Powerful Content Marketing
( For the Real World )

None of that 'perfect case' stuff.

Content Marketing, you can do, for real.

Content Marketing

Is marketing

Through the medium of content

You begin with the marketing needs and plan

Then create content that does the job

Content Marketing

Is not always text

Beautiful images can be used

Audio formats can include podcasts or songs

Video can be superb for content marketing

But this is a copywriters' group

A few sample writing formats

A blog or journal

Newsletters and e-zines

The free e-book

'How to' guides

Articles for other's publications

Form Fits Function

Look at the marketing plan/need

Know your market (customers)

Who are you trying to reach?

Where will you be trying to reach them?

When, or in what context?

e.g. Reselling to prior customers

If the marketing plan included reselling to existing and past customers you might:Use a newsletter or e-zine you can email to past customers

Use your blog or website to get your readers used to revisiting regularly

Use how-to guides that encourage them to use the product more (wear it out or use it up)

e.g. Reaching new prospects

You might write appealing articles for publications that already have just the kind of audience you want to reach

You might create a free e-book to draw in fresh prospects (and the e-book might create demand by using or showcasing the product you sell)

You might create 'How-to' guides for issues where people could use your product

The key to making your Content Marketing
powerful
and yet
realistic
is
efficiency

Work smarter, not harder.

Content Marketing

Know what you want to achieve

Who you want to reach

Where/when you can reach them

How to motivate or appeal to them

That gives you the content plan

Common Objectives

Increasing sales or profits

Increasing market share

Branding as an authority or expert

Branding as popular or a market leader

Building brand/product awareness

Improving customer satisfaction

SEO overly-specific objectives

Gaining links

Building website traffic

Ranking for relevant common searches

Increasing engagement (reducing bounce rates)

Building social media presenceRelate these things to the common objectives!

SEO overly-specific objectives

Gaining links branding, awareness, customer service

Building website traffic sales, market share

Ranking in search sales, popularity, market share

Increasing engagement branding, satisfaction, sales

Building social media Authority, Popularity, SatisfactionKeep it real by using real business objectives!

Common Targets

Untouched or unknowing prospects

Customers of rivals and competitors

Prior and existing customers

Journalists, and 'authorities'

Everyone! No! Try untouched prospects

Lost customers

Where/When Placement

Direct mail/newsletter

The primary business website

A secondary, audience-building website (e.g. blog)

Other popular/authority websites and newsletters

Search engines

Motivation and Appeal

Sadly, an appeal to laziness, greed, and/or pleasure tends to be the safest bet. Of those 3 things, people still usually want at least 2 together.

So, present saving money (greed) as also being smarter (pleasure)

Present saving effort (laziness) as also being smarter (pleasure)

Pleasure may be its own reward, (but it will help if they feel they get a bargain or don't have to work for it). Hilarious or Salacious content can stand alone.

Above all else:It is not about what you want to sayIts about what they want to read

Getting Real

With a plan to your content, firmly based in marketing you can:Think about the right tone of voice for the specific content

Devise sensible performance metrics to measure results

Mix and match various realistic tactics within your content strategy

Tone of Voice

There are several specific aspects that relate to overall tone and voice in content.Real author, or crafted persona?

Avoid the bland and impersonal. Make it human.

Make it as genuine as possible

Decide whether the audience have an important voice too via comments and user-generated content.

Even an authority voice can be a personal 'friend'.

Better Metrics

Where possible, use qualitative rather than quantitative metrics

Measure indirect results as much as direct.

People may not often buy immediately after reading your article, but people who once read your articles may buy more.

Many KPIs become their own goals and lessen attention on the real objective. Think carefully and creatively.

Content Marketing Tactics

Be realistic about what you can actually do with the resources (especially time) that you have.

If you don't have 'expertise' you can still build a reputation as someone who curates answers or finds out.

The most powerful content takes time and effort. Don't plan to write a killer article every day you can't.

Quality over quantity every time.

The Real World Nitty-Gritty

Easy regular news in 30 minutes:Think of some great news and authority sites that cover things of interest to your market and that relate to your site

Over that first cup of coffee each morning, spend 15-20 minutes skimming the news and pick a few stories that interested you.

Spend 10-15 minutes writing a quick post linking to those stories with an editorial paragraph on why they interested you.

The Real World Nitty-Gritty

Researching content:Ask the sales and customer services people to take notes of interesting or common questions or issues. Those are what the customers are interested in, obviously.

Consider 'interviewing' members of staff. It gives a human interest aspect to the business, and can highlight passion in design, sales, or other aspects of the business.

Don't shy away from the big, hard, awesome stuff. I may often spend upwards of 20 hours on a single article. Try to make one awesome piece each month at least.

Something not on the cardsJust for those who attended

Thank you!

I'm now available for any questions. Please ask me anything you like relating to content and the real world issues thereof.

Remember:
There is no such thing as a dumb question, except, perhaps, the question you needed to ask and didn't.