Content marketing is a wonderful thing. It can help your business grow and reach new customers, but you need to know the right strategies to use. With so many different content marketing strategies available, it can be difficult to find the right one for your business. In this article, we’ll discuss some free vs paid marketing strategies and how they affect your business.

Free Content Marketing

Free content marketing is a great way to get your name out there, build trust with your audience, build an email list and even build your brand.

• Get Your Name Out There—A lot of people think that by creating content for free you are wasting time or creating low-quality posts. The truth is that if you position yourself as an expert in your industry and create high-quality content that solves real problems for people, then people will want to pay for what you have to offer. You can use the free material to show off your expertise and get yourself noticed.
• Build Trust With Your Audience—People want to work with experts who know what they’re doing because they feel like they won’t waste their time or money on something that doesn’t deliver results. When someone sees how much value they receive from something free, then chances are good that they will pay up later on down the line when it comes time for them actually need what professional services you provide (and hopefully choose not another option).
• Build An Email List—This is one thing many businesses overlook when thinking about building a following but it’s actually one of the most important things you can do early on because it allows people who enjoy reading certain types of material know when new stuff comes out so they don’t miss out on anything important (which may happen eventually if there wasn’t any continuity between each post).

Search Engine Optimization

SEO is a free strategy long-term strategy. It doesn’t require any upfront costs and can be put into place at any time, giving you the freedom to determine how much time and resources you want to invest in it. However, those who try to take shortcuts by doing things such as “buying links” or “cloaking” their content will find themselves facing severe penalties from Google—in other words, don’t even think about trying it!

SEO requires patience and consistency. It’s not easy or quick; in fact, it’s often slow moving and tedious work that requires intense perseverance over an extended period of time (upwards of six months) before you see results from your efforts come rolling in from organic search traffic alone rather than paid advertising campaigns like Facebook Ads which tend not only require more money up front but also require constant maintenance thereafter due to the algorithm changes implemented by Facebook every few weeks or so in order maintain its user base happy while also making sure advertisers stay happy too because after all these people need money just like everyone else right?!?

Forum posting

Forum posting is one of the best ways to get your content in front of people. For example, if you’re trying to sell a product or service and users want to know more about it, they might visit a forum that covers their interest area. It can also be beneficial for bloggers who want more feedback on their ideas because they often use forums as a way of doing research before starting a blog.

As an added bonus, forum posting can help you build relationships with influencers who have built up large followings through their posts and comments on online forums. You can also use these relationships as opportunities for joint ventures or guest blogging opportunities later on down the line!

It’s true, forums are a great way for you to build your network, but they can also be a good place to get feedback on your ideas. If you’re trying to sell a product or service and users want to know more about it, they might visit a forum that covers their interest area. Some great examples of forum websites are Reddit, Quora, and Discourse.

Free Social Media Accounts

Social media accounts are a great way to get your content in front of people who are already interested in your topic. If you’re writing about how to grow tomatoes, for example, you can use social media platforms like Twitter and Instagram to find other people who are interested in the same thing and engage them with your content.

One cautionary note: don’t spam. While it may seem counter-intuitive at first glance, sending unsolicited links out into the world will actually damage your reputation as a thought leader on the topic. It might be tempting to just throw up some links every time someone asks about what kind of plants they should buy or where they should plant them, but it’s better not to do that at all than send off lazy replies with nothing but links attached. Instead of linking directly from within these conversations (which is still fine), consider linking back through an article or blog post where you previously explained your reasoning behind choosing certain plants over others — this adds value for readers without making things seem spammy or pushy.

Paid Content Marketing

Paid content marketing is a great way to get your message out there. It can be expensive, but it’s worth it. Paid content marketing is also a good way to test the waters before you invest in free content marketing, which will cost more in terms of time and resources than paid content marketing. And finally, paid content marketing can be used to target specific audiences based on their interests, demographics and psychographics (what they like/don’t like).

Pay-per-click ads

Pay-per-click ads are a great way to get your content in front of people. You’re able to target certain audiences, like those who search for “how to make a grilled cheese sandwich” or “what day is Labor Day?” You can also track how effective your PPC campaigns are (and make changes as needed).

The downside is that PPC can be expensive if you don’t know what you’re doing. It’s also a great way to generate leads, but not necessarily sales. You can use PPC campaigns to drive traffic to your website and then follow up with email marketing or other lead generation tactics (such as retargeting).

They’re still useful for driving traffic when trying out new strategies on a small budget, but as always: test the waters with a free strategy before diving in headfirst. PPC ads can do more harm than good if dine incorrectly. If you feel PPC ads are the best option for you, I would advise taking a course first to make sure you’re doing things properly.

Social Media Marketing

Most people look at paid ads as one of two options: either a Facebook ad or Google AdWords campaign. But there are other options out there that might be worth your time and money! Here are some examples of paid advertising platforms you should consider:

• LinkedIn Ads – This platform is used mostly by B2B businesses, so it’s perfect for anyone trying to reach professionals in specific industries or fields.
• Reddit Ads – If you’re looking for an alternative way to advertise on social media, Reddit has been making a big push towards advertisers lately (and they’re not paying any attention). This could be great if you’re familiar with how Reddit works and want exposure outside of standard social media channels like Facebook or Twitter.
• Amazon Product Ads – Amazon Product Ads allow sellers on Amazon Marketplace (which includes third-party sellers) to promote their products within search results on Amazon’s site via sponsored product ads.
• Pintrest Ads – Pintrest is one of the largest social media sites on the internet, and it’s a great place for ecommerce sellers to get in front of their target audience. Pinterest Ads allow you to promote your products within relevant Pintrest categories, which can be customized based on your business’s goals.
• Instagram Ads – Instagram ads are a relatively new addition to Facebook’s ad suite that allows businesses to run video or photo-based campaigns on Instagram with targeting options similar to those available for Facebook ads.

Conclusion

Now that you know the truth about content marketing, it’s time to start creating something awesome. Don’t let this post scare you away from creating content that will make your audience laugh, cry and think. It’s not easy, but if you want to sell something, then you have to speak in a way that makes people want what it is you’re selling.