Ben Stroup

Content marketing is still a relatively new, emerging discipline that companies are trying to wrap their minds and processes around. In the midst of all the effort, many find themselves asking a critical question…”Is content marketing worth the effort?”

That’s a legitimate question that I think these five statistics will address.

• 90% of consumers find custom content useful
• 78% of people believe that organizations providing custom content are interested in building good relationships with them
• 77% of people understand that an organization’s goal for custom content is to sell them something, but are OK with it as long as it provides value
• 73% of people prefer to get information about an organization in a collection of articles rather than in a traditional advertisement
• 61% of people feel better about a company that delivers custom content and are more likely to buy from that company

Marketing has changed. Interruption has been exchanged for permission-based content that is explicitly and implicitly beneficial to the reader. It’s not about a transaction but an ongoing relationship grounded in mutual trust and respect for one another.

How are you shifting your marketing strategy to account for the content cravings of your target audience?

Ben Stroup is a content activist in a post-paragraph world. He is chief broker of opportunity at Ben Stroup Enterprises. Connect with Ben via email, Twitter, and Google+. Subscribe via email to learn how to use content to move people to action.