Consumers receive dozens of promotional messages through a variety of marketing channels on a daily basis. As social media marketing expert and founder of Social Media Examiner Michael Stelzner recently told the Content Marketing Institute, the abundance of communications received by consumers has built a barrier that tends to keep marketers out. Plus, Stelzner explains that study conducted by Edelman reveals that only a one-third of consumers trust messages from brands.
Quality content marketing can help businesses overcome that these obstacle[s], however. Stelzner suggests consumers are looking for good information from insightful sources. By crafting relevant and valuable content, businesses can show consumers that their needs come first. This helps the sponsoring organization establish itself as one that can be trusted and, subsequently, earn money online.
Stelzner's Social Media Examiner is a living testament to the ability for brands to generate revenue by offering informational content. In 12 months, content gained the site 40,000 email subscribers and $1 million in revenue.
“Figure out a way to take those marketing messages out of your content. Everyone hates to be marketed to, so why surround your marketing message with content? That’s the essence of the elevation principle,” Stelzner told CMI.
Brafton recently reported that more companies are beginning to realize the potential of content marketing efforts. According to a study conducted by Focus, 47 percent of businesses plan to make online content marketing their top investment in 2011.
