As a content marketing strategist, I work with companies and organizations to identify their unique brand story and show them how to use content to distinguish themselves, engage customers, and change behavior. That’s
content marketing in its most basic form.
When I engage with a client, I focus on 5 things:
Why: Why do you do what you do?
Who: Who are your audiences (beyond simple demographics)?
What: What stories can you tell that create engagement?
How: How do we tell your story? What tactics can we use?
Where: Where do you need to be, both online and offline?
Nine out of 10 times, when I begin working with a client, they are already focusing on how and where. And why not? It’s the fun part. It’s tangible and measurable, and it’s where the action is. My job is to pull them back in and focus on the why, who, and what.
While it may be more theoretical than actionable, figuring out the essence of a brand is critical to a content marketing strategy. How can we know what tactic to employ if we don’t yet understand our personas and how they choose to consume content? And how can we know where to be until we identify our tactics?
Once we get through the why, who, and what, we can focus once again on how and where. However, that’s often when panic sets in.
It’s relatively easy to manage something like a brand’s Facebook page or Twitter account before fully understanding why, who, and what. There are few goals or objectives required, and little to measure. But once there is a strategy in place, we can determine what kinds of content need to be produced, as well as what platforms need to be managed. Who is going to create, publish and manage all of this content? Who is going to be responsible for ROI? Who is going to be accountable? In a strategic content marketing plan, these are the questions that beg for answers.
It’s at this point that my clients typically say, “Ummm… we don’t have the resources to do all of this.” And that, my friend, is what I like to call the “Reality Bites Moment.” It’s that moment when clients realize that they don’t think they possess the time, money, or skills to pull off a content marketing strategy successfully. But they almost always do, in spite of themselves — they just need to take a step back before they freak out!
It’s easy and fun to blue sky with a consultant; coming up with all kinds of cool ways to engage audiences. “Sure, let’s create a YouTube channel! How about Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, and Pinterest? Why not? I know… let’s create an infographic every week! Hey, how about a contest? An eBook? An email campaign? A fun meme with cats?”
The response: “Aiiieeeee! How much more content do we need to create?!?!”
As Joe Pulizzi, CMI’s fearless leader, says, “It’s not about more, more, more.” In fact, he recently asserted that he is done with “more.”
“The more the better” is happening all the time, in companies big and small. They are not fully realizing their content marketing strategies because they do not possess the skill sets to execute on them. So all that great energy; the promise of all those awesome ideas… all lying dormant without being fulfilled.
I’ll be the first to admit that sometimes it’s the consultant who gets the client all worked up with new and exciting ideas, only to let the client down once reality sets in.
This needs to change.
The skill set imperative
We have to start identifying skill sets way earlier in the process. I have experienced the Reality Bites Moment too many times. It’s a demoralizing situation to be faced with, like when a parent says, “Hey let’s go to Disneyland!” and five minutes later says, “Just kidding.” It can be crushing, and it can kill the creative process.
How do we change this frustrating cycle? I recently figured out a potential solution, and it’s actually kind of simple:
Assess internal skill sets at the beginning of the content marketing process
I used to start my engagements by asking my clients why they do what they do. Now, I open by asking, “Who in the company can write?” I focus on writing, because whether you choose blogs, white papers, articles, email newsletters, or eBooks, you’re going to need writers.
In May of 2012, the CMI consultants were asked, “What are the essential skills for content marketing teams?” Literally all of us said, “Good writing skills.”
That’s where I start, but then I go on to ask more questions:
Who has video experience? Filming? Editing? Sound? Lighting?
Do you have designers on staff?
Is anyone on your team experienced at managing an online community?
Who has event planning experience?
Who are your best presenters?
Does anyone have experience with any of the following:
Email programs?
CRM?
CMS?
Google Analytics?
This may feel like I am jumping ahead to tactics, but I am merely getting a feel for what the client can handle. Clients’ answers to these questions will influence the content marketing strategy we put together. The challenge is to not let these questions lead us to a discussion of tactics. This is a simple exercise to identify internal skills and potential content development team members once the why, who, and what are figured out.
Not every company is as fortunate as Coca-Cola and Volkswagen, which have content budgets and resources that seem to be virtually unlimited. Regardless, by identifying internal skill sets from the get-go, just about any company can approach the how and where with confidence, because they know they will be able to deliver.
It’s time to say good-bye to those Reality Bites Moments, and hello to, “Let’s Do This!”
CMI Consultant Michael Weiss will be sharing more of his insight on content marketing strategies at Content Marketing World 2013. Register today!
Cover image via Bigstock
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