The ABC’s of Content Marketing: R through T

By Barbara Pfeiffer, The Partner Marketing Group

Last week, we talked about being realistic, planning, promoting and choosing quality over quantity. This week, we’ll delve into the basics of content repurposing, keeping your sales funnel in mind, and the importance of a good title. Enjoy!

Repurpose, Reuse, Recycle

Once you create a good thought leadership piece (whitepaper, infographic (https://thepartnermarketinggroup.com/infographic-design/), e-book), make sure you have a strategy for maximizing the time you put into it. One good piece can go a long way. Did you create a whitepaper on what to consider when selecting an ERP system? Consider an infographic to go with it. Break down the piece and create some blog posts, and use a blog post to address anything you may have left out. Pull out key tips and push them out via social media. Take it a few steps further and create an animated video with the top tips and a worksheet that your target audience can download to assess their readiness for an ERP system. From the research and work you did on the one piece, with some additional effort, you can literally create a whole package of content.

Sales Funnel

When you create your content plan you should be identifying what your prospects’ challenges are at each stage of the sales cycle. Make sure you carry that through in the pieces you are writing and that everything you do addresses a need for that. For example, early in the sales cycle prospects are seeking to be educated. Later in the sales cycle, they need information such as customer case studies to help validate their decision.

Sales

Once you complete the mapping of your content to the various stages of the sales funnel, make sure your sales team is aware of what’s available and when and how to use it. Keep a sales collateral library organized by top, bottom and middle of the funnel and prospect type so that they can easily grab the content you’ve created. If you don’t connect them with the content and keep it top of mind, don’t expect it to be used.

Titles 

A good title:

• Can make or break your content.
• Should communicate in very few words who the piece is for and what they will learn.
• Will incorporate your keywords.

It’s a lot to ask and yet most writers will spend far less time on a title then it warrants.  Take the time to create a powerful title and you’ll see markedly better results.  Visit the Content Marketing Institute for a scorecard and tips on writing titles that will get your piece read.

Next Time on The ABC’s of Content Marketing

Join us next week as we dive into U through W in our ‘ABC’s of Content Marketing’. Getting close to the end of the alphabet!