Although content marketing has become one of the latest buzz phrases uttered at conferences, it has actually been around since 1895, when John Deere started Furrow magazine, a publication dedicated to information for American farmers. Following this in 1932, after seeing value in being associated with well crafted content, Procter & Gamble sponsored a radio programme via one of its soap brands, adding the term soap opera to the vernacular.
It’s from this historical standpoint that a Getty Images video recently published on its YouTube channel discusses how content marketing has evolved over the years to eventually give us a range of modern applications that that not only contribute to branding but also entertain viewers.
From Red Bull’s fascination with all things extreme to American Express’ open forum for business, various modern brands today incorporate branded content into their marketing strategies in order to put their stories in front of the target market.
But simply doing this isn’t enough. The content needs to be well crafted and entertaining enough to keep the audience captivated. And in order to achieve this, brands need to consistently generate sharp content that readers and viewers want to engage with regularly.
While Coca-Cola’s budget allowed the company to hire 40 writers in 2012 to turn its website into a digital magazine, most brands don’t have the financial muscle to do this. And this is where stock imagery can prove helpful.
Rather than having to produce all the content in-house from scratch at significant cost, business owners and brand managers can use the more affordable option offered by stock imagery and video footage. And in doing so, they can produce entertaining and visually appealing content at a fraction of the cost that full production would entail.
