A content marketing strategy is a must have – and following it is a must do

Content-marketing-strategy

The first question that Joe Pulizzi, the leading content marketing expert in the world, asked the conference members was: Do you have a documented content marketing strategy? As many as 54% of effective content creators have a documented content marketing strategy while 64% adhere to the strategy they have developed. If you are not following your strategy or you do not have one, you are most likely in the 38% of ineffective content marketers.

The difference between the effective and the ineffective content marketing is also noticeable in the frequency of content publishing (quality and quantity are equally important – visibility is vital, and the effective content marketers are visible), content effectiveness measurements (more parameters mean better metrics and better quality results) as well as the budget for content marketing.

Even the most boring industry can be a source of interesting content

Interesting-content

Alas, not everybody works in tourism, catering or the entertainment industry – the three industries for which one can come up with an abundance of varied content without much effort. But, for those of us whose job it is to create content, the inspiration – however challenging it may be at times – is never in question regardless of what industry we are dealing with: financial institutions, vehicle manufacturers, insurance companies… After all, we are talking to ordinary people by putting their lives, their problems and their needs into a wider context of our business and offering them a service – of entertainment, information, education, and eventually, sales.

Draw attention

Draw-attention

There is another way to turn the not very interesting into something interesting: the tactics of drawing attention. Björn Owen Johansson from the biggest Scandinavian content marketing agency Spoon, showed us a quality content marketing campaign using the example of the “epic split” performed by Jean-Claudea Van Damme, with which Volvo promoted the technical performances of its trucks. Millions of views of this commercial spilled over into view of other, less interesting (but more informative) videos with concrete information which would probably never have reached the targeted audience without Van Damme’s split.

There is no success without careful planning

Careful-planning

“The bad news is that content marketing is difficult. The good news is that it is not as difficult as flying.” These are the words of Primož Inkret from the Slovenian content marketing agency PM. Content marketing is a systematic and continuous process that cannot be done haphazardly and only if the inspiration strikes. Content marketing needs to be planned. Content marketing needs to be scheduled. Content marketing needs to be measured.

Do not forget about content distribution

Content-distribution

When it comes to planning, it is not important only to plan what, when, how often and with what objective the content will be published but also what will happen to it once it’s published in the format you have put it in. The content distribution plan is as important as the plan of content creation and content publishing because “content marketing without a distribution budget is the same as spending time alone on Facebook”.

Know why you are using any specific channel

Why

Blog, Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, Vine… The possibilities for content creation are many. Every available distribution channel is best suited for a specific form and we need to adjust to it. However attractive the offered diversity may be, we have to ask ourselves – do we really need all of these channels? Joe Pulizzi advises you have a clear answer to one single question for every single channel you are using – why are you using it? Do not stretch yourself in too many places, focus your efforts to those channels that you have a reason to use and which will yield results.

An excellent example of a channel (Twitter) fully utilized for communicating a message, creating interest and involving a community was given by Clare Hill, the director of the British Content Marketing Association via the interesting campaign that united the British Airways with actor Benedict Cumberbatch.

Emphasize your own channels

Your-own

The answer to the question of why use a certain channel will help you understand the purpose of the created content. Pulizzi advises you emphasize your own channels, not just the ones your are “renting”, like Facebook pages where businesses have less and less influence on how many users see their messages, while reach continues to plummet.

Create top-notch content

Top-notch-content

“Don’t just create content. Create top-notch content!”, says Igor Savič, a content marketing expert. Create stories. Create content that inspires empathy and desire, content that has an added value for those consuming it; content that is different from all other content. In combination with all the other elements – a well thought out strategy, careful planning, and effectively used channels of creation and distribution – it will lead to success.

The worst thing you can do is to – stop

Dont-stop

All of us who make a living in content marketing, sooner or later we find ourselves in a situation when we have to explain to somebody that content marketing is not sprint but a marathon. Content marketing is based on building – of content, trust, community – and this building should not cease. Yes, maybe you really are among the 38% of ineffective content marketers Joe Pulizzi was talking about, but ineffectiveness is not a reason to stop creating content. To the contrary, says Pulizzi. That is the worst thing you can do. Not being effective? Then you need to change something. Your strategy. Channels. Target audience. Just don’t stop.

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