Content marketing: content is king, brand is queen
Contents · 10 sections
On 3 January 1996 Bill Gates published an essay titled "Content is King". In it he predicted that the real money on the internet would be made from content, just as it had been in broadcasting. Almost 30 years later the phrase has become a cliché, but the idea behind it is truer than ever.
In 2016 I wrote two articles on the topic: "Content is king, brand is queen" and "The power of content marketing". In this updated version I have merged them into one guide, adding the 2025 data, the role of AI and practical advice on building a content strategy that delivers results.
What is content marketing?
Content marketing is creating and distributing useful, interesting and consistent content that attracts a specific audience and turns it into customers. Advertising says "we are the best". Content shows and proves it.
An article that solves a problem, a video that explains how to use a product, research with new data or an e-book that captures years of experience keep working for you months and years after they are published. A social media post lives for hours; a good blog article can bring visitors for years.
The power of a story
One of my favourite examples is the Significant Objects experiment. In 2009 journalists Rob Walker and Joshua Glenn bought cheap items from flea markets and thrift stores for a total of 128.74 dollars. They then asked writers to invent a story for each item and listed them on eBay with those stories. The result: the items sold for a total of 3,612.51 dollars.
The objects did not change. The story around them did. That is the essence of content marketing: added value comes from the context, knowledge and emotion you offer.
Content is king, brand is queen
I like to compare marketing to chess. Content is the king: without it, the game is over. But the most powerful piece on the board is the queen, and that is your brand. Content attracts attention; the brand turns it into trust and preference.
Authority does not come from a big name, but from what stands behind it. Coca-Cola, Nike and Apple did not become strong brands through advertising alone, but through consistent stories, values and experiences people recognise.
What the 2025 data says
The annual Content Marketing Institute and MarketingProfs study of B2B marketing for 2025, with more than 1,000 respondents, shows:
- only 29% rate their content strategy as very effective, and 42% of the rest blame a lack of clear goals;
- 76% have a dedicated content person or team;
- the best results come from video (58%), case studies (53%), e-books and research reports (45%);
- for 85% of B2B marketers LinkedIn delivers the most value;
- 56% struggle to measure content ROI;
- 46% expect their content budgets to grow in 2025, with most new money going to video and thought leadership.
Formats that work today
Video
Gary Vaynerchuk says video is the new black, and the data proves him right. Short videos bring reach; long ones build trust. More in Does your business need video marketing?
Blog articles and SEO content
The blog remains the foundation because it lives on your site and brings organic traffic. What matters is not length, but whether it fully answers the question that brought the visitor to you.
Case studies and research
Real results from real clients, with numbers. Nothing convinces like proof.
E-books, guides and newsletters
Deeper content that can be exchanged for an email address.
LinkedIn and thought leadership
In B2B especially, the personal profiles of founders and experts often reach more people than company pages. See also LinkedIn marketing basics.
Webinars and events
According to CMI, in-person events and webinars are among the most effective distribution channels because they create a personal connection.
Content does not distribute itself
- owned channels: website, blog, email newsletter, social profiles;
- earned channels: shares, media coverage, links from other sites;
- paid channels: Google, Meta, LinkedIn and TikTok ads that boost your best content.
Content and SEO
If you have no content, there is nothing to optimise. Google reads your site through its text, structure and data, and evaluates content by E-E-A-T: experience, expertise, authoritativeness and trust.
An example from practice: an online store owner copied product descriptions from competitors' sites because it was faster. Google simply did not show his pages, because they added nothing new. Only after the descriptions were rewritten with unique, useful information did rankings start to improve.
The technical basics matter too: a fast site, a good mobile experience and structured data (Google recommends JSON-LD) that help the search engine understand your content. More in What is SEO?
AI in the content team
According to CMI, 81% of B2B marketers already use generative AI, but only 4% trust its output highly and 45% have no guidelines for using it. Google said back in 2023 that it rewards quality content however it is produced, but treats mass-produced text aimed at manipulating rankings as spam.
My approach is to use AI as an assistant, not an author: for research, structure, ideas and editing. Experience, examples and opinions should come from people. That is what makes content unique.
How to measure results
- Awareness: reach, views, organic traffic, branded searches.
- Engagement: time on page, shares, comments, subscribers.
- Leads: downloads, form fills, sign-ups.
- Revenue: sales and customers who engaged with your content on the way to purchase.
The next step
Start with clear goals and a real understanding of your audience. List the questions your customers ask most often and answer them better than anyone else. Publish regularly, distribute actively and measure. Content marketing does not pay off in a week, but it is one of the few marketing investments whose value grows over time.
Petar Dyaksov
Entrepreneur, investor and managing partner at SEOMAX, with more than 15 years of experience in e-commerce and digital marketing. He builds businesses in technology and e-commerce, invests in companies and supports entrepreneurs. Speaker, trainer and mentor at dozens of conferences, seminars and entrepreneurship programmes.
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