time to stop pretending about content marketing

Basic principles of content marketing

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Time to Stop Pretending About Content

Marketing.

Posted by:Paul Pruneau

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Posted November 26, 2012

If you've been a bit distracted

by the relentless pace of the

change in online marketing, you

may have missed all of the buzz

about Content Marketing With

the power of self publishing on

the Internet now in the hands

of the many, claims about

Content Marketing replacing

advertising continue to increase

in both volume and frequency

What's more, advocates and a

growing number of

organizations are onboard with

the idea that any brand can

become a continuous publisher

of content that their prospects

and customers will find relevant and valuable But before you drink the Kool-aid, fire your

agency and set out to meet the new requirement to add “publisher” to your title and

responsibilities, let’s step back a moment and consider what success in this emerging discipline might actually take

First, what’s Content Marketing?

In a nutshell, it’s the fuel that drives successful:

inbound marketing and lead generation

search engine optimization

social media marketing

Why is it now so hot as a marketing discipline?

Because prospects today have become more advanced and demanding And it’s now up to a brand to quench their expectationswith valuable content that helps them make more informed and better decisions before and after they purchase a product or service

What’s the point and what do you get?

The short answers to these reasonable questions include: 1 Search Engine Optimization

Recent search engine updates now favor frequently published, unique and popular content The result is that frequent and consistent creation of content to your site or blog is now

required to drive traffic and support natural link building 2 Referral Traffic Good

problem-solving and/or entertaining content makes other websites and blogs want to link to it The result of these highly valued connections is a 3-5X better conversion (action) than vanilla

organic search 3 Reason for Social Media Marketing Without real problem-solving and/or

entertaining content to post in social media, what will you share? If it’s not obvious, we’ve long passed the days of tweeting about your lunch So if you’re participating in Social Media, it

should be enhancing traffic to your site from the content that you’re sharing in these channels

4 Reputation & Sentiment ManagementBy actively engaging in content marketing, a brand

can choose to lead the conversation about their domain of expertise The cumulative result, over time, helps to build trust, positive sentiment and brand equity around the unique value that you offer to customers If you think this is just a frivolous exercise, you can always trust that job to someone else Perhaps your competitor?

What kind of investment do you have to make?

First, dismiss any notion that this is a no brainer, a piece of cake and anyone can do it

Assuming all of your effort is based on a content calendar, aligned with the needs of your target customer personaswith clarity on how the content asset will further the selling cycle to turn a prospect into a paying customer, there’s a lot that needs to get done for every asset that you create So no matter how you slice it, hours and resources, per month, are going to have to be accounted for and applied to:

Review and evaluate all content against an established Content Calendar or schedule For each content asset (think ebooks, blog posts, whitepapers, videos, podcasts,

emails, newsletters, apps, tools etc.) initiate research, documentation, organization, meetings, calls, and more

Assign to writer and/or graphic resource

Draft, review, edit and revise content

Conceptualize and integrate a unique CTA(Call to Action) for each asset that drives the outcome of what a viewer should do after looking at or consuming the content

Design, develop and deploy a unique Landing Page optimized to enhance the desired action

Acquire and/or create images that enhance the communication and retention of the content asset

Optimize each piece of content for SEO including unique keywords, meta descriptions, alt tags and links to reference sources

Review and approve content by a managing editor, client contacts and internal team Integrate and post the content with all of the HTML, code and content requirements of your CMS and web site

Finalize, approve and publish the content at the appropriate time to enhance sharing and visibility by your target

Distribute, promote and socialize the content to maximize the reach and exposure to your target in all of the channels where they spend time online

Anything but a one time event.

Make no mistake, success in this “continual content creation” endeavor will require a significant amount of work and participation by all parties: internal, external and everywhere in between It will not be a flip the switch process and expect iteration—with all of the dialogue and

refinement required However, your goal should be more modern, effective and measurable marketing that:

supports how customers and prospects find or use products and resources through search

fosters and supports relationships with prospects and existing customers

aligns with the transformational marketing shift under way

Before you begin, you may want to set some modest expectations Then immerse yourself and your organization in these new marketing methods soon

And where are you?

Has your organization started down the path of Content Marketing? Are you finding success

or have you turned around in dismay Please share your experience

Connect:

Authored by:

Paul Pruneau

As founder and president of Teamworks Communications, Inc., Paul Pruneau helps early stage and established companies develop communications and brand strategy, engineer content to express customer value, and create online solutions to help businesses succeed To learn more about Paul and Teamworks Communications, just visit his blog, follow him on Twitter, or connect on LinkedIn

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