If you’re just now becoming familiar with the concept of content marketing, it can all be a bit confusing and even overwhelming. While it doesn't require a ton of special knowledge to get started in content marketing, there is a lot to this rapidly-evolving area of marketing, and by all accounts, the accelerating pace of change is staggering. In fact, while some are just learning about it, it is already entering into a second phase, largely driven by the growing volume of content on the web. The following list of recommendations is meant as a helpful place to start when you are trying to keep your brain from exploding with the overwhelming vastness of the challenge.
10 Tips From Your Friends at 30dps
- Get Your Feet Wet — If you aren’t sure where to even start, there are many online resources you can tap into, including ContentMarketingInstitute.com.
- Get Your Book On — There are also two enormously important books that are must-reads:
- Epic Content Marketing, by Joe Pulizzi (If not the bible on the subject, it’s certainly the hymnal.)
- The Content Code by Mark Schaefer (It’s critical to understand where we are today, and what it takes to break through the massive amount of content out there.)
Warning: These books MIGHT contribute to making your head explode in the short term, but they are nonetheless important.
- Do Your Homework — For an extremely simplified overview of content marketing, feel free to review a few of our posts that touch on the subject. (Okay, there are more than a "few"; you'll have to use the Next button a couple of times to see them all.) And don't forget to visit our webpage that covers some of the territory.
- It's A Marathon; Not A Sprint — Recognize that content marketing is not a marketing campaign, nor is it a new channel or platform. Rather, it is a long-term marketing strategy, and it takes a serious commitment to make it work.
- Know The Difference — While social media plays a critically important role in content marketing, social media marketing is different than content marketing. Social media marketing generally tends to focus on two main objectives (brand awareness and customer retention/satisfaction), whereas content marketing is really about thinking like a publisher. (See a great post on the subject here.)
- Own It — Remember that you should own the platform on which you build your content marketing strategy. i.e. It should be grounded in your website or blog, not a social platform like Facebook.
- Preplan — Make sure that you have identified your content marketing mission (which will dictate the scope of the content you produce), and have a strategy in place to ensure that you have purpose and direction in your efforts.
- Aim High — Remember that producing great content is more important than producing a lot of so-so content that nobody cares about.
- Repurpose, Reuse, Recycle — Realize that a great piece of content can often be reshaped and reformatted to produce many pieces of content. e.g. What was originally a powerful blog post can be repurposed into several Tweets, LinkedIn posts, Facebook posts, podcasts, presentations, videos, and an e-book.
- You Don’t Have To Go It Alone — There are several resources like 30dps that can help you produce quality content. You can outsource copywriting, layout and design, research, social media engagement, etc. But you will need a commitment from the top to make this happen—and THAT you can’t outsource.
While this barely scratches the surface on considerations for embarking upon the content marketing journey, hopefully it will give the uninitiated or beginner some tips on where to start, and reduce some of the anxiety associated with this huge and important topic. While the challenges are real, the payoff can be spectacular. And honestly, for many industries, to NOT engage in this practice is simply doom.
