Content marketing has not changed since 1895

If you think content marketing is just the latest fad in any number of suggested strategies for digital growth, you can look no further than a farming publication to see why this is wrong.

What is The Furrow?

First published in 1895, The Furrow is a publication by the John Deere company most notably known for its tractors.

At its peak in 1912, the magazine was being bought by 4 million readers. Even now, there is a global readership of around 2 million and almost 80% of those still prefer to buy the paper version.

It’s not all about the tractors

What really makes this publication stand out is that it’s not designed to overly promote John Deere products. What it is designed to do is to help farmers solve their everyday problems.

“Even the most technical subject has to have a human story behind it. We’ve always been able to convince the management that the content shouldn’t be about John Deere equipment. We’ve stuck to that over time.”

Farmers’ most pressing issues are addressed by a knowledgable team of writers or other experts who can answer those questions. Every edition is full of useful tips and guides on the best way to go about those awkward tasks.

How content marketing relates to search results

Even the way we search the internet these days is changing. Gone are the days when you used to be able to write an article with all your keywords stuffed in there and rank high on the first page.

With tools like Siri, OK Google, and Alexa, we are more than ever searching for the answer to a specific question. The farmer, for example, will no longer be searching for something like “plow field incline”, they’ll be asking “What’s the best way to plow a field on an incline?”

The difference is that these questions aren’t always related to buying a new product or service, sometimes people just want some good advice. Because John Deere is a well-respected business in farming, their advice is going to be highly respected.

By positioning themselves as a leading source of information AND producer of high-quality equipment, John Deere has remained a recognised name for over 120 years.

How you can conquer content marketing too

People reading your content are not silly, they know the difference between a pushy sales pitch and some good advice. It doesn’t matter if it’s a thousand-word article or a Tweet, that ‘buy our product’ message is clear.

Establishing your business as a respected source of knowledge and expertise, on the other hand, is what keeps you at the top of your industry for over a century.

Your business will be filled with staff that have plenty of the skill and experience that your readers, and potential customers, are looking for. There’s no better place to look for content ideas than from the people that you work with.

Take the time to speak with everyone about customer feedback or solutions to little problems that they’ve come across over the years. Maybe there’s an underused feature of your product, a way to improve a service that customers rarely know about, or just ‘a knack’ they have of doing things that could help others.

What has changed since 1895?

Of course the technology available to us today is far more than to the farmer of the 19th century. Whilst a printed publication of text and photos proved to be extremely popular, video is one of the most useful ways to create ‘how-to’ explanations.

Write a detailed article, add some images, add a video, promote it on social media, send out email newsletters about it. If the information you provide is useful enough, people will start to see you as an expert in your field.

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