I was reminded of the long history of content marketing while listening to a webinar earlier this week. We tend to think that everything we have discovered on the web is new, or at least as old as the nineties, when the web revolutionized our world.
Do you remember John Deere? Right, tractors, those huge farm machines that none of us can name? The John Deere Company remains the farm equipment partner for more than 175 years after its founder founded the company.
In the late 1830s, John Deere developed a steel-tipped plow. A blacksmith in Illinois, Deere was well aware of the value of a steel point to local farmers struggling with the sticky soil of the Midwest to create the furrows needed for planting. His first year, he sold 10 of his new plows and began to triple his sales every year.
How did you market?
Deere organized classes for local farmers who were hungry for knowledge on better ways to farm, then created a magazine that is still in circulation today: The groove. Good, even great content marketing involves creating compelling stories that hit a customer’s pain points. John Deere capitalized on the need for knowledge; By becoming an expert in agriculture, Deere began making himself and his essential products for his customers.
Are you thinking that this story does not apply to us and to us in this information saturated of the 21st century? Think again.
Yes, we are saturated with information, constantly … from our phones, media and from our friends and colleagues. But how much of what we hear and read is Useful? How much can we apply to ourselves, to our financial and physical well-being?
How fast could your business grow if you started a daily, weekly or even monthly health blog or newsletter? Or exercise? Or something that interests you or interests you?