Content Marketing
Quick definition
Content marketing is a strategy of publishing useful or interesting material for a defined audience, such as articles, videos, podcasts, guides or tools, to build the trust and attention that lead to customer action over time.
How it differs from advertising
Advertising pays for placement of a message. Content marketing earns attention by being useful in its own right, and the material often keeps working long after it is published. The two are often combined, for example by promoting a guide with paid ads.
Common formats
- Blog articles and guides.
- Video and webinars.
- Podcasts.
- Email newsletters.
- Case studies and whitepapers.
- Free tools and calculators.
Building blocks
- A defined audience, often captured as a buyer persona.
- Goals tied to measurable outcomes.
- Topics drawn from audience questions and search demand.
- A publishing plan or content calendar.
- A distribution plan for each piece.
- Regular measurement and review.
Measuring results
Match the metric to the goal: reach and engagement for awareness, sign-ups and leads for demand, assisted conversions and revenue for business impact. Content often works across a long path, so attribution that looks only at the last click tends to undercount it.
Example
A project-management software company publishes a guide to running sprint reviews, supports it with a short webinar and a downloadable template, and promotes it in its newsletter. Readers who download the template are invited to start a trial.
Related marketing terms
Related tools
Campaign URL Builder
MarketingTag the links you use to promote a piece of content (newsletter, social posts, partner mentions) so analytics shows which channel drove readers. It does not create or schedule content.