It’s Hard for Consumers to Argue with Content Marketing

Just ask Ford, as they recently posted another profitable quarter, and the concept of content marketing is being utilized in their marketing mix

Do you remember when the auto industry was in serious trouble? Can’t really say the landscape has changed fully, but one thing that is true, is that Ford has recently posted a second-quarter profit.

Since the economy is still looking quite dismal, it’s hard to attribute the added sales for the American automotive giant to more people spending more money.

Digging deeper into the topic, it seems that the marketing strategies behind the company have evolved for the better. It isn’t just about uninspired television commercials anymore, but the ability to reach their audience on a personal level.

Personally, I’ve grown tired of the typical marketing avenues the auto companies use. The majority of them aren’t new or exciting, or very clever. They have money so they are capable of running advertisements constantly on major broadcast networks. Big deal; anyone with enough money can do that. But now Ford is using the stories of their consumers to speak directly to the everyday person who has interest in a Ford.  Maybe the ways of automotive giants are changing, and becoming more personal.

Ford and content marketing

The Ford Story is a Ford-branded website that asks users to share their stories involving Ford vehicles. There are many personal stories found on this website, which include images, audio or video in addition to the text.

The site also looks to create further relationships through social media as they give the opportunity for users to connect via Twitter, YouTube, Flickr, or Facebook among a few others.

The site also hosts a “in the spotlight” section, which includes videos, photos and articles from Ford about the company and their cars.

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The point of this website

Ford likely created this website to create a forum for fans of Ford vehicles to congregate and share their stories with like-minded individuals. In order to do so, contact information from the user needs to be uploaded into Ford’s system. This is the typical information – name, email address, etc. – which then allows the company to send email correspondence.

Ways Ford can improve on this attempt at content marketing

Although it’s refreshing to see this open dialogue and desire to create a community of people who have common interests, the attempt could be stronger with one main aspect of content marketing that we at Mequoda Group teach.

Ford should be offering something to their users free of charge. Since Ford isn’t a content-based business, they couldn’t provide a free report or white paper, but they could possibly offer a video or audio piece that would only be available by sign-up and would have real value to the users. They could also offer weekly or monthly contests where sign-up is required to enter. Those types of contests could easily be made viral and would likely show a friendly, more giving side of the company.

Furthermore, the website has a section for ideas. Some ideas may benefit Ford vehicle owners greatly, yet I’m curious if there is any type of reward for anyone whose idea is accepted and used by the company. Yet another place the company could create a contest around.

Content marketing strategies are starting to pop up in some of the biggest industries around. Are you utilizing content marketing for your business yet? Do you realize the relationship building potential behind content marketing? Join us at the Mequoda Summit Boston 2010 and pay close attention to our Content Marketing 2011 session. You will learn about the method and what multi-platform mediums will be popular in 2011 and beyond.