In the 21st Century, traditional marketing doesn’t work as
well as it used to. DVRs are used by people who want to avoid TV commercials;
print ads are becoming more and more unsuccessful as magazines have fewer pages
while Internet banners don’t stand a chance against the new ad block tools. But as the technological shift weakens old
marketing models, it also has created an effective and potentially even more powerful
tool for reaching consumers – content marketing. It is a phrase that can seem a little
nebulous but it is ultimately about “owning” the media rather than “renting”
the media. It is about creating content
distributed in numerous ways and tailored to each channel, whether it is social
media, e-newsletters, videos, blogs or the like. And it is essential to have a well thought
out content marketing strategy, which is where the experts of ICMediaDirect.com
(ICMD) can help.
ICMediaDirect.com, a full service PR and marketing agency, rose
to prominence through the business of reputation management, which is the
strategic, intentional control of Google search results to create the desired
impression for a client. In this way
they are “holistic storytellers,” talented in the art of communication through multiple
media and the application of Internet technology. The overall objective is to deliver
information that makes a consumer smarter, turning the content into something
valuable or entertaining for the consumer rather than an easy-to-ignore old
style sales pitch. Strategic content
marketing means adapting each ad form into a valuable piece of content. Applying it to PR may mean press releases
that address issues readers care about rather than a hyped sales pitch. In the social media sphere it can mean
generating humorous or interesting posts, not merely sales messages, or creating
easily shared infographics. With such an
enormous range of options, it becomes clear that most businesses would do best
to retain the services of a professional content marketing agency like ICMediaDirect.
Every year the Content Marketing Institute conducts a survey
to assess the marketing landscape. The
results are enlightening and should serve as a guide for any business
considering content marketing. 84% of marketers
who say they are ineffective at content marketing also said they have no
documented strategy. 58% of marketers plan
to increase their content marketing budget over the next year, while 73% said
they are producing more content now compared to a year ago. What this ultimately means is that if a
business is not thinking strategically about its content marketing strategy,
their competitors certainly are.
Founded in 1996, ICMediaDirect.com has over 18 years
experience in traditional and online marketing services, serving as a
full-service PR and marketing agency with a worldwide client base. They are experts in reputation management,
with a client roster that includes Fortune-500 CEOs, athletes, politicians,
executive level bankers, and top motivational speakers in 49 countries and
speaking 49 languages. Some well-known
personalities include music agent Cara Lewis, who represents Eminem, Kanye
West, 50 Cent, Rihanna, and Australian Olympic gold medal skier Dale
Begg-Smith.