If you can connect an endless list of possible content and

If you can connect an endless list of possible content and channels with a strategy that appeals to your audience with the voice of your brand, you know exactly what content marketing is and how to use it to grow your business. While it’s helpful to experiment with e-commerce content marketing, you shouldn’t alienate your audience by trying too hard to leverage new trends instead of focusing on the message. That’s not to say that advertising will ever disappear, but we’re seeing many brands shift their investment from paid advertising to content marketing. Consider social media as an effective distribution platform for your content marketing strategy. However, you need to start with a strategy and determine what content marketing means to your business and how you intend to act on what you produce and distribute. If we go further, from creating value for your customers to creating value for the company, we arrive at the future of content marketing: motivated brands. In this sense, content marketing is not just another batch of content – random blog posts, social media posts, videos, landing pages, emails, etc. In content marketing, you own the distribution channels from your website, social media profiles to your email list. What sets content marketing apart from other forms of marketing is the return on investment and the business value it provides over time. I’ve traveled the world, attended marketing conferences and talked to hundreds of marketers who believe that content marketing is the same as content marketing. Content marketing bridges the gap between what we produce as brands and what our audience is looking for. Michael Brenner is a leading CMO, influencer in content marketing and digital marketing, international speaker, and author of Mean People Suck and The Content Formula. He is the CEO and founder of Marketing Insider Group, a leading content marketing agency. Going back to the original question of what content marketing is, it’s often referred to as strategy. Michael currently helps create effective content marketing programs for leading brands and startups. Thank you for this article, Michael, you’re right, content marketing is a new way of reaching your target audience. Now that we’ve discussed what content marketing is, it’s time to discuss how to measure its effectiveness.