E-marketing Strategy: The Rise and Meaning of Content Marketing
For too many years advertisements have been designed to distract us from the path of our natural curiosity. Even the surrounding content itself has been reconstructed to make the advertisements more effective—television shows are written to create cliff-hanger scenarios every 12.75 minutes; the first half of magazines are crammed with gorgeous article openers and gorgeous ads featuring gorgeous people—the actual articles are pushed to the back pages; radio announcers are constantly touting the amazing songs you'll hear… just after this break!
Our attention is bombarded. Our curiosities are diverted. Our interests are manipulated. And, for the sake of our own sanity, it has to stop. Luckily, it can.
Content marketing is a more evolved promotional approach that promotes content discovery—not content interruption. Humans are naturally curious. We're born into this world with the desire to explore, grow, learn and laugh. If given the freedom and left to our own will, we would all follow the path laid down by our own curiosities. While traveling along that path, each of us would naturally—and at our own pace—discover new ideas, innovators, friends and tools. Content marketing aims to help people along their own path of curiosity by providing valuable information in the places where those people seek it out.
Imagine you're a budding chef pursing your interest in cooking. In following your bliss, you've discovered an interruption- and advertisement-free web video series from one of the top chefs in the world. You find the chef's lessons and teaching style to be the best available. Your interest is piqued, your enthusiasm is strong, and you want more. Luckily, the chef has also written a book, produced a set of DVDs, and even offers a subscription-based newsletter with additional instruction. You go all in—books, DVDs and newsletter. And, in your excitement about your new discovery, you even tell a few of your budding-chef buddies.
