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I think it is fair to say that content marketing is now one of the main players of the online world.

But what does content marketing really mean? How can you apply it in your business and what results will you get?

Last month I was interviewed on Eagle Waves Radio  and this was one of the main topics that we covered. You can listen to the entire interview by pressing the play button under this article’s title.

Together with the hosts, Peter Moriarty and Belinda Luby, we talked about things such as:

1. What is Content Marketing?

2. Why should you do it?

3. What’s a Black Hat Strategy?

4. How can you come up with ideas for content?

To prove the efficiency of content marketing, we used this article as a case study. 4 of the key points we covered during the interview:

1. What is content marketing?

As you perhaps already know by now, there is a saying which goes like this: “Content is King”.

It couldn’t be more true. Content marketing has become one of the major players in today’s online marketing world. Your strategy, as a business owner, should by no means exclude it from your “Must Do” list.

What do people mean when they say “content marketing”?

It is the process of creating a piece of content and then syndicating it across multiple online media channels.

For example, you can create a video and publish it on your website. You can write a transcription of that video, save it in PDF format and then publish it on PDF websites (Scribd is a good idea). Sharing the article on social media platforms like Facebook or Pinterest is also another way of syndicating your content across multiple online media channels.

2. Why should you do it?

If we go back a few years ago, we see a pretty messy online world. Google was claiming to offer people the most accurate search results, but all that appeared in the search results were low-quality, spammy websites. So Google decided it was time for a change.

They started rolling out algorithm updates; the first was known as Google Farmer. Then Google Penguin and Panda came by and they changed the face of the internet forever.

What Google does now is it analyses the human factor in each website. This means that it takes into account people’s reaction to your website / your blog articles and from there it decides whether your website is trustworthy or not, whether it has quality information on it or not, and so on.

Another important “aftermath” of these updates is that now Google “prefers” dynamic websites instead of static ones.

But not all dynamic websites are good quality websites. Therefore, Google takes into account the frequency with which you post blog articles and it also looks at people’s reactions when they visit your website: how fast do they leave it? How long do they stay on it?

3. What’s a Black Hat Strategy?

If your online marketing strategy is focused around doing things which Google considers to be “bad”, then it means that you have a black hat strategy.

But it won’t last for long; your website will eventually get a slap from Google, it will drop lower and lower in search results and you could even get a penalty for not obeying the rules.

4. How can you come up with ideas for content?

It easy: all you have to do is follow the ones who are experts in your field. Follow their advice, monitor the online rhythm of your industry and think outside the box. Do you have an interesting idea which you can share with your followers? Can you think of something new about your industry? What are the novelties happening in your field?

Make sure you also stay on top of the news in what regards online marketing strategies. Content marketing is a big trend now, and it is here to stay; but there are other things you must take into account if you want your online business to be a deadset success.

Speaking of which…

A while ago I was lucky enough to talk with Nick Leeder, the head at Google Australia. We tackled over the topic of content marketing and I remember asking him, “Nick, what are the three most important things that no online business owner can ignore in their approach to online marketing?”

It turns out the three top things that Google looks at now are:

1. Video marketing
2. Social signals
3. Mobile use (which is predicted to overcome the use of PC internet by 2015)

So if you are thinking that content marketing isn’t a good fit for your business, think again. It is THE thing for any business! 🙂

I would like to know…

1. Do you use content marketing in your business? Do you have a content marketing strategy for your business?
2. Would you like to find out more about this topic?
3. What are the areas of content marketing which interest you the most?

Place your answers in the Comments section below – you’ll find me there, answering your inquiries and eagerly reading your comments.