Reaching consumers through online content is the trendy “new” way to advertise and market brands. The big problem is that there’s no true definition of content marketing or “native advertising” and, while many publishers, brands and marketers argue about said definition, they’re missing the fact that no matter what they provide to consumers, they should be focusing on the experience that they’re creating rather than just on simply creating a ton of content for consumers to digest.
The questions that advertisers and brands should be asking about content marketing run along the lines of “how do we use this technology to deliver an amazing customer experience?” rather than “what’s the best way to use this new platform to ramp up sales?”
The point is that, with the use of mobile devices exploding, there is a huge demand to fill in marketing gaps, and content and/or native advertising (which are actually one and the same) seems to be the best way to do it. The discussion should actually focus on customer experience, brand advocacy and innovation, however, rather than just shoving as much content onto a webpage or browser as possible.
The good news is that content marketing provides marketers a valuable new platform for ideas that can really challenge the status quo and build a solid bridge between a brand and its consumers, something that will create the kind of affinity that most companies would die for.
Now it’s up to these marketers (and publishers, and brands) to decode this “new” advertising platform and prove that new technology mixed with new ideas can drive brand awareness and increase ROI.
