One of the early posts I wrote was on the virtues of having a blog—even if the term is outdated. And I stand by that post, but I realized recently I skipped a step by writing that post first. Before considering whether to launch a blog, the first question is whether one should launch a content marketing strategy, of which a blog is a potential component. And even before that, some may be asking: What even is content marketing? So with all due apologies—to my audience and to Rodgers and Hammerstein—let’s start at the very beginning.
At the risk of violating the grade school requirement that a term’s definition not use the term itself, content marketing is marketing your firm and its offerings via high-quality, valuable content. Content written expressly to showcase your firm as thought leaders and experts in your niche. And that’s all it’s intended to do—it’s not also selling your firm or its offerings (a point on which I differ with those who recommend an explicit call to action in every piece of content). It precedes any conversations that might ultimately lead to a sale—rather, it sits at the top of your sales funnel and simply informs your audience of 1) your existence and 2) your expertise. In the sense that it doesn’t include a call to action or directly market your firm, it is more of a branding exercise than a traditional marketing one.
A content marketing strategy, then, is a deliberate program, designed around your content, intended to build an audience over time. Done well, over time, this audience should provide ample prospects whom your sales folks can ideally convert to clients. For the audience members who are already clients, your content should contribute to their retention and loyalty to your firm.
So what do you write about? You write about what you know—as all good writers do—sharing your expertise about your industry and niche in a way not otherwise being done. This not only identifies you as a leader, it also differentiates you from your competitors. Underpinning all this, though, is your topic selection. Counterintuitive though it may be, you can’t write what’s important to you. Or why you’re so great at what you do, or why your offerings are superior to your competitors’. Bluntly, no one cares. They care about their own problems to which they must find solutions. If your content can solve their problems, the likelihood they’ll ultimately convert into a client is higher. And if they don’t become a client themselves, they may very well spread the word about how wonderful your content is and, eventually, some of the people they tell may become clients.
But for all that to happen, you have to write about things that interest your audience. So the million dollar question is: Who is your audience? To whom are you writing? The more specifically you can envision your audience, the more defined and, therefore, targeted your content can be—which means the higher the chances it exists in a white space no one else is discussing. Which in turn means the higher the odds it will be read and shared.
That’s it. It’s simple, really. But in practice, it’s difficult. It takes resources, time, effort, enthusiasm, willingness. It takes good writing. It takes patience while the roots take hold—all of which are topics for other posts. At least now, we’re all working from a shared understanding of content marketing and a content marketing strategy—enough to be going on with for today.
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