I feel like I hear it often enough that “content marketing is the future of marketing” and whilst I can’t form a judgement as I’m not a seasoned marketer working in the field, and because I still have lots to learn; I think the statement holds some kind of truth —going off of my university readings. But what exactly is content marketing though?
These days, we see marketers utilising the vast platform of the World Wide Web to put out a plethora of content with the hopes of getting to their target audience. There is no one sure way to do content marketing — as there is no one sure way to do anything in marketing; but I found a nifty guide written up by one of my favourite marketing agencies, HubSpot, on how to do content marketing and why you should do it.
But when does content become too much content? A reading I did in university from Social Media Today highlights that consumers are so bombarded by content that more content is the last thing they need. We see marketers posting 5–15 times a day on various social media networks in the hopes of putting out content but they’re not engaging with their consumers because that is not where they are spending most of their time — or, they’re not attracting new consumers.
However, contrary to all that I have learnt and read in my own time and for university, lending my ear to Gary Vee’s podcast where he talks about putting out content as much as possible has really placed a contradictory angle on what I have learnt thus far. Since Gary is what I would call, a successful entrepreneur and marketer, I am conflicted as to whether or not the textbooks I read are right, or this real-life-human-being-success-story is what I should be believing instead. Take a listen below. (Timestamp: 0:40–3:01)
Gary asserts that if you put out a nice piece of content — anywhere, it will give you exposure and in turn, leverage and also feedback. He makes a rather valid point that if you stick to your own website, your audience is only going to be so limited. Sure, if these consumers are going to your website specifically for your content, then they are your true fans. However, often there is a largely untapped market of your target consumers who don’t even know they have job that needs to be done, who don’t even know that your content is what they need. You’re going to want to put out your content on platforms with lots of followers in different demographics, platforms with feedback loops — in order to get your content out there. Personally, I think if someone stumbles across a piece of content by chance and if it’s relevant to them — then it’s going to stick. I think it is fair to say that Gary’s perspective isn’t entirely wrong — I mean, it has given him the mass amount of followers, the successful businesses, and exposure as one of the most sought after public speakers today.
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