Popular Myths About Content Marketing

Content marketing raises various, often extreme, emotions. Some people consider its dark magic in advance and without delving into the subject, they find it not for them. Others hate it intimately, arguing that it is immeasurable, brings no measurable benefits, and all the hype that is being built around it is unreasonable. Who's right? Where lies the truth in this case? In the following article, we deal with the most frequently repeated myths about content marketing.

1 - Content Marketing is very complicated

There is nothing to write about, no one to write about, no budget, and no customers online, there is no niche to fill. These are just some of the objections raised by content marketing. Companies often assume that this type of activity requires huge amounts of money and brilliant minds, which makes them available only to the largest players on the market. Where does this belief come from? Probably from incomplete knowledge about what content marketing is.

Exactly what? According to the definition developed by the Content Marketing Institute, content marketing is a marketing technique consisting in the creation and dissemination of important and valuable content in order to acquire and engage a specific group of target recipients and, as a consequence, to motivate the client to take actions that bring profit to the organization.

2 - Content Marketing Begins and Ends on the internet

Of course, the internet is currently the basic promotional channel, but content marketing can also be successfully done offline. An example of activities in the so-called real world may be the dissemination of expert leaflets, brochures or magazines - the example of the American company Deere & Company, which at the end of the nineteenth century began publishing a magazine dedicated to farmers. The magazine did not contain direct advertising but provided valuable knowledge about technology and innovation in agriculture. This activity turned out to be a great success and also ... the birth of content marketing.

3 - Content Marketing is throwing money in the mud

This belief is based on the assumption that content marketing does not sell - which is true, but ... only half. Well, content marketing does not sell directly. Nevertheless, it affects sales results. To assess and measure this impact, a number of factors need to be considered and expectations precisely set. The process of assessing the achievement of sales goals through content marketing activities may include:

• Sales volume,
• Increasing website traffic,
• Increasing website traffic among the target group,
• The number of generated leads,
• Relationship between generated leads and sales prediction value.

4 - Content Marketing is only to write

You can often be convinced that it is enough to write a few or several valuable articles to significantly improve your position in the Google search engine. Nothing simpler - we set up a company blog, add entries and a miracle happens, the website appears in TOP10, the number of visitors jumps to the ceiling, and the leads grow at a crazy pace. Unfortunately, the whole process is a bit more complex. First of all, the content marketing strategy must be combined with SEO. To achieve the best results, you will need to include methods such as:

• Optimization audits,
• Link audits,
• Competition visibility analysis.

The combination of tools used by content marketing and SEO, solid, multidirectional analysis carried out by an experienced specialist - all this can not only contribute to increasing and accelerating sales effects, but also to reducing costs.

5 - Content Marketing is the only blog articles

A blog is a place that plays an extremely important role on a website - it is through it that the brand can communicate with recipients and publish valuable content for them. However, it's worth remembering that this is not the only place where you can post content marketing content. In addition to the blog, among the places most used to distribute content marketing content, there are:

• Social media,
• Company newsletters,
• External websites,
• Industry e-magazines,
• Mobile applications.

What's more, articles (texts) are not the only form worth using in content marketing. Nowadays, recipients are increasingly willing to use visual forms - graphics, and films. The combination of different types of content can significantly increase the attractiveness of a given website and readability indicators. When planning them, one should always carefully analyze the needs and expectations of the target group to which the content is addressed.

Effective content marketing is not only a way to increase website traffic and improve its visibility in the Google search engine. It is primarily a method that allows you to establish a long-term, loyal relationship with the client, and build commitment and trust.