It’s a term we often hear but what actually is content marketing? And how can it benefit your business?

Content marketing means creating and sharing valuable free content to attract and convert potential customers. It rests on the idea that you give to get. And whilst you do need to give a lot, you also get alot in return. It’s a model we use widely at Shake, and it brings us in new clients every single month. How?

Everyone in the team creates content for the Shake networks. We all blog, we all tweet. Moya and Alessia create infographics, visual posts and network updates. Moya also works on our longer blog posts and in-depth guides. Georgina focuses on aspects of community management, Kai looks at trends and Jason thinks about design. Scarlet prefers the finances and would rather share a spreadsheet than a blog post, but other than that it’s a real team effort.

I contribute too, although not as often as the others I must admit! But I do write our weekly email, sharing the highlights and insights from the team that week. We’re talking, learning and upskilling all the time, and we made a conscious decision to be transparent about this early on, sharing our insights with the wider world – and the benefits are huge.

So, how can content marketing work for you?

Start by educating. The type of content you share is going to be closely related to what you sell; in other words, you’re not just sharing expertise, you’re also educating people about what you do so that they know, like and trust you enough to do business with you. Our regular blogs, posts and emails remind our audience about who we are and what we do – whilst demonstrating that we know our stuff.

Align with your business goals. If you’re looking to expand into a new market, or consolidate an existing one, sharing content relevant to those markets will be vital. Your content should be strategic, purposeful and aimed at the right people. It allows you to share successes and promote events, new products or staff. And it’s a great way to show off your knowledge and experience.

Show rather than tell. Telling people how good you are at something is rarely as effective as consistently demonstrating your expertise. By sharing insights, tips and case studies on a regular basis, you show people what you can do rather than telling them – much more powerful.

Expand your networks. There’s no point crafting expert blogs in nobody reads them. Have a strategy in place to promote and share your content, via email, social networks and through digital PR. The more people access your work, and the easier it is for them to share it with others, the bigger your potential customer base will be.

Review and assess. Regular monitoring of how effective your content is is vital. Take the time to look at who consumes what, how they find out about it and what your most popular topics are. Is your content reaching your target market? Are there any surprise interests? Does being topical make a difference? Is one author more successful than another? Review the analytics and feedback to your team regularly!

Be consistent. The final point with content marketing is about consistency. There are no shortcuts or quick wins – this approach requires regular quality content that people can rely on. So be realistic about what you can commit to and deliver on that promise.

Good luck! Don’t forget to let us know how you get on.