The concept of content marketing is when marketers offer information to educate or entertain their audience about their industry, product, or service.  It’s less about being promotional and more about being a vehicle for teaching prospects about what you do and how they can benefit from your products/services.  Association publishers have always produced content via their association publications , so this is not entirely new.  Content marketing has evolved to where now the emphasis is on developing and distributing content on digital channels.  Associations that had previously relied on reaching prospects through traditional avenues, including their print publications, can now reach a larger pool of potential advertisers by adapting that content to a digital platform. 

Tactics: You don’t have to get rid of your print publication, but consider repurposing the content from print to online, so that it is available in both online and offline.  Here are some ideas for reaching potential advertisers:

• Create a whitepaper with relevant information about your industry for your target advertiser and distribute it with your email marketing.
• Turn your content into a webinar or podcast that addresses common questions or concerns from advertisers.
• Develop an eBook based on your print content.
• Optimize all of your content for search engines so that they are found easily and can link searchers back to your website. 

Benefit: Content marketing is less expensive than traditional marketing and more effective at reaching advertisers because it builds credibility and trust for your association.  Regular content marketing also positions your association as a thought leader in your industry and keeps you consistently in front of advertisers until they are ready to buy.

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