Content Marketing in the Digital Age

Content marketing is nothing new. Whether it’s a cave painting from 4200 B.C. titled “6 ways a spear can save you from wild boar”, sales posters on papyrus written in Egyptian hieroglyphics, or the birth of the “soap operas” in the 1940s, brands have been spreading their message through image or word since before any of us were born.

The question is this:
“Has the digital age changed the way brands market themselves?”

The short answer is:
“…not really!”

Be it a cave painting, a hieroglyphic, a billboard, an online infographic or a YouTube clip, we are still using pictures to tell each other stories, and marketing – traditional or digital - is simply telling the story of why your brand is better than the rest.

Marketing through Digital Channels

What has changed is the way we deliver these stories, how quickly we deliver them and how we measure engagement with them.

John Wanamaker (1838-1922), considered by some to be a marketing pioneer, once famously said:

“Half the money I spend on advertising is wasted; the trouble is, I don't know which half.”

Marketers everywhere share his pain – you can spend hours coming up with the perfect creative and thousands on premium placement, but how do you measure the impact?

Had John lived in the digital marketing age, he may not have harboured this sentiment. Through channels such as social media marketing, search engine advertising and sponsored web content, we can not only see who is clicking and if they make a purchase – we can see what else they’ve been looking at, what they bought instead of our product, and how they felt about our ad.

Digital Marketing Strategies

Digital marketing is a marathon run at a sprint pace. Monday’s new disruptive technology is Tuesday’s standard, and on Wednesday, someone will offer a more efficient version at a lower price and with ten other features included. To keep up, you need a creative strategy that can handle the pace.

But how do you make sure your message doesn’t get lost in the noise? Everyone notices a purple cow, but after all your competitors and their friends have produced their own purple cows, yours is just one more in the bunch. The key to success in the digital space is letting go of the cow once the purple milk has stopped flowing.

There is no “magic marketing bullet”. Successful content marketing requires a constant stream of new creative ideas from people who can stand the pace of the digital world. Even “evergreen” content needs fresh creative approaches to keep it at the top of the internet’s attention.

Who is your digital partner?

If you’re running a successful business, it’s all but guaranteed you don’t have time to get involved in marketing beyond top-level decision-making. You need a digital partner – a team of creative and digital-ready people who can keep the creative pipeline flowing.

Creative Marketing Strategy by Boylen

We are proud of our creative team – whether it’s through print publishing and advertising, responsive web development, search engine optimisation, social media marketing and advertising, email marketing – our team keeps on delivering exceptional quality digital solutions year in, year out, to some of the biggest names in your industry.

Do you think you’ve got what it takes to succeed in the digital marketing space? Let us know – we would love to be your digital partner.