{"id":9159,"date":"2024-07-22T20:30:57","date_gmt":"2024-07-23T03:30:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sparktoro.com\/blog\/?p=9159"},"modified":"2025-01-27T15:30:09","modified_gmt":"2025-01-27T23:30:09","slug":"the-smarter-not-harder-guide-to-content-marketing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sparktoro.com\/blog\/the-smarter-not-harder-guide-to-content-marketing\/","title":{"rendered":"The Smarter-Not-Harder Guide to Content Marketing in 2024"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Classic content marketing is dead. I don\u2019t say that lightly. Most digital marketing techniques don\u2019t truly die, but the old way of doing content marketing\u2013finding high-volume keywords, then writing blog posts that target those keywords and trying to get your post ranking in Google for them; dead. Why? Because Google is no longer the primary or largest source of information consumption on the web. And we\u2019ve got the data to prove it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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On the left are the web\u2019s largest traffic referrers<\/a>. And among sites that send direct clicks, Google dominates. But, on the right, we see where people spend time and consume content<\/a>. And that\u2019s a far more diverse, distributed group of properties, in which Google (and all other search engines) are a mere 10% of the pie. Put another way: Compared to all the major platforms, Google sends the vast majority of traffic. But fewer people are hanging out on Google; they\u2019re mostly hanging out on social, news and productivity sites.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What does that mean? That it takes a lot more than just SEO to win in content marketing today. Your content needs to be present before people start searching for the brands and websites they\u2019ve learned about. Before they seek out answers to their problems. Before their journey to a solution even begins.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Modern content marketing means being present in the places where your audience pays attention, consumes content, and learns about the problems you solve. In 2009, that might reasonably have been \u201cmostly Google.\u201d But in 2024, it\u2019s barely Google. Google merely gets credit for the ideas, preferences, and information needs created somewhere else.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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All this means is that you need more of a modern content marketing strategy \u2014 because more than ever, you need to win in areas that are broader than search.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A modern content marketing strategy<\/a> is audience-first. The first step is discovering where your audience already hangs out, how they\u2019re spending their time online, and how you can fit into the conversations they\u2019re having and consuming. I know\u2026 it sounds exhausting. Fortunately, we have a guide to take you from start to finish, combining the best of both SEO and audience-first worlds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Step 1: Uncover your audience\u2019s sources of influence<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Some audiences do very little outside of searching Google. Others are deeply active on specific communities inside particular social networks. Some have a rich, vibrant ecosystem of blogs, newsletters, niche publishers, and web forum communities. Others concentrate almost entirely around YouTube channels and podcasts. No two are the same. Your first job is figuring out what mix of sources already have your customers\u2019 attention. Because without that knowledge, your content marketing is doomed to fail.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Thankfully, this is a straightforward process. There are three key tools at your disposal:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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  1. Surveys<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  2. Interviews<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  3. Software with data at scale<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n

    Most content marketers are already familiar with one kind of audience research: keyword research tools. Google Trends<\/a>, Ahrefs<\/a>, Moz<\/a>, Semrush<\/a>, and dozens of others exist.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    But if you want to know the:<\/p>\n\n\n\n