With any big, trendy topic—whether it’s a political figure, a new movie, or a teen pop star—you don’t have to do much digging to find the haters. There are always naysayers intermingled with the well-wishers, and often it’s best simply to leave the haters unaddressed. In some instances, though, responding to the critics can be both useful and necessary—and that’s where we find ourselves with content marketing.
Content marketing is all the rage among small business marketing specialists, there’s no doubt. We would argue that content marketing is trending precisely because it’s effective; for those looking to build brand equity and generate qualified leads, content marketing just can’t be beat. With that said, there are definitely some naysayers out there who believe that all this talk about content marketing is just a bunch of fluff.
By looking at some of their allegations in detail, we can get to the bottom of why the haters hate so much—and why they’re ultimately dead wrong.
It’s Just a Buzzword
Some will argue that content marketing is just another way to refer to marketing, period—that a bunch of marketers have developed this concept just to capture attention and generate buzz. The truth is, marketing and content marketing are not just two ways of saying the same thing; the latter is a subset of the former, just like public relations and advertising are. All of these are different disciplines, and if you think content marketing isn’t distinct from the rest then you simply need to research it more.
Content Marketing is Just Another Term for Social Marketing
They’re not unrelated, of course—but a lot of brands try to do social without actually having any content, hoping that paid ads will win the day. If you’re not working to create original content, though, then you’re not doing anything to prove your brand’s trustworthiness or authority. Social media marketing without content creation is DOA.
Content Marketing is Just Another Term for SEO
Not even close—though you can bet that content marketing will help with SEO, in the long run.
Content Marketing Can’t Be Measured
One of the oldest arguments against content marketing is that it’s impossible to quantify—but that’s a total canard. What about brand favorability? Brand awareness? Amplification and social reach? And that’s to say nothing of metrics that can’t be measured per se, but can certainly be identified and confirmed—like the level at which your customers are educated, the level at which they trust your brand, and so on.
It’s Just Brand Storytelling
Well, sure: Content marketing is all about brand storytelling—but please understand that this is no small thing. While some may suggest that this is a soft and nebulous concept, telling the story of your brand is actually something to approach with strategy and precision, as you seek to cast your company as trustworthy, authoritative, and likeable. There is nothing soft or trivial about it.
The bottom line is that content marketing is very much in the spotlight right now, which makes it an easy target for haters—but those haters really don’t have a leg to stand on.
To learn more, we invite you to contact the Grammar Chic, Inc. team today—either by visiting www.grammarchic.net or by calling 804-831-7444.
Amanda E. Clark founded Grammar Chic in 2008. She is a graduate of Eastern Michigan University and holds degrees in Journalism, Political Science, and English. She launched Grammar Chic after freelancing for several years while simultaneously leading marketing and advertising initiatives for several Fortune 500 companies.