Let's have a good look at content marketing, what it is, how it works and most importantly, how you could make it work for your business during this really challenging time...

First of all... How many of you out there really understand what content marketing is and how to make the best of it? Many of us are trying to wrap our heads around traditional forms of marketing and how to make social media work for us, so what, precisely, is content marketing and how does it work? Is it worth the effort? And why?

The short answer is yes. Here's why...

Ask an important question

Good content marketing should start with a question: how can I help? It all boils down to what the person you are trying to reach needs and in the tourism industry, what a person needs can be many things all at once...

Are they trying to find the best destination for a holiday? Do they need reassurance about travelling to places they have not been before? Do they worry about security? Are they concerned about language issues? Will they need additional insurance cover? How will they get there? What will they do there?

As a content marketer it's your job to help answer these questions before they've even been asked - to second guess your prospective guest!

Creating content for marketing purposes

An important thing to realise is that content is a craft. And it's not an easy craft to learn.

Some people are never going to be good at at content, just like others are born to create it and find the art of creating it easy. Then there's marketing. It's not just the "gift of the gab" - it requires a certain nous, an understanding of how to give people things they didn't even know they needed! Like content, some people are never going to understand marketing while others just "get it" and have a knack for it.

Crafting good content for marketing purposes is an art. And it's an art best performed by artists. This means that you need to find yourself an artist - someone who's both great and content and who understands marketing. Why? Because not all good content crafters are good at marketing and not all marketers are good at creating content.

Would you build a house if you had no clue about how to do it? Or would you hire an experienced contractor with a proven track record to do it for you? Would you repair your car's brakes by watching a few videos on YouTube or would you bring in someone with the proper credentials to do the job?

Content is no different. It requires skills not all of us possess. And content marketing requires people who understand other people and why they do what they do, what they care about, what makes them tick, how they spend their days and nights. And how to be of service to them.

Content marketers need to be constantly thinking ahead, planning for the future and building for it. They need to create content that is useful and that returns value for both the brand or product that's being marketed and the end user.

Always be adding value

For content marketing to work properly, the content being created needs to add value. When it comes to tourism, some of the greatest value comes through inspiring people to travel. Inspirational and experiential content drives people to get up off their couch and go somewhere. They want to understand what it's like to be at your lodge or camp... What it's like to see wildlife species in their natural environment... What it's like to be in Africa...

They also want practical advice - things they can actually use. They want tips and hints and to be guided into making the right decision. They want their questions answered before they've even asked them.

As a content marketer you need to be constantly asking: Who am I helping today? How am I meeting their needs? What questions do they need answers to?

Content needs to capture the attention, because when it does, it adds value to your brand. And if your brand wants to offer value, it needs to publish great content that an audience can view or download for free. Don't expect your end user to pay for your content. The reward comes in converting them to bums in beds.

Your audience's time and attention is worth more than money, and if your content is bang on the money, your audience will engage with it and, over time, trust and value your brand.

Your audience's trust is of enormous value to your brand as it allows you to introduce your product and ask for a sale.

What's it for?

Content needs a purpose. It needs a reason to be. And as a content marketer you need to understand what that purpose is and why you're creating the content. Are you trying to create brand awareness? Are you trying to build leads? Are you trying to convert leads to hard cash? Are you trying to inspire people? To strike a note with their innermost thoughts and feelings?

Most importantly, your content needs to be aligned to your organisation's purpose and its strategy. If it doesn't have either, your content is doomed. You need to have both short-term and long-term goals and understand the difference between the two. You need to have dedicated tactics for both and your content needs to speak to these.

There are a myriad content opportunities each and every day. But it's important to filter these efficiently and ensure that content meets a clearly articulated content strategy that everyone involved in your business understands and supports.

Content strategies should be usefull tools that help with decision making. Every team member needs access to that tool and needs to use it every day. It needs to outline the mission of the organisation and its vision and value statements. 

It needs to be clear about the purpose of content at your organisation and outline the types of content being produced, the audiences being spoken to and the channels being used to amplify that content. It needs to outline the topics being focused on and the priorities and goals for the year.

Your strategy comes first in everything, before a single word of content is written. If you're unclear about what its purpose is, you are never going to create effective content. 

Chat to us today about helping you reach your content marketing goals.