Content marketing as a way to attract, engage, and retain customers has been around since before the term itself was coined. And even now, new technology could change it again.
The most commonly cited example of early content marketing is John Deere’s “The Furrow” magazine, launched in 1895. The Journal for the American Farmer published practical agricultural articles and provided farmers with practical advice on farming techniques, crop management, and machinery maintenance.
mutual relationship
For John Deere, The Farlow was in some ways better than advertising because it was owned by the company and had a good relationship with its readers.
John Deere provided real value with informative, informative and entertaining articles. By 1912 the number of subscribers to this magazine reached 4 million.
And real value creates a sense of reciprocity. Readers recognized John Deere as an expert and felt an obligation to the brand. This obligation extended to their purchases of John Deere products sold on The Furrow.
This is the purpose of content marketing: to attract, engage, and retain customers. By the way, “The Farlow” is Still published Scheduled to be released in print and online in 2024.
Another example of content marketing is the consumer packaged goods industry: cereal boxes and candy often contain cartoons, stories, historical or scientific anecdotes, and prizes.
Kids may love the rainbow-colored General Mills Lucky Charms cereal. and Entertainment box.
Youth
Content marketing was introduced by marketing guru Jay Baer in 2013. his book“Youtility: Why smart marketing is advocacy, not hype.”
The guiding principle of this book was to prioritize creating content that is useful and not just for promotional purposes.
As a result, many marketers have shifted their focus to help rather than sell. As the distance between content and revenue has grown, these marketers have sought new performance metrics.
Fortunately, they found those indicators at: organic search traffic and Attention on social media. Both required engaging content.
sale
Circa 2024, content marketers are once again looking for ways to drive sales from content. This new initiative combines live streams, audio and video, generative artificial intelligence, Augmented reality and virtual reality.
Each has the potential to attract, engage, and retain customers.
for example, e-commerce live streaming. Attract potential customers with real-time product showcases and enable hosts to answer questions and assist with purchasing decisions.
The live stream itself may be recorded and edited into a social media post. Shopper questions can become FAQs on your site. E-commerce live streaming A more complete version About content marketing.
Therefore, ecommerce marketers should look for ways to integrate new content types. Don’t leave out articles. Instead, add to them.