This morning when I woke up, I went to my "go to." No, not my coffee, but my smartphone to check email, see what's happening in the news and socialize on Facebook. It turns out, I'm not alone. More and more people start their days viewing "content marketing." It's not only how we stay connected, but also how companies engage its target markets successfully for less money.

The phrase "content is king" is no stranger to the marketing community; it is simply taking a different shape than it did previously. What once was the white paper has now evolved into social media, newsletters and blogs. Companies and consumers alike can't get enough of content marketing.

There's a reason why companies are investing resources in content marketing ... it drives profitable results. So profitable that 78% of CMOs think custom content is the future of marketing, according to Hanley Wood. Perhaps that's because content marketing costs 62% less than traditional marketing.

Content in the Marketing Cycle
Content marketing can be leveraged in each stage of the marketing cycle to help move prospects from awareness to purchase and long-term loyalty, such as:

Awareness: Content like newsletters, blogs, and social media are all ways to build awareness with prospects. Content+ says that companies with active blogs receive 97% more leads.

Consideration and Trial: According to Marketing Sherpa, content creation is ranked the single most effective SEO technique by 53%. It's this technique that can attract prospects to webinars and seminars, demos, podcasts, promotions, direct marketing, and trial offers, ultimately building business.

Purchase: Content used in sales collateral, training workshops, customer support sites, how-to-guides, and best practices can help support the sale.

Post Purchase: Use customer service, cross-sell, up sell, webinars, and customer hotlines to reinforce the sale.

Loyalty: A variety of programs such as VIP, recognition, referral, survey, affinity, community, knowledge-building, panels and success stories create loyal and engaged customers.

In a cluttered marketplace, potential customers are looking for someone to help them make sense of it all with well-crafted, informative and relevant information. Be that someone by using content marketing in your marketing. Start with the sharable content available in the thINK resource center.

Sarah Mannone is Vice President of Client Services at Trekk, Inc., a multi-channel marketing agency. In her leadership role, Sarah works with clients to develop strategic marketing plans and craft measurable programs that span print, web, social and mobile.