Digital publishing Platforms

Here’s a story. Before the onset of internet, the way businesses reached out to their customers, was through general advertising. A singular line of messaging through newspapers, TV commercials, magazines and other forms of mass media. Businesses would bombard people with the same information about their products and services, create awareness and expect people to buy. But after 1995, the internet started to connect the world and put together a more cohesive social structure. And, businesses realized that they could now target different customers with different messaging, depending on their needs and problems. 

So, they came up with the idea of content marketing. The idea was to offer free content to people, attract them using the content and then promote their product to the people reading this content. So, businesses developed websites and started publishing free content on these websites. This content was centered around the customer, their problems and needs. For example, a simple google search for any problem or need you might have leads to a number of articles. Most of these articles are published by some organization hoping to connect with you. Once you click on one of these articles, you become aware about this company and their products without watching a single advertisement.  

This process turned out to be so cost effective that most businesses modified their marketing strategy in compliance with this new system. As a result, the internet started filling up with content. Companies that would publish the best content would attract the most customers and thus, sell the most products. This way, the ability to create great content became a marketing superpower. And, writers who created this content became the backbone of the modern marketing ecosystem.