I hate to break it to you, but that white paper you just completed after months of painstaking research, multiple drafts, and an approval process that took f-o-r-e-v-e-r isn’t all that important. The same is true of that new case study, your recent blog post, and the product overview video you just paid a pretty penny for. Not one of those items really has much value at all.
OK, I may have exaggerated a bit there, but I did so to make a point. While every piece of content you create has some value in and of itself, the real value is in the “body of work” you produce. You see, no matter how much buzz a piece generates, it is, to a degree, a flash in the pan. In all likelihood it will only bring a particular prospect in for a closer look once. And one touchpoint isn’t going to turn a prospect into a follower much less a customer. What will, however, win you a loyal audience—and ultimately customers—is an ever-growing collection of interesting, engaging, and authoritative materials.
The Bigger Picture
So, rather than focusing exclusively on the impact of any one piece of content, you should also look at the big picture, and how your entire content catalog is perceived by your target personas. When you do, you’ll understand what’s required for long-term success in content marketing.
- You need commitment. Whether it’s uncooperative colleagues, questions from the C-suite, or a frustrating run of content duds, there are many things that may tempt you to abandon your content marketing program before you have created that valuable body of work that starts attracting attention. Don’t lose faith!
- You need patience. It takes time to build your content library. But as you keep moving forward with new projects, eventually you’ll look back and be impressed with all that you’ve accomplished.
- You need the right expectations. You may produce some content that generates intense (if brief) buzz around your company, and that’s great. But that shouldn’t be the measure of your success. A steady rise in your reputation among your customers, prospects, and peers in your industry is much more important than popularity spikes.
As the leading content marketing/inbound marketing agency in Colorado Springs, we’ve worked with clients throughout Colorado and around the country for years to create bodies of work that have tremendous aggregate value, and that position them as trusted information providers and authorities in their field. If you’re ready to dive into content marketing, or want to kick your program into a higher gear, we’d love to help.
