Goodbye brochures, pamphlets, direct mail and interruption marketing. Hello blogs, videos, social media and content marketing.
Today’s savvy independent event planner knows that old school marketing tactics are falling by the wayside, being steadily replaced by a multitude of inexpensive, easy-to-use and increasingly innovative internet-based marketing vehicles such as blogs, online articles, e-books, white papers, social media updates, video and podcasts, webinars and forum discussions. According to an online article by James Ball (http://trustworkz.com/content-marketing-the-haves-and-the-have-nots ) over $110 billion will be spent this year on content marketing with over 90 per cent of business-to-business marketers using this highly effective marketing strategy. In addition, Ball’s article asserts that companies with fewer than 10 employees allocate 42 per cent of their marketing budget to creating and posting online content.
So with more and more businesses and organizations using at least one form of content marketing, what’s in it for you as a meeting planner? Besides an increased online presence and visibility, the benefits of content marketing are numerous:
Be perceived as an expert – High-quality content will position you and your brand over time as an expert in your niche or field.
Create networking opportunities – Connecting online can lead to offline meetings that will strengthen the virtual connection.
Passive income potential – By re-packaging your online content and selling it as an e-book, video series, online course or webinar, content can be turned into cash.
Developing relationships – Being able to reach a targeted audience and online influencers helps build trust and credibility.
Increased customer loyalty – A legion of Twitter followers, Facebook friends or LinkedIn connections builds referrals and increases loyalty through online communities.
Increased SEO opportunities – Yes, SEO still works, bringing in more traffic to your website. The more content you create, the more opportunities for keyword-rich candy for the search engines.
Customer education – Rather than aggressive sales or marketing tactics, content marketing allows you to educate your target audience on issues related to your product or service.
So now you know some of the reasons why you should be using content marketing, isn’t it time you got started? Or, if you are already a content marketing master, let us know about some of the benefits you’ve experienced that you’d like to share – just leave us a comment in the box below.
