When new marketing professionals hear about content marketing, they generally think, “okay, so we need to blog, right?”

The truth is that content marketing is about much more than just blogging. Ideally, your content marketing strategy will revolve around getting your customers, clients, and fans talking about you on their own, and not just writing up press releases on a corporate blog. Here are just a few ways that you can use customer interaction to build content and increase your brand’s value across the web:

1. Reviews: Let Your Customers Speak

60% of people want to read reviews before they make a purchase online. Did the dress’ size run small? Was the color in the photo accurate? Does the product feel “cheap?” All these questions and more can be answered in customer reviews, but make sure your products are great before you go further. Once reviews are out there, it’s very hard to hide them without being dishonest.

2. Make Your Employees Accessible

People want to buy things from other people. If your company is just an anonymous shell with a few corporate contacts, people will have a hard time trusting you. On the other hand, showing profiles for your staff as well as links to their social media accounts and even company email addresses will help new customers see that you’re not full of crap. If you’re worried about spam or threats, don’t. I’ve put my email address and phone number all over the internet, and it’s only proved to be helpful.

3. Engage and Listen on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn

Most companies have a hard time learning that social media isn’t a place for them to talk about themselves. It’s a place for you to listen and engage your customers and fans. Follow them back, listen to their interests and suggestions, and let them post content on your pages for you. Once again, if you’re building a great company with a great service or product, you won’t have to worry about the occasional negative expression.

4. Video Q&A

With the increasing trend in smart phone usage, almost everyone now has a camcorder in their phone. Let customers upload questions and reviews in video format, and post them to YouTube. Then, take the time to reply and use the content to develop your own Frequently Asked Questions section for your site. This will take an investment of time up front, but ultimately save you from answering the same questions over and over again.

5. Offer Discounts or Contests

Everyone likes a free lunch, right? Well, so do your customers. Encourage them to spread the word and use a service like Rafflecopter to make choosing the winner super-easy. This can also be combined with things like signing up for email updates, submitting reviews, or linking to your social media accounts, and if the prize is compelling enough, you’re bound to see some results.

50 Ways to Carry Out a Content Marketing Strategy: