[Key Strategy 6] Start with Content Marketing to Strengthen Inbound Efforts

This series commemorates the release of the book "10 Essential Strategies for Digital Marketing Success: Creating a Mechanism for Sustained Sales Made Easy to Understand," published by Dentsu Digital Inc. and authored by its top marketers.

Part 6features an excerpt fromKey Principle 6: "Start with Content Marketing to Strengthen Inbound."

 

The Inbound (Attracting People) Era

Today, consumers can not only ignore unwanted information but actively reject it.Web ads can be blocked with ad-blockers, and email newsletters can be unsubscribed from.TV commercials are skipped via recording, and with the internet providing necessary news, some people are even starting to question the need for a TV set itself.

Amidst this dramatic shift in the information landscape, the term "inbound" has emerged as a new marketing approach. It represents a shift from the traditional outbound method—bombarding consumers with ads and emails about new products or companies—to delivering content that aligns with consumer interests at the moment they want it. The goal is to let consumers discover the information themselves, naturally turning them into customers (or fans) of the company or product.

However,the web is overflowing with information. The places consumers visit—web newssites,curatedmedia (websites that edit, share, and publishcontentaround specific themes), video sites, and more—are increasing infinitely. Furthermore,updates about friends' current activities are constantly being shared frommultiplesocial media accounts.

Amidst this overwhelming volume of information, no matter which media you utilize, the approach of forcing viewers to watch, as in the mass advertising era, no longer works. Therefore, you must devise ways to get consumers to find your information themselves.

For instance, ensuring your content is easily discoverable through searches or strategically placing it where it can be encountered on social media are options. However, what's truly needed is a method to deliver the information people genuinely want to know to only those who want it, and to deliver the content people genuinely want to see to only those who want to see it. The marketing approach devised to achieve this is "content marketing."

 

What is Content Marketing?

The "content" in content marketing does not refer to commercial content like sports, music, or movies. Content is defined as "information that is valuable and persuasive to the recipient."* Its formsinclude digital creations likeblogs, videos, apps,web magazines,and social media posts, as well as non-digital formats such as events and books.

Content marketing is the use of this content to "encourage existing and potential customers to take actions that benefit your business."

While companies have traditionally connected with consumers through media outlets, they will now connect with customers through the content itself, regardless of where or how many platforms it appears on. This represents a new marketing communication approach unique to the digital age—one centered on sharing content with customers, rather than a media-driven customer approach.

Specifically,the foundation involves publishing content aligned with your marketing objectives from yourownwebsite (owned media) at your preferred timing. Regularly releasing new content cultivates loyal readers. Listen to what information these readers desire, occasionally engage users, incorporate their ideas, and plan and publish subsequent content. Here, acting much like a magazine editor becomes one of the marketer's roles.

Moreover, it's not just about creating your own content. Simply uploading it to your owned media won't guarantee an audience.You must also leverage official social media accounts, purchase various advertising slots, utilize influencers,strategize PR approaches, and consider content distribution methods.

Beyond distribution, preparing so that people searching for that content can actually find it is crucial. For instance,implementing SEO (Search Engine Optimization) to be foundby searchers,and ensuringlanding pages are optimized ( LPO : Landing Page Optimization)to properly meet the needs of those who arrive via search.

Recently, with the expansion of video content,there's also a growing tendency for content consumption to be completed solely on social media platforms.

Consequently, new methods are emerging to manage diverse content not just through owned media, but via dashboard interfaces (functions that aggregate and display multiple information sources) on monitors.

* (Reference) Joe Pulizzi, translated by Dentsu Inc. iPR Bureau, Epic Content Marketing: The Ultimate Guide to Creating Content That Attracts Customers (Nikkei Publishing, 2014)

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