right now, I’m afraid. 😔

And finally: it’s only companies who have a solid strategy who are able to reap the benefits of their content marketing efforts. Don’t even dip your tiny toe in the content marketing waters without doing your homework and developing a clear content strategy first.

And guess what? Content strategy is exactly what we have lined up for you in the next installment of this series. Talk about putting your customer first with content… (see what we did there?). 😏


¿Ya utiliza contenidos para hacer crecer su negocio? Háznoslo saber en los comentarios.

And don’t forget to tune in next week for Part Two of our Content Marketing Masterclass: Building a Content Strategy

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Anouck Meier