what is
CONTENT MARKETING? TALK WITH YOUR CUSTOMERS DON’T SHOUT AT THEM WRITTEN BY JEANNE RUNKLE
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e're all familiar with the litany of issues that craft distillers face in an increasingly crowded marketplace. Distribution. Shelf space. Standing out on that crowded shelf. Price versus cost. But what about your audience? What are their issues? While you think you’ve hit the nail on the head with an attractive bottle and good placement, that’s only part of the solution. Content marketing can take your bottle off the shelf, and into the hands of your new customers. What is content marketing? As defined by The Content Marketing Institute, it is, “a marketing technique of creating and distributing valuable, relevant and consistent content to attract and acquire a clearly defined audience — with the objective of driving profitable customer action.” Overall, marketing has altered
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course to become a conversation, not an interjection. Information is presented in a way that blends into a customer's lifestyle without being invasive. Think about the last time you were talking with someone, and another person walked up, stuck out their hand and said, "Hi! I'm Bob, YOU SHOULD DO WHAT I SAY RIGHT NOW!" Most people don't interact that way, and neither should your brand. Looking at the marketing in the craft distilling industry, I've noticed that most information centers around two basic messages: “Buy our spirit(s) at your favorite retailer(s)” and “Visit our tasting room.” When too many communications only say a version of "buy our booze," you start to sound like Bob the interjector. While these are absolutely the actions you want customers to take, purchasing decisions begin with a need/want and end with a solution, with research and consideration in between. Content marketing can help you close that gap in a way that works for both you and your
audience. The most important word in the definition of content marketing is “valuable.” You may think that telling consumers to visit your tasting room is valuable because of the quality of your spirits or the great tour you provide — but have you actually talked about those things in any way beyond the basic statements? The second most important word in the definition of content marketing is used in the term itself: “content.” Content marketing isn’t focused on tweeting 15 times a day, that’s covered under the social media section of your marketing plan. Content marketing is a long-term strategy focusing on longerform pieces. Your goal is to create engaging, interesting posts and articles that add value to your customers’ experience of your brand. Even if you’re not spending much money on your marketing, you may be unintentionally throwing away a valuable commodity: consumer awareness. You’ve caught their eye, make sure you keep their attention. WWW.ARTISANSPIRITMAG.COM