Content marketing is not a new concept. Marketers all over the world practice this technique but we still rarely see this practice in the Thai market. So what is content marketing?
To make it simple, it is a marketing technique focused on providing valuable information to target customers; it is how you present yourself as an expert in your field and act as advisor or consultant instead of trying to push for sales.
In Thailand, we do not see many companies that practice content marketing. Normally, companies promote themselves through Facebook, Twitter, and websites but they only provide information about their companies (telling customers how wonderful they are!) instead of educating customers or providing valuable information to help customers make the decision.
We did some quick research and came across three brands that seem to be practicing content marketing consistently, they are: Nitto Tire, Tra Chang (by SCG) and Dumex Thailand.
These companies focus on providing information to their customers such as how-to tire tips (by Nitto Tire) and other tips and tricks on how to choose a tire, usage, and maintenance (for more infohttp://www.nittotire.in.th/tiretip.php?page=1). Tra Chang’s website provides comprehensive information on building materials (www.trachang.co.th) and Dumex Thailand creates a community for mother-cares (http://www.dumex.co.th/articles).
Though we see the practice of content marketing are mainly for B2C product in Thailand, in the US, B2B companies heavily utilised this technique especially on technical products where customers often has to work on product specification before reaching out to manufacturer or providers.
Based on the research conducted by the content marketing institute (www.http://contentmarketinginstitute.com), 93% of B2B marketer use content marketing! and 58% of them are looking to increase the budget for content marketing over the next 12 months.
You can find more information on this report on B2B Content Marketing 2014 Report.
Canvassco collected a quick summary about the practice of content marketing and developed a basis for how to formulate your content marketing strategy. We use Prezi which is a presentation software that moves from one content to another beautifully and it allows you to zoom in and out freely.
Though we see the practice of content marketing are mainly for B2C product in Thailand, in the US, B2B companies heavily utilised this technique especially on technical products where customers often has to work on product specification before reaching out to manufacturer or providers.
Based on the research conducted by the content marketing institute (www.http://contentmarketinginstitute.com), 93% of B2B marketer use content marketing! and 58% of them are looking to increase the budget for content marketing over the next 12 months.
You can find more information on this report on B2B Content Marketing 2014 Report.Canvassco collected a quick summary about the practice of content marketing and developed a basis for how to formulate your content marketing strategy. We use Prezi which is a presentation software that moves from one content to another beautifully and it allows you to zoom in and out freely.
The presentation consists of six key elements:
Identify your objectives. For example: brand awareness, lead conversion, customer services, retention, loyalty and etc.Identify your target and create your content. The target should not only cover the target customers but also those who have influence on the customer’s decision. For example, in the case of building materials, you can create different content for contractors, designers, architects and business owners in different sectors e.g. chemical factory, pharmaceutical factory or agricultural buildings/warehouse. Market research is a good starting point to identify the type of content that would be attractive to your target customers.
Plan your content channel. There are several channels you can use and for content marketing the online channel is compulsory.
Create a timeline to launch your content. Consistency is the key, issuing one article a year or 2 newsletters in a year, will not lead to success. A timeline that includes launching different content in various formats (e.g. article, magazine, white paper) should be scheduled and assigned to relevant content contributors (which should be someone in the organization who knows deeply about your product and market).
Manage your content strategy. Build up a team targeted towards content marketing and therefore, create a task force.
Measure content marketing success. There are several methods to track your efforts and investments such as web traffic, sales lead quality, number of subscribers/members to your newsletter and etc.
Check out our Prezi presentation on content marketing and feel free to drop us any questions you have.We hope this helps you to formulate your marketing strategy plan for 2014