Wat is contentmarketing? En waarom is het belangrijk?

Contentmarketing Masterclass: Deel één

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.

Enter content marketing: een manier om je publiek te voorzien van boeiende content en tegelijkertijd conversies te verhogen, de naamsbekendheid te vergroten, inkomsten te stimuleren en nog veel meer.

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, medeoprichter Salesflare, een gebruiksvriendelijk verkoop-CRM voor kleine B2B-bedrijven.

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Wat is contentmarketing?

Hoewel het concept zelf van contentmarketing al eeuwen bestaat (kijk letterlijk naar dit voorbeeld uit 1672), lijkt er nog steeds veel verwarring te bestaan over wat het precies inhoudt.

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).

traditionele marketing vs contentmarketing: traditionele marketing
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. ✨

Definitie van contentmarketing

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.

Met inhoud van hoge kwaliteit kun je klanten op het pad van kennis, vertrouwen (en uiteindelijk kopen) brengen zonder ze te dwingen.

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. 🥰

traditionele marketing vs contentmarketing
Vergelijking tussen traditionele marketing en contentmarketing: zie jij het verschil?

Zoals ik al eerder zei, is contentmarketing nauwelijks een nieuw concept. Eeuwen geleden publiceerden merken al content in tijdschriften en kranten. Toen, net als nu, was het doel om de klantbetrokkenheid, acquisitie en merkbekendheid te versterken door relevante, boeiende informatie te bieden.

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.

traditionele marketing vs contentmarketing: contentmarketing
Bij contentmarketing draait het allemaal om het opbouwen van relaties op de lange termijn.

Waarom is contentmarketing belangrijk?

Uw klanten leren en hen de middelen geven om u te kennen, aardig te vinden en te vertrouwen is de nieuwe marketing. Op de lijst van vertrouwde media overtreft redactionele inhoud advertenties op alle traditionele kanalen, waaronder tv, radio, billboards, kranten en tijdschriften.

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. Contentmarketing speelt in op de behoeften van je publiek (en het loont om je publiek op de eerste plaats te zetten)

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.” (bron: Hoe Virgin Media de Executive liet overstappen op contentmarketing)

Kijk maar eens naar enkele van deze belangrijke statistieken:

  • People want content from brands. According to Havas Group’s Meaningful Brands study, 84 procent van de mensen verwacht dat merken content creëren.
  • 70 procent van de internetgebruikers wil meer te weten komen over producten via inhoud dan via traditionele advertenties. (MDG Advertising)
  • Consumers can smell a sales pitch a mile away – and they think it stinks. Je zou denk uw reclame weerklank vindt bij uw publiek, maar 71 procent van de lezers zegt dat ze zijn afgehaakt door inhoud die aanvoelt als een gewoon verkooppraatje. (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. Contentmarketing stimuleert het klanttraject

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 GroupMmaar liefst 86 procent van de kopers hun klantreis beginnen 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.

Maar consumenten lezen niet alleen voordat ze kopen, content helpt ook bij het vormgeven van de klantervaring. Content kan een samenhangende ervaring op meerdere kanalen voeden, iets wat consumenten in dit digitale tijdperk gewoon zijn gaan verwachten.

 

3. Inhoud bouwt merkbekendheid, vertrouwen en loyaliteit op

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.

Inhoud bepaalt hoe mensen je merk ervaren. 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 Havas Groep, “meaningfulness” in brand marketing can increase wallet share up to nine times. 💸

Tot slot vergroot het consumeren van content de affiniteit en het vertrouwen enorm, en die positieve gevoelens voor het merk nemen na verloop van tijd zelfs toe. (Bron: Power of Content: How Content Marketing Impacts Purchase Decisions, Brand Affinity, and Trust)

 

4. Wil je meer en betere leads? Content kan de klus klaren!

Advertenties die aan consumenten worden getoond of ze ze nu willen zien of niet, worden door consumenten gezien als opdringerig, onderbrekend en opdringerig.

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% van de bedrijven geeft aan dat contentmarketing de kwaliteit en kwantiteit van leads verhoogt. If it’s sales-ready leads you’re looking for, nothing beats high-quality content based on an informed strategy.

Bron: (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. Inhoud stimuleert verkoop en aankoopbeslissingen

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. Contentmarketing bespaart geld

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)

Wanneer contentmarketing en paid search tegen elkaar worden uitgespeeld:

  • Content marketing has both lower up-front costs and deeper long-term benefits (Source: a recent study by Kapost).
  • Contentmarketing kost 62% minder dan traditionele kanalen en genereert 3x zoveel leads. (Demand Metric)
  • 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.
  • De meest effectieve B2B marketeers besteden 42% van hun budget aan content.  Hoe meer je uitgeeft aan content, hoe beter het rendement. Bron: (Instituut voor inhoudmarketing)

 

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?). 😏

Gebruik jij al content om je bedrijf te laten groeien? Laat het ons weten in de reacties!

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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We hopen dat je deze post leuk vond. Als je het leuk vond, vertel het dan verder!

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Anouck Meier
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