E-commerce has boomed into a trillion-dollar market. This means that ads are everywhere. You can’t scroll through Instagram stories without at least one product, service, or person getting featured. On one hand, it grants exposure to cool new things, like novelty products and innovative apps. But on the other hand, constant commercialization is exhausting for consumers. So, they download ad-blockers on their laptops, apply spam filters to their e-mails, and give cold callers a colder shoulder. 

Companies and entrepreneurs recognized this, and they realized that the ways they had advertised their products previously were becoming antiquated. They also realized that they needed to find a new way to appeal to their current customers, and attract potential new ones. And so, content marketing came to the forefront.

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What Is Content Marketing? 

Content Marketing is a strategy in which valuable content is created by a brand in order to appeal to and draw in a specific audience. This content has no explicit intention to sell you anything. It’s only meant to be informative. This content often comes in the form of blogs, newsletters, e-books, and videos.

Pangea’s blog is actually a great example of what solid content marketing looks like! The blog is full of tips for existing college freelancers on the platform who want to develop who they are and improve on what they do entrepreneurially. But it’s also great for students on the fence on starting their freelancing journey. 

See, when Pangea puts out blog content, it demonstrates their value as a platform. Testimonials in the form of features show that it’s possible for students to not only get a head start on their freelancing journey, but that they can succeed in doing so. Posts on other freelancing topics, such as negotiation can be used as freelancing references. 

So even though Pangea’s not directly making any sales, the blog establishes its authority and makes its intention clear: it’s a legitimate platform for college students interested in freelancing. It’s playing the long game, but content marketing is an effective way of not only drawing in consumers, but drawing in loyal ones who really appreciate a brand and what it can do.

Resources To Get You Started With Content Marketing

Content comes in a few different flavors:

• If you’re interested in video-content marketing, this Hubspot course would be a good place to study the basics. However, you should also pay attention to what influencers post on Instagram reels, YouTube videos, TikToks, etc. Study what it is that makes their content so appealing to their followers/subscribers. 

• If you’re interested in written-content marketing, do yourself a favor and throw away everything you ever learned about how to academically write. Study copywriting instead. Copy is meant to be concise and colloquial, reflective of the way people actually speak with one another. And if you’re doing written-content marketing, your words need to reach out to your audience! 

• If you’re interested in visual-content marketing, study some graphic design. You’ll learn some of the unspoken rules of arranging visual content. After that, hop on sites like Canva to see what other people are creating. You can also look up infographics on anything that interests you for inspiration, like this coffee infographic. 

• If you’re interested in audio-content marketing, listen to podcasts. When you’re ready, grab a script (it doesn’t have to be your own) and practice recording. As you get better at it, you may want to invest in a mic and solid editing software like Adobe Premiere Pro (which gives college students a steep subscription discount). 

How To Find Content-Marking Based Work On Pangea

So, you feel ready to go from practice to professional work. Looking up “content-marketing” in Pangea’s search tab might feel like the obvious thing to do. However, these days content-marketing is less so its own separate entity, and is usually integrated into a variety of gig types.

Instead, think about the types of content that you like to create the most. If you can’t choose one, go on the Marketing options and apply for Social Media Manager related roles, as social media involves multimedia content creation. Think video content in the form of IG reels and TikToks, visual content in the form of posts, and written content in the form of post descriptions and video captions. 

But if you’re drawn to a particular type of content creation, click on the tab related to the medium. For example, if you like written content, hit Writing. There is usually a client who’s searching for a blog writer. Why can’t it be you? You may also find clients looking for newsletter writers, or writers who can update their website copy.

If you love visuals, check out the Design tab. Even if you don’t call yourself a great graphic designer, you should still hit it if you have a knack for meme-making. Believe it or not, more brands are using memes in their campaigns! They’re doing it to appeal to younger audiences, particularly Gen Z-ers. You might just find a client who’s in desperate need of a meme-maker. 

If video or audio is your thing, Marketing is where you need to click. Here you’ll find clients in need of videographers, or people who know about podcasting. You’ll also find clients who’re searching for people who can help with video editing or content creation for their YouTube or TikTok channels.

Content-marketing is only expected to grow as e-commerce continues to expand. 

If you’re drawn to any form of media, this post is your sign to pursue it (if you haven’t already).