Content Marketing is a buzz word these days and I’d like to share this presentation with you, dear readers, since the topic revolves around content marketing best practices. I originally created this presentation for my local Chester County Internet Marketers group meet-up. We meet once every month for a lively, active discussion on Social Media and Content Marketing.
The first few slides deal with the definition and the main objectives of content marketing. The next few slides go into the dos of content marketing, some of which include:
- Know who your client is with the help of Personas
- WIIFM (Speak to their needs)
- Provide valuable info.
- “Good content shares or solves; it doesn’t hawk your wares or push sales-driven messages. It provides value by positioning you as a reliable and valuable resource.” – Ann Handley of Content Rules
- Define and answer your customers questions
- Provide many different types of content
- Create a sense of community
- Allow your content to have wings
- Set up a listening dashboard (Goolge Readrer, Google Alerts, twitter.com, relevant blogs)
- Measurement and metrics so you know what’s working
The don’ts include:
- Constantly talking about your brand and excessive self promotion which is a surefire way of turning off your customers. Content marketing, when done right is about your customers’ needs and wants.
- Making it difficult to understand what you offer
- Not doing anything to engage your prospects and customers
The last few slides look at content marketing best practices (or dos) for different types of content such as blogs, newsletters, white papers and eBooks.
This presentation is best watched in Fullscreen mode. Here’s the presentation:
Wow, Gazalla, you really outdid yourself with this one! Very insightful presentation. Having presented this kind of material in recent days, I find that many people and businesses wonder how to evaluate the ROI of content marketing and this is certainly a big issue.
In one of your slides, you mention “don’t hesitate to pull the plug if things aren’t working” yet I find sometimes people and brands have expectations that things will unfold overnight, i.e. blogging success. It’s tough to know when to tweak versus pulling the plug. Content marketing requires a long term vision and top management must be onboard for the long run, or else many initiatives won’t have time to lift off before they get their wings clipped off.
Great job on this post!
Have a great weekend.
Frederic
Frederic Gonzalo recently posted..Book review: Change-friendly leadership
Thanks for appreciating it, Frederic. I agree – content marketing efforts take time and is not of the instant gratification model. Companies should be prepared to invest knowing that the ROI is tangible in terms of an increase in sales but also has intangible benefits such as increasing goodwill and trust for your brand.
I want to go to YOUR meetup! That was really thorough. One of the things that some people need pounded into their heads is the “stop promoting yourself” angle. Nothing is a worse waste of my time than going to a blog that sounds interesting from the headline, reading a few relatively vague paragraphs and then finding out it’s just to sell some product. I wonder if anyone has success with that but I can’t imagine how. Providing value is the only way to go. As you have clearly done here!
Carol Lynn recently posted..Marketing Isn’t Wibbly Wobbly Timey Wimey Stuff! We Interview Artist Kristen McKain Of KM Studio About Putting People First.
Carol, you’re welcome to our meetings, we’d love to have you! I’ll email you the details. I hope that I provide value with each and every post and thank you for bringing this important point to light:) Practice what you preach and as a content marketer I know that the 1st deadly sin is one of self promotion! Thanks for your feedback as always.