Content Marketing is not a joke, it is not a fad, and it is something that is never going away. In fact, the only thing that is unique about content marketing is that fact that we now call it “Content Marketing”. Some brilliant marketer added a capital C and M to make it more “official” like… probably got herself a good raise for doing it too… Yep, Content Marketing has been around for a long, long time, and now is the time for you to start putting it to good use without making yourself crazy.
So what is it? A good definition comes from Content Marketing Institute
Basically, content marketing is the art of communicating with your customers and prospects without selling. It is non-interruption marketing. Instead of pitching your products or services, you are delivering information that makes your buyer more intelligent. The essence of this content strategy is the belief that if we, as businesses, deliver consistent, ongoing valuable information to buyers, they ultimately reward us with their business and loyalty.
In short – Instead of saying “The Earlybird Rate Ends Tomorrow” 200 times, over and over and over and over…or Renew Now, Renew Now, Renew Now, Renew Now it’s only $200.00…. Tell your members or attendees why they should join, stay, or attend. Let them know what they will gain, what is happening, and what is awesome. If you can prove value, rates or admission fees don’t really matter.
Easier said than done, right…
One of the big problems many smaller associations and events have is that they just don’t have the headcount (look at me, all fancy buzz-wording) to make mass content happen. They look at the challenge and say, “Screw that, we can’t possibly create 10 new pieces of content to share this week,” and here is where I come in and say… “But of course, you can silly, you can recycle content the same way you recycle that two-liter bottle of soda you just chugged”.
Recycled bottles become a lot of things after we are done pouring fizz into our faces including yo-yos, Frisbees, carpet, and even T-shirts. Your content can do the same…really… it can, read on.
Let’s say that you have a big membership drive coming up or your event registration is about to go live; you first want to write a really awesome, amazing, wonderful, information-packed post for your website that explains why this is the year to join or attend. Do NOT talk about how much it costs and what a deal it is… Ewww, people hate that. You hate that. Instead, talk about the problems members will overcome, what it is like to network with the best and brightest, and talk about the benefits of being there live. Throw in facts, figures, and examples. Pretty simple really, this is all stuff you should have lying around on hard drives and web pages… This is content piece number 1… This is the piece that takes the most time. This is the Big Kahuna.
Once you have posted this little puppy, you throw Mr. Kahuna into the recycle bin and see what happens.
You can share this post via Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn… Bang, you are at 4 pieces of content and counting, and they are all driving people back to your post. Now, sit down and make a phone call and ask a member, the executive director, or a conference speaker to summarize the article via an iPhone or webcam video and post it to YouTube… Bang up to 5 pieces of content. Now, take the audio from that amazing little video and share it on SoundCloud. I think that we are up to 6 pieces of content and counting… Time to get creative.
Digging deeper into the well, you can get someone to create a really awesome infographic using all that data and then John down the hall who doesn’t really do anything anyway, can stick that little infographic into this week’s newsletter or on the website, or maybe even Pinterest if that’s how your peeps roll… I think that makes 7, 8, 9, and 10 chunks of content and we are just getting rolling.
Now it is time to go back and re-post the link to your web post on Twitter and maybe Google+ but with a different call to action… That makes 11 and 12…. and it keeps going and going. Maybe later in the week, when you are up for it, you can share links to the infographic, which will lead people back to the post, which links to the registration or member page….it really gets kind of addicting and makes your head hurt, but in a good way, not a hangover way.
The reality is, that one good piece of good content can sustain you all week if you are creative. As an added “but wait there’s more” kinda bonus, all of this content has the potential to be shared by the recipients… I have NEVER shared a renewal notice or earlybird special ending now email…. Never. Ever.
Content marketing is all about creating “good content”; no one said it had to be “brand new content”.
Content Marketing may not be rocket science, but don’t be mistaken; it is not random, and it doesn’t just happen. There needs to be a method to the madness. I came across an eBook/report/thing that boils down to re-purposing content. It has an amazing title – “Content Repurposing“. Wow! I love it when the name captures the spirit of what something is about… here is the gist of what they are telling you:
Source: “Content Repurposing” from Vertical Measures
What will get you about this little report is that it is all repurposed content and links to other content that was repurposed from the original and on and on. Practicing what they are preaching, I believe….
That’s it really. Do good content. Share it. Turn it into something new…
