The problem with Content Marketing in Asia is that few people in Asia understand the concept of Content Marketing.
Try explaining to your buddy from finance what it is, then at the end of it, ask them if they understand. I bet 9 out of 10 will need you to explain it in more detail – and then to explain it once again. I’ve even had experienced digital marketing professionals look at me, brows furrowed, eyes squinting as they try to grasp the alien concept. The same with UX people too.
“What do you mean advertising without selling?” and “What’s the point of creating something without talking about our company?” are just some of the questions I have encountered.
There is a fundamental and urgent need to inform our clients in this new but very effective marketing tool.
It all boils down to one thing, and though it is an abstract notion, it is not a new one. Aristotle spoke of its elements many moons ago, now commonly known as ‘Aristotle’s Seven Causes of Human Action’, they include Chance, Nature, Compulsion, Habit, Reason, Passion and Desire.
Like a good content marketing strategy, each of the individual notions come together to achieve what some would call ‘influence’ or ‘branding’: A series of messages that changes the fundamental psychology of target audiences, with the aim of inspiring what people think, and therefore associate with a brand.
“But that’s marketing!” I hear you say, and you would be correct (hence the name). It is indeed marketing, but delivered in a different way on old and new distribution channels. It delivers messages that are interesting and oftentimes informative, it is targeted in its approach and it has its own voice. It speaks to the desired audience’s intellect or curiosity, it also latently influences how they feel about the brand that brings this informative and entertaining content.
I like to think of Content Marketing as marketing for audiences who have developed a tolerance for advertising in the modern age. It is no longer disrupting the audience’s attention, it earns and then owns the audience’s attention.
