How brands are using educational content to market to a selfish audience

“Education is the most powerful weapon that can change the world.”

That these immortal words spoken by Nelson Mandela would resonate so strongly in the field of digital marketing is difficult to believe at first. But if you dig deeper into the content marketing strategies of today’s forward-thinking brands, you come to realize that there’s some truth to this.

Educating prospects and customers through well thought out and truly remarkable content is a strategy that pays rich dividends. The bitter truth, whether you like it or not, is this:

Customers only care about themselves and don’t give a damn about your products, services, or passion.

This means that the majority of marketing content cannot be about your brand or products – it’s all about how you engage your customers, share their emotions, fulfill their needs, and solve their problems. This helps create a relationship of trust and builds a lasting connection between the brand and its audience.

Customers hate being sold to. If brands can keep just this one fact in mind, they will make great strides in creating more meaningful content that educates and entertains. Here are a few examples of some small and large (OK, mostly large) brands that have successfully used the information angle to attract prospects and engage customers.

Mint

Mint is a money and budget managing site that helps people create simple budget systems and stick to them. The site targets young adults – often recent graduates – who’ve just entered the economy with limited financial knowledge and a lot of debt.

Additionally, it provides personalized tips on budgeting and managing money, with alerts for unusual account charges, custom advice on saving money, finding your credit score, and learning how to improve it.

Intuit, the brand known for QuickBooks, is behind this site, and they’re killing it with top of the line content marketing. Creating a separate site just to help people manage their money and offer tips and advice on budgeting is an awesome strategy.

You wouldn’t even know that the site is managed by Intuit except for a small piece of text above the logo. A strategy with emphasis on free financial advice encourages a positive perception of the brand. No doubt, when readers are considering or buying accounting software, the first name that comes to mind is, well, Intuit.

General Electric

The way in which this 130-year-old company has redefined its brand identity is a resounding example for marketers the world over.

With a legacy that dates back to the legendary Thomas Edison and the experience, insights, and expertise of more than 13 decades, GE is an authority on not just all things electrical, but in the field of future-ready, sustainable technologies as well.

JW Surety Bonds

Sephora

Whole Foods

Schneider Electric

Wrapping up