The ABC’s of Content Marketing: O through Q
By Barbara Pfeiffer, The Partner Marketing Group
Last week on The ABC’s of Content Marketing, where we talked about the importance of landing pages, what metrics to track, and how to turn your office into a newsroom. This week, we’ll delve into why outsourcing may be your ticket, how to create a content plan, and gauging quality over quantity. Enjoy!
Outsource Your Content Marketing
(a/k/a: Be realistic.) You’re going to need a lot of content. We recommend blogging at least once a week and an original thought leadership piece once a quarter (this is far from ideal by the way – major inbound agencies talk about daily blogs and monthly thought leadership pieces.) This is in addition to all the content you’re curating through your social networks. Outsourcing some of this content is a good way to keep it from crippling your internal resources. On top of the volume challenges, there’s also an 80-20 rule. 80% of your content should be NON-PROMOTIONAL. Use your resources where they can do the best job – most likely on the 20% promotional and on curating content that will be valuable to your target audience. Hire a writer to deliver your thought leadership pieces. This has the added advantage of making sure you don’t drift into the dreaded features and benefits or “about us” type content where it doesn’t belong.
The ABC’s of Content Marketing: Plan, Plan and More Planning
You need a content plan. In fact, you may need a few plans including a content map (who you’re writing for and what their concerns are) and an editorial calendar. Download our favorite templates to get started: https://thepartnermarketinggroup.com/greenhouse-marketing-ideas/dig-deeper/.
Promotion
If you build it they may not come. You need a solid distribution plan for your content that incorporates ALL possible distribution channels. Make it easy on yourself and create a promotion checklist listing all the vehicles you will use to promote new content. You don’t need to do it all for every piece, but having a list will keep you on track. Think outside the box – after you list blogs and social networks – where else? Can you share with any partners or vendors you work with? If you’ve created a thought leadership piece, (e-book, whitepaper, infographic) they may be willing to share it with their customers and prospects. If you have relationships with influencers (see the letter “I”) perhaps they will be interested in writing a blog about your latest piece. And beyond on-line, is it in your email signature? Do you talk about it in your newsletter or other regular communications? You probably spent a lot of time and/or money to build your content so make sure it’s viewed by as many people in your target market as possible.
Quality over Quantity is Key in The ABC’s of Content Marketing
While you need a steady stream of content to keep your site and offers fresh and effective, it’s even more important that you deliver quality. Taking short cuts (usually in the form of pushing out a lot of promotional pieces) won’t work. Be realistic and per “O” and “P” above – plan, identify gaps and if necessary – outsource to extend your resources.
Next Time
Join us next week as we dive into R through T in our ‘ABC’s of Content Marketing’.
