What is Content Marketing For Businesses and Charities?

Content Marketing: you've almost certainly heard of it, but what is it and how can it help your business or charity to grow? This blog takes a look.

Content Is King, But What Is It Really?

In the context of marketing, 'content' can be literally anything that people read, watch, look at, or listen to, and that conveys information.

Content can therefore include:

• Blog posts

• 'How To' guides

• Whitepapers

• Information articles

• Case studies

• Infographics

• Social media posts

• Videos

• Podcasts

• Emails

Content Marketing: What It Is And What It's For

Now you know what content is, let's look at content marketing and what it's all about.

In essence, it serves three main purposes:

1. It is another way to put your brand in front of people to get and stay front-of-mind

2. It's a way to showcase know-how and expertise in an effort to establish credibility

3. It can be used to generate leads by sharing content in exchange for email addresses

So, content marketing is therefore all about creating content in various forms and then putting it in front of people in your target audiences and getting them to engage with it.

But, in order to have the desired impact, the content you produce and distribute has to have certain key ingredients.

What Makes Good Content For Marketing?

Good marketing content:

• Is created for your audiences

• Provides value

• Looks appealing and professional

What does this mean?

Firstly, your content needs to be created with your audiences in mind. It's about them, not you. You're informing and empowering the people you hope to attract as customers for your business or supporters of your charity, you're not explicitly 'selling' to them.

Secondly, and this is linked to the need for an audience-first approach, it needs to offer value. Content created and shared for the sake of it helps nobody - your audiences won't be interested in it, and you'll have wasted time and effort on it with no hope of getting a return.

Thirdly, it has to look / sound / feel professional and be inviting. You want people to notice it, feel compelled to examine it further, and see it and think "the organisation that created this is credible". That doesn't mean to say that every Facebook Reel you create has to look like Steven Spielberg directed it, but you also don't want it to look like you took no care at all when recording and editing it. Nobody bothers to watch, listen to, or read shoddy-looking content.

What might this look like in practice?

Imagine you're a health charity focused on supporting people who develop Type 2 diabetes. You might have two audiences that you want to reach: those at risk but as yet undiagnosed, and those who have already received a diagnosis. You'll therefore need to create content designed to address them individually, because the messaging will have to be different. When it comes to offering value, your first audience might benefit from knowing more about symptoms, when to see a doctor, how a diagnosis is reached, and the implications whereas your second audience is more likely to be interested in practical advice on living with the condition, like food choices and recipes, exercise, and accessing support. When it comes to conveying this information, some of it lends itself to infographics, some might be better as a detailed explainer page on your website, and some might be best as a series of informative videos.

How Do You Know What Marketing Content To Create?

Content is only King if your audiences want to consume it, which is why it needs to focus on them, add value, and look attractive and well presented.

But how do you know what they'll be interested in so that you can create and share the right content?

Like with most things in marketing, the key lies in understanding the core concept of value:

Value is deeply rooted in the lessening or removal of pains and / or the accessing or obtaining of gains.

So, when thinking about content creation, try to put yourself in the shoes of your target audiences. What are their pains, and what might they want to gain?

Use this to guide the content you produce.

Returning to our example of the diabetes charity, someone who is as-yet undiagnosed but concerned about symptoms they've noticed has a clearly identifiable pain: they have a health worry and a lack of information. Someone who has recently been diagnosed has a different pain: they need to make lifestyle changes but may not know where to start. Both of these can be addressed with the right content in the right forms.

Content Distribution and Promotion

Creating great content is only half the battle. You also need to distribute it effectively.

Share your content on relevant social media platforms, use email marketing to reach your subscribers, and optimise your content for search engines (SEO) to attract organic traffic.

Try to find ways to link different content together in order to give your audiences an even better experience. For instance, our fictitious diabetes charity could produce a simple web page "Symptoms of Type 2 Diabetes" that then links to a video which contains a call-to-action inviting people to download a symptoms checklist ("if you have more then 3/5 of these, it's time to see your GP").

It's definitely also worth considering paid advertising to boost visibility. Our diabetes charity could run search engine ads on Google targeting the sorts of keyword searches people might perform when looking for information (i.e. "symptoms of type 2 diabetes") and, on Facebook, could run more visually appealing carousel ads that showcase easy lifestyle changes and that offer a free download to people who have already been diagnosed with the condition.

The Psychology Of Content Marketing

There are several reasons why content marketing works, and they're all wrapped-up in human psychology.

The first is The Mere Exposure Effect: the more we are exposed to a brand, the more we come to like it. Familiarity breeds affinity, so the more you can get your branded content in front of people, the more likely they are to favour you over others in your space.

Then there's a phenomenon known as 'Reciprocity'. This is a throwback to the very beginning of human society, where our early ancestors first began to exchange things of value with one another for mutual gain, realising that in order to obtain something of benefit, it was necessary to also offer something in return. The inverse was the recognition that, having received a benefit, it was necessary to return the favour. Thanks to evolution, it's hard-wired into us and when it comes to content marketing, it works like this: a person who has benefited from your content will have a subconcious sense of indebtedness, and they'll want to repay it. If they're later trying to decide between buying from you or a rival that hasn't previously supplied them with any free value, they're going to be more inclined to buy from you, even though they may not fully appreciate why.

Measuring Content Marketing Effectiveness

Track key metrics to understand how your content is performing. Monitor website traffic, engagement rates (likes, shares, comments), and lead generation.

For instance, if you've got really good informative content in your blog, you should quickly be able to see which posts are getting the most attention, and could use that do plan some additional content on the same topic, perhaps something like a more indepth downloadable guide.

Examine the channels that work best - do you see more downloads when you promote your content on LinkedIn or is it Facebook that does the heavy lifting? Focus effort and attention on the distribution channels that work best.

Use this data to refine and improve your content strategy.

Content Marketing: Key Takeaways

1. Audience-Centricity: Focus on your audience's needs and interests.

2. Value Provision: Offer content that genuinely helps or informs.

3. Professional Presentation: Ensure your content is visually appealing and well-crafted.

4. Pain and Gain Analysis: Understand your audience's challenges and aspirations.

5. Consistent Distribution: Promote your content through multiple channels and track results.

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