Here’s an old school moment in the content marketing arena:  Whatever happened to print ads, and why did businesses buy them?

Print ads used to be the hallmark element of ad campaigns, especially for services offered to other businesses. As shared in a recent Content Marketing Today article, they were often placed in trade publications or industry-specific magazines, and an element of believability and reputation came along with using a distinguished type of publication. Content marketing to build customer trust was built-in to the ads, in many ways, because of the weight the publication name carried.

Today, content marketing offers a world – no, a galaxy – of options for specifically targeting customer groups, knowing their preferences and responding to them with real, actual dialogue. However, the trust/relationship factor is even more critical and more of a challenge than before. Companies must use content marketing to build customer trust in creative ways across multiple platforms, such as blogs that identify them as the expert; skilled use of keywords; consistent, valuable social media posts; and videos that not only engage, but show repeated real-world experiences with the product or service.

What can we learn about content marketing from old school print ad campaigns? 

– Like the print ad campaigns of yesterday, content marketing to build customer trust is still focused on giving customers real value in the information and real value in helping them understand how you can solve a problem they have.
– Content marketing today can’t just barge in … it is still most effective if it’s permission based and respects the customer’s desires. Approach this by offering high-quality, high-value information and not just “junk” to get website hits. Ask for permission with email marketing messages.
– Respond quickly and respectfully across social media posts and platforms when customers make a comment.
– Allow your own brand reputation and top-notch experience to create the open door before you make the ask.
– Social media and content marketing is above all about conversations – and these need to be genuine, consistent and valuable.

Content marketing to build customer trust isn’t really, in essence, that far away from the print ad campaigns that were once so popular. You have many more avenues for creating your message strategy, but they’re all connected by allowing the customer to get to know you first rather than assuming you already know what they want.