Content Marketing is for the Dogs

Officially launching a website isn’t the exhale that it used to be. We certainly high-fived and enjoyed the moment recently after we hit the “Publish” button on a new social site for our client FURminator, but we sat right back in our seats after the high-five and got back to work creating more content. The all-original content with which we launched the site (comic strips, life advice, a calendar, practical tips, color and style palettes, breed mottoes, a blog, and on and on) is amazing, but it wasn’t enough.

Perhaps you’re familiar with the phrase “content marketing”; if not the phrase, you’re likely aware of the meaning. There are a lot of different definitions out there, but they’re all variations on the same general theme: content marketing is the act of creating and delivering content that your target audience finds valuable and that inspires brand-beneficial behavior.

Obviously, there’s a lot more to say about that, and we will say more about it over the course of the next few months. In the meantime, here are a few basic reasons to consider content marketing:

• Content marketing makes consumers feel closer to the sponsoring company. (source)
• Consumers feel more positive about a company after reading custom content on its site.
• 78% percent of CMOs think custom media represents the future of marketing. (source)
• B2B companies with blogs generate 67% more leads per month on average than non-blogging firms.

We’ve found these things to be true, and we’re seeing more and more of our partners come to us asking how to make content marketing a fundamental part of their marketing and brand strategy.

One of those, as we mentioned above, is FURminator, with whom we worked on a comprehensive brand, social media, and content marketing strategy, which launched with a social site and new Pinterest and Instagram accounts to tie to their existing social media outlets. We’re incredibly excited not only about their commitment to delivering targeted, valuable content but also about our part in creating and delivering that content to the right audiences in the right places at the right times beyond the initial launch.

Whether you’re a consumer brand like FURminator or a B2B ingredients brand, if you’re interested in learning more about how MarketPlace can work with you to define and execute a content marketing strategy, we’d love to talk, so please get in touch. In the meantime, FURminator might have some useful advice for you in the form of Old Sparky.