The Oklahoman Media Company has put together a Free Business Builder VIP Event to share tips on creating compelling content.

The free event, from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Friday at the Devon Boathouse, 725 S Lincoln Blvd., includes a complimentary lunch. Sign up at oklahomaunfolded.com/events.

Experts will discuss brand journalism, video storytelling, effective blogging and more. Every business that attends is qualified for a free evaluation of their online presence from digital marketing experts at BigWing Interactive.

The Oklahoman Media Company is parent of BigWing, The Oklahoman and NewsOK.com.

Content marketing provides a way to connect with customers. It provides the opportunity to increase customer loyalty and boost a brand while telling consumers the brand’s story.

But creating the right content can be an elusive endeavor, even for those with solid content creation experience. Here are four common misconceptions about content marketing and how to overcome them.

I’ve got a blog, so my content marketing is covered, right?

Blogging’s great for content marketing. It can help drive traffic to your website, increase SEO rankings and allow a business to stay top of mind with customers. A blog can even become a lead-generating machine.

But content marketing shouldn’t stop at blogging. Effective content is about much more than posting a keyword-stuffed blog to a website every week. It’s about engaging customers and creating value for a brand. So consider additional channels for content, like video.

The Content Marketing Institute notes, “Video is taking over the world, with more than 4 billion hours of video viewed each month. In fact, YouTube is now the second-most used search engine, right behind Google.”

I want grade A content, but I can’t afford video

You may not have the budget to spend thousands creating new commercials, but your head of marketing or co-owner has a great idea for multipart video campaign. It involves “Rocky” theme songs, stunts and exploding cars.

While this may sound like a killer idea in theory, keeping content simple, and affordable to produce, is important. Especially in the DIY game. Remember, Hollywood movies and Coke commercials have huge budgets and their content often still misses the mark.

A big helping of creativity mixed with audience research and practical assessments of time, budget, and planning is a surefire recipe for stellar videos with engaging content. And even if marketing money is lacking, a solid, simple script that possesses a story arc is key.

Make sure to include a “pain point” or need that is important to customers, and don’t forget the essential Call To Action.

I’ve written the blog and made the video, my job is done

There’s more to content marketing than hiring a SEO-trained blogger to write weekly updates and a local video company to produce four killer commercials. Content marketing requires a solid distribution plan. Producing amazing content doesn’t mean the world is seeing it. Content doesn’t gain visibility without a delivery strategy behind it.

The testimonial you shot last week likely won’t go viral, but compelling content has the potential to motivate an audience to take action if it’s properly distributed. Having a standard checklist of places you promote content is essential to not missing a promotional opportunity. Remember, Twitter users are different from those of Instagram, so don’t just post the same link across all platforms; keep things interesting by varying your messaging.

What is brand journalism and how is it marketing

The term “journalism” may not prompt one to think about content marketing, or marketing at all. But something known as “brand journalism” is emerging as a new form of content marketing. BrandJournalists.com explains brand journalism as, “involving telling journalism- style stories about a company that make readers want to know more, stories that don’t read like marketing or advertising copy.”

As consumers grow more savvy, they also are more weary of direct sales and marketing messaging. Big companies such as Intel, IBM and GE have taken notice of this trend and are getting into the brand journalism game. Brand journalism is a great way to have a conversation with customers instead of bombarding them with bullet points about why products are so great.