Content Marketing
The Content Marketing Evolution—Going from Basic to Beautiful
Remember the famous quote, heralded by Paul Revere, “The British are coming! The British are coming!” Paul may not have known this but he was on the cusp of developing some of the earliest content marketing efforts known to man. Instead of hopping on his trusty computer, Paul rode his fearless steed through the towns to alert the community that, well the British were coming.
Today thanks to the Internet, millions of people can deliver digital content, reaching innumerable readers. Internet content marketing has taken on many forms, from simple websites and online shopping (e-commerce) to search marketing, social media and results driven content generation. Nearly every marketer today is leveraging the power of the Internet to promote, sell and educate the world about vital news and information.
From online PR and marketing articles to blog posts and Facebook pages; online content marketing has exploded over the past few years. Marketers have evolved from passively displaying a website to having an interactive command on how their products and services are presented and received.
Content Marketing…in the Beginning
Once upon a time, back in the crazy 1990’s a movement began where companies launched something called a “website.” Internet technicians and marketers marveled at “how cool” it was to be able to tell clients to visit their website! Most sites in the early 90’s, despite their best efforts, were stagnant, stale and frankly, boring. Some content marketers flooded their site with immeasurable copy and flash…once again, because it was “cool” where other sites included a simple logo and a phone number. While none of these efforts helped to bring new readers to their sites, these early websites were the dawn of content marketing.
During the early days of online marketing, a struggle brewed between web designers and content writers. Each discipline wanted to see more of their craft displayed on the pages, which often resulted in an online mess.
What? I can BUY Things Online? Awesome!
As the eternal power struggle between IT and marketing continued, companies introduced online shopping (e-commerce). The industry had a few hiccups in the beginning…remember eToys? One holiday season the one-time popular online toy retailer received so many orders, it couldn’t keep up. Some retailers who were not ready for the onslaught of online orders sputtered out of control and many closed their virtual doors.
However, as e-commerce gained popularity at the turn of the century, the 9/11 tragedy occurred, making shopping in your PJ’s even more desirable. Content marketing picked up momentum as online stores required that attractive, crisp copy be written for items.
Just “Google” it!
Just as e-commerce reached its pinnacle, one of the newest verbs in the English language came to fruition—“Googling” or “to Google” something. Search engine marketing came onto the scene with premier online search engine, Google allowing online surfers to quickly and efficiently search for any topic under the sun—in under one minute. Google visitors simply typed in a few keywords into the handy box and voilà — lists of websites dedicated to those keywords appeared; hence our new verb!
Adding to Google’s popularity were other search engines such as Yahoo, Dogpile, Ask and Bing. Every engine absorbing searches by readers, plucking sites written by clever SEO writers.
Content Marketing is Upon Us
Late into the early 2000’s, online marketers became more savvy about using SEO copy and reaching prospective readers or clients. Content marketers knew that the public wanted to read intelligent, clean copy that was relevant to their keyword search. They also knew that a call to action and interactivity was a high priority if they wanted results from their SEO writing.
Hence, the blast of excitement and innovation arrived online with the birth of the social media revolution, blogging and online PR. Professional web copy writers now have a strong grasp of how to use online search engines to their advantage. They use skilled techniques to keep the reader’s attention once they came to their site. From Wikipedia entries to Squidoo lens, content marketers are spreading their seeds of information throughout the Internet in a calculating, intelligent manner. There is a method to a SEO copy writer’s madness!
We’ve come a long way in only a short time. Content marketers view SEO writing and digital content differently today than they did when they launched their first primitive website. It’s no longer having a website that differentiates your product; it’s what you say and how you say it.
Only a professional web copy writer can deliver top content marketing results in this competitive market. For fresh copy with clean results, contact MintCopy, Inc., the SEO copy experts. Call us at 1.888.MINT(6468).003 today! Or use our online form to get in touch.
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