Content marketing is easy? Dispelling the myths.

Content marketing, a mere concept a short while ago, has become part of mainstream marketing strategies for many food and beverage marketers. Some of the reasons for this shift in status reside in misconceptions about content marketing…like, it’s easy. Here are the content marketing myths that need to be dispelled.

1. Compared to other marketing channels, content marketing is easy: Nothing could be further from the truth. Content marketing is based on a process of getting acquainted, developing a relationship, and establishing trust with target audiences. The investment is long-term and so are the returns. By contrast, advertising is much easier in that a campaign is developed, creative is run in  appropriate media, for a specified period of time. The results are measured, for the most part, during and immediately after the campaign has ended. It is the repeated contact with target audiences over a long period of time by providing relevant content that builds the relationships and trust upon which a content marketing effort can be evaluated.

2. Content marketing can be accomplished with minimal time investments: In a 2014 B2B Content Marketing Trends report, the biggest challenge reported in maintaining a content marketing effort was a lack of time. When you consider the process of content marketing, it’s easy to understand this claim: a content strategy needs to be developed; continual creation of content that is time and labor intensive; distribution and continual promotion through email, social media, SEO, etc.; ongoing performance measurement and adjustment to the strategy. Content marketing is a valuable strategy, but it certainly does not fit on the short-term marketing strategies list.

3. Automation puts content marketing on auto-pilot: There are many routine functions of content marketing that can be successfully automated, but none of those involve content strategy and development, as well as continual promotion…the three most labor and time intensive functions. Food marketers who enter the content marketing arena assuming they can do some initial set-up and then forget it, will be sadly disappointed with the results.

4. Content marketing is pretty inexpensive: Expensive is a very relative term and some marketers assume that content marketing will always be the less expensive alternative among marketing strategies, such as advertising and media costs, or PR efforts. Content marketing does better accommodate smaller brands in that they can enter this arena for fewer dollars initially than the cost of a 30-second spot in prime-time, but big brands are spending big dollars on content marketing and their results reflect their elevated investment. Content marketing success is realized over years of consistent investment and content development, and that adds up to significant dollars.

5. Anyone on staff can handle the content marketing effort: Since content marketing is so time intensive, many marketers pass the buck on down the line, often to the least qualified staff member. Another assumption is that the youngest, although usually least experienced, staff members will be best suited for this task because they are more “tech savvy”. Creating relevant content on an ongoing basis requires experience and writing skill. Content marketing needs to be considered with the same importance as other skilled functions within the company and staffed with qualified individuals, as this is part of the overall investment in pursuing a content marketing strategy.

Content marketing is one of many strategies to be considered in an overall food and beverage marketing plan. However, like any marketing strategy, it is important to understand what you’re signing on for and to develop realistic expectations regarding timelines and measures of success.