Content marketing can be a tough concept to wrap your head around. The idea that we should market by not bragging about ourselves seems counter-intuitive to many marketers.
But really it makes a lot of sense. It helps to think it through with a real-life example. So let me tell you a story. It’s called “A Tale of Two Dinner Guests.”
Think back to dinner parties you’ve attended in the past. You probably remember that one person who talks a little too much about himself. The subject of conversation doesn’t matter— he always finds a way to spin it to be about him. He name drops here and there, and certainly shares lots of chatter intended to say, “Look at how awesome I am!”
Elsewhere in the room was probably a party guest who is always surrounded by a flock of people. She is smart and speaks with authority on a variety of topics. But more importantly, she’s a good listener and spends more time asking the right questions than talking about herself. Other guests find her interesting and respect her perspective. And chances are those same guests are quick to reach out to her when they need help in her area of expertise.
Now, think about your marketing. Which dinner guest are you? Do you constantly interrupt the conversation screaming, “Look at me!”? Or are you a good listener, letting others direct the conversation and providing useful and interesting insights?
Content marketing is about being that second guest. Spending less time telling people how awesome you are and instead, demonstrating it by providing interesting and insightful information about the topics your audience cares about.
In some ways, this isn’t such a radical concept for healthcare organizations. You probably send out a monthly magazine through one of the custom publishing houses. That’s content marketing!
But content marketing has become far more sophisticated since it went digital. Pinpoint targeting and real-time tracking are now the norm.
To learn more about how organizations have embraced content marketing and how your organization can do the same, watch our webinar – Content Marketing for Healthcare.
