Define content marketing.

Content marketing is defined as a strategy centered on creating and distributing valuable content. This approach involves producing relevant, informative, and engaging material that attracts and informs a target audience, ultimately aiming to drive profitable customer action. By focusing on delivering value to the audience, content marketing helps to build trust and establish authority within a particular industry or niche.

The importance lies in its ability to engage potential customers without the overt push of traditional advertising, which can often be intrusive. Instead, content marketing nurtures relationships through valuable information, whether it be blog posts, videos, podcasts, or social media updates. This engagement can lead to higher brand loyalty, better customer retention, and, eventually, conversions.

In contrast, the other options focus on strategies that do not align with the core principles of content marketing. Paid advertising focuses on direct promotion, distributing free samples is more about product trial rather than informative content, and managing customer databases pertains to customer relationship management rather than content creation and distribution.