Undoubtedly, the industry of marketing has changed dramatically over the past 5-10 years. We have seen the major influence the internet has had on our lives, and as a result we are now starting to experience a Content Marketing revolution. The changes are also reinventing the way we communicate with our customers, and this revolution is set to grow and evolve over the next 5-10 years and beyond. We are all partially guessing what the future holds, but as marketers we have a daily insight into the future of marketing.
Decision makers are now looking at twitter accounts, blogs and facebook pages to find out the true personality of a business they may choose to do business with. The good old website is still a very important asset, but the asset requirements are growing fast. This isn’t necessarily fueled by marketers, but the desire for more information and better insight. Technology is continually providing those tools that market forces demand. We now have Google Plus which is fast becoming an important platform for business, notwithstanding the direct impact a busy Google Plus account has on your websites search engine ranking. Pinterest, Instagram, YouTube, Vimeo and a whole multitude of platforms to choose from.
For any business that are looking to get serious about Content Marketing and Social Media, the choice is vast, but also an absolute minefield. At Elan Marketing, and our sister brand Elan Social we provide the necessary insight into creating a perfect Content Marketing and Social Media strategy. We are well practiced in this business, managing over 20 accounts from full scheduling through to real time communication with some twitter timelines that scroll very fast with activity!
Much of what we do for our busiest timelines is monitoring and providing an online real time customer service experience for our clients customers.
There is very often a confusion over marketing terms. Content Marketing is using content right across the web to influence your customers, and social media provides a huge array of platforms to share that content. A content marketing strategy is based on some key factors listed below…
Discovery…
This is the process of getting to know your business and getting up to speed with your current situation.
Community…
Identifying the right platforms, and therefore the right places to find your customers and engage with them, is absolutely crucial. Every business requires a unique or bespoke strategy to match the traits of their customer base.
Goals…
Like any marketing strategy, a Content Marketing and Social Media strategy requires the setting of goals. As we say to all clients, Social Media is an absolute must for all businesses, some are more appropriate by their very nature, but all businesses should be active and creating results on social media – it is your database of real time customers for now and the future, or as seen the other day… ‘Don’t be surprised if your competition are active and benefiting from social media, and don’t lose out by neglecting the marketing medium of the future. We couldn’t agree more.
So goals are very important!
Engagement Plan…
The most important aspect of course is engagement or creating that experience with your customers that will influence them to buy your products and services.
Engagement is a massive subject, but first you must establish the tone of voice to represent your brand in content market place. This also must be consistent!
Metrics and Measurement…
There are now huge amounts of tools we use to measure and analyse results – too many to list, but all provide a collective and incredible insight into the activity of the business, but importantly the activity of how your customers are engaging with your business. With the empowerment of this knowledge on a regular basis, a strategy can become flawed very quickly.
Management or Training
For numerous clients we have provided training courses ranging from basic introductory courses to extensive, tailored overviews. With many clients who have an have not received our training, also engaging with us to manage, partially or wholly, their Content Marketing and Social Media requirements.
The above points simplify the process we go through with our clients to explore the huge opportunities online. If you are interested in talking further about our services and would like to organise a meeting with us, click here
