5 clear signs you can’t ignore content marketing

That’s about the time social media tools reached their tipping points and organizations got serious about embracing them. As a result, serious-minded people argued over whether it was a fad, while quick-thinking entrepreneurs established themselves as “experts” in the nascent field. Executives furrowed their brows.

In 2013, the new social media is content marketing.

Sure, the basic concept has been around for years—decades even—but a confluence of things has made it a top strategy among PR and marketing folks.

Content marketing, also known as brand journalism (or its close relative native advertising), is the practice of organizations’ creating their own media outlets. Companies such as Dell, Coca-Cola, and IBM are creating what looks like—and in many ways is—a journalistic product.

In case you’re still undecided, here are five signs content marketing is the new hot thing:

1. Major PR firms are embracing it.

A number of small and mid-size PR and marketing agencies are producing high-quality content for brands, but this year, two giants of PR—Edelman and Weber Shandwick—joined the content marketing game.