Recent research by the Custom Content Counsel revealed that 61 percent of consumers trust and feel more likely to purchase from brands who deliver consistent content to their consumers. Jason Fried supports that notion in a 20 minute presentation (below) outlining how content changed how he sells to his customers.

In the presentation he explains the power of content marketing like this:

A lot of companies will have customers and the really lucky companies will have fans, but the really fortunate companies will have an audience. And an audience is something that is incredibly magical, especially when you’re a small business that doesn’t have a lot of money to advertise.

Fried’s concept of audience delivers a concept that turns traditional advertising upside down. Companies shouldn’t have to interrupt consumers with television ads and commercials. They can create content that’s useful, entertaining, and worth engaging with from the very start.

Fried offers one bit of advice for brands who want to jump on the bandwagon of content marketing.

“Whatever you do, think about the ways you can educate the people who might one day become your customers.”

His words are a great place to start, but they’re only the first step. Once brands have a concept they should create an editorial schedule, nail down their brand voice and tone, figure out a distribution strategy, and execute with consistency across platforms. In the coming weeks I plan to help readers become a master at the art and science of creating and marketing branded content so stay tuned and keep reading.