Do you feel like you've exhausted all your creative ideas for content marketing? If you feel like you have been using the same ideas repeatedly, it's time to get bold and creative. Thus, this blog post will cover some of the most innovative content marketing ideas to help your business stand out from the competition.
Content Marketing in a Nutshell
Before we dive into the innovative content marketing ideas, let's quickly go over what content marketing is. Content marketing focuses on creating and distributing insightful and consistent content to attract and retain a clearly defined audience. The final goal is driving profitable customer action. In short, it's a strategic marketing approach.
Some of the most common types of content marketing include blog posts, eBooks, podcasts, engaging infographics, how-to guides, and more.
How Does Content Marketing Work?
A marketing strategy provides customers with valuable and insightful content. It's meant to attract, engage, and nurture a company's target audience. However, to have an effective operating strategy in place, marketers need to clearly understand their target audience's tastes and needs. Once you know what they are looking for, you can provide them with the content they need.
Content marketing works by targeting specific stages of the buyer's journey. Companies applying this approach aspire to lead potential customers towards making a purchase and ultimately becoming loyal brand advocates. The process looks something like this:
Awareness Stage
At this point, buyers are generally unaware of their problem or the company's solution. It's the business's duty to educate the audience about their pain points and how a particular product or service can help resolve those issues.
Implement marketing campaigns to boost awareness concerning the advantages and outstanding features your brand offers. As a rule, such content is more general and focuses on the target audience rather than individuals.
Consideration Stage
Once you have raised awareness, it's time to provide future customers with more in-depth information. This may help them consider your company's solution as a viable option.
How do professional marketers achieve their endeavors? By introducing more detailed content covering the product, its features, advantages, and, why not, disadvantages. Find eBooks, professionally researched blog posts, webinars, and podcasts featuring expert insights at this stage.
Decision Stage
That's where customers are finally ready to make a purchase. Here, the company's job is to provide content that helps nudge people toward becoming loyal consumers. Gated content comes into play to help you achieve this.
In simple terms, gated content is the kind locked behind a lead capture form. The users need to fill in their contact information to access the material. When done correctly, gated content can be highly effective in turning leads into customers.
Note: Gated content cannot be used in campaigns designed to raise a company's brand awareness and social visibility. Due to its hidden nature, it can only serve as the final push towards lead generation.
Grab Top 5 Finest Innovative Content Marketing Ideas
Now that we've gone over what content marketing is and how it works, we can move on to the cheat list with innovative content marketing ideas. These tips will indeed create your audience's most cherished and appreciated content.
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#1 Never Underestimate the Power of Trends
Not all innovative content marketing ideas have to be complex or time-consuming. Sometimes, all you need is to experiment with the latest trending technologies. For instance, try recording a podcast!
Podcasting is one of the most innovative content marketing mediums evolving over the recent years. It's a powerful way to connect with your audience on a personal level and build relationships. And it's not as difficult as some might think. All you need is a good microphone, some quality content, and an editing program like Podcastle.ai.
The field is open for experiments. So, why not give it a try and see how your consumers accept it?! Try recording a corporate podcast. How?
-- Stay up-to-date with your industry news-- Invite top leading niche specialists to share their personal and professional strategies-- Create a list of topics that may interest your audience and try to cover them daily
Use the following hints to have a better content plan for each upcoming episode. Podcast marketing is an ideal example of how audio production can become a company's go-to content strategy.
Learn how to record a podcast to effortlessly navigate through the process of podcast creation.
#2 Get Behind the Scenes
Take your audience behind the scenes of your company. Let them see how you operate, who your employees are, and what goes into making your product or service. Such an approach is a great way to show the human side of your business. Moreover, it creates a stronger bond with your audience.
Statistical data claims that approximately 90% of US consumers prefer companies implementing marketing personalization. Being open and willing to show your internal workflow helps build trust and transparency.
Some ideas for this tip include:
-- Giving a tour of your office or factory-- Introducing team members while telling about each employee's position hobbies, etc.-- Offering an exclusive sneak peek at upcoming products-- Creating a separate topic for the corporate podcast
Getting behind the scenes is another example of integrating podcast marketing into your business development strategy. However, the key to success is to be genuine and authentic. Don't try to exaggerate things. Keep it simple and let the audience see the reality behind your brand.
#3 Develop 101 Guides
Creating comprehensive guides can help businesses attract new customers and strengthen relationships with the current ones. It's an excellent way to create a personal brand identity and establish yourself as an expert in your field.
What does 101 mean? It indicates that your guide will cover all the necessary information on a particular topic. For instance, if yours is a branding agency, try creating online manuals for "101 Ways to Create a Brand Identity" or "101 Tips for Boosting Brand Awareness."
When developing such innovative content, remember that your goal is to make the learning process easier for your target audience. Therefore, use simple language and don't go heavy on terminology. Instead, structure your guidelines in an easily digestible way.
In addition, you might want to include visual aids such as charts, graphs and infographics—all of which are available for free at Wepik. Typing too much text may seem like a time-consuming task. In that case, you can always rely on tools powered by artificial intelligence. Turning audio to text has become a guiding hand for hundreds of dozens of content creators.
Besides, consider adding a video tutorial to your 101 guides. Such content is beneficial for complex topics that require step-by-step explanation.
#4 Hold Live Q&A Sessions
Q&A sessions with industry experts have always been among many successful companies' secret strategies. Live webinars are engaging, informative, and interactive at the same time. Moreover, it's another tactic that helps a company identify its consumers' needs and possible discontent. Show your consumers that you care about them and are willing to go the extra mile to provide valuable information.
To ensure that the live event goes as smoothly as planned, take into account the following tips:
- Choose an expert who knows how to speak in front of an audience.
- Advertise the upcoming webinar beforehand on various channels like social media, email campaigns, or SEO-optimized blog posts.
- Prepare a list of questions you would like to ask the expert.
- Encourage participants to ask their questions. This will show that you are open to constructive criticism and live discussions concerning your business.
- Record the session so that people who missed it can watch it later.
#5 Share Exclusive Content with Your Email List
An email list is one of the most valuable assets a company can have. It allows you to stay in touch with your target audience and share exclusive content with them on a regular basis.
People like to feel appreciated and valued. Therefore, don't hesitate to give your email list subscribers early access to new products, services, discounts, and other pieces of content. This will make them feel like they are a part of a cherished community that is the first to know what's going on in your company.
Moreover, you can use this tactic to gather feedback from your most loyal customers. Ask them to test your new product and share their thoughts with you. Such an approach will help you fine-tune your offer before making it available to wider audiences.
