Generating content to use for marketing – both offline and online via website, social media, and email – is a popular discussion topic among businesses right now. We came across The Content Marketing Machine ebook and were impressed with the process and worksheets it provides for organizations to think through creating content to resonate with its audiences and personas. In case you don’t have time to read through the entire 55 pages of the ebook, here are 5 key takeaways on how to run your own well-oiled “Content Marketing Machine”:
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Content is the most vital ingredient: High quality and quantity content is necessary to succeed in today’s marketing era. The best type of content lies in “The Sweet Spot,” aka the overlap between “customer interests and needs” and “unique brand experience and value.”
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Understand your Audience: Since the bulk of your content should be about your customers interests (not your products or services) it is important to understand your customers. The best way to do so is by using social listening, buyer interviews, and engaging your organization.
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Involve your Clients: Many content producers are weary of involving their clients in the content producing process but it important to not put up those walls. If involved in the content creation process, your clients can be potential contributors, idea generators, and big supporters of your work.
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Repurpose Content: Creating extensive new content can require a lot of resources, instead try to repurpose content that provides new angles and different stories!
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Use the 4-1-1 System: For every 6 communications with your customer, 1 should be a hard sale of your product or service, 1 should be a soft sale and 4 should be educational that are focusing on the audience’s interests. This system ensures that you are still engaging your customer with content but also moving them in the right direction.
Another key ingredient to a compelling content strategy is storytelling. At Red Door, we believe that individual pieces of content aren’t enough to move the needle; how the content takes shape across each channel to tell a brand’s story –or a piece of it – matters. People often ask me what it means to be a social media strategist and I respond that I am a storyteller. It is my job to translate marketing-speak into a conversation that allows people to get to know a company first-hand and even influence the plot. This involves curating, creating and crowdsourcing content and promoting it according to best practices, while nurturing fans, customers, leads and prospects. Is content driving the results that you want for your brand? Let us know in a comment below or take the conversation to Twitter.
Source: The Content Marketing Machine