We've heard the same question over and over again: what is content marketing? It's now such a popular term that when small business owners come to us, they think that they've seen it everywhere. Blogs, white papers, and e-books are some of the most popular ways to practice content marketing.

Yet many businesses that think they're practicing content marketing, aren't. Some are missing the entire point of content marketing and are simply pushing content through social media. They're doing this solely to improve their SEO, increase their brand visibility, and attract new customers.

A recent Fast Company article explains how some content marketing campaigns are producing content that's flat and uninteresting:

"Taking on the trappings of content producers, content marketers spit out white papers, blog posts, e-books, videos, and SlideShares in an attempt to see what sticks, not to mention running paid ads on social media or redoing a website for the umpteenth time. And how can we forget webinars and events and brochures and landing pages? Meanwhile, much of this content fails to engage."

If you're posting similar state content over and over again, you're not necessarily practicing content marketing. Ask yourself if anyone is actually reading your blog, downloading your e-book, or signing up for your newsletter.

The problem is that online articles describe content marketing easier than it actually is. If all it takes were to write a 250-word blog with no new content once a week to attract new customers, wouldn't every business be doing it?

The good news is that real content marketing is just as effective as it's made out to be. When you cross over from content pushing to content marketing, you'll start to see results. There are just a few things you have to know to practice content marketing correctly.