Content marketing. It’s one of the biggest buzzwords right now. Although to be totally truthful, I’m not sure why. You see, content marketing didn’t just arise out of the blue, with the advent of social media. It’s something great companies have been doing for over a century. It’s about finding a way to “market” and tell your brand’s stories in a compelling way. (i.e. Think Jello’s recipe books in the early 1900s and customer oriented product magazines to Blendtec’s Will it Blend Youtube series, IKEA and Home Depot’s “how-to” instructionable videos, and SouthWest Airlines blog.)
However some companies still have a way to go when it comes to creating awesome shareable content. Here’s five signs you may want to rethink your content marketing strategy
1. You have little to no strategy.
You have awesome content. Maybe, you spent “thousands” of dollars on that “viral” video (Cough, Cough.). So now what?
Here’s a little secret. Content creation is only the beginning. You also need a strategy to figure out how you are going to promote it to your target audience.
2. No conversation
Fantastic! Your video hit it big. And, you immediately disable comments on Youtube. Worse. Some people are criticizing your video or article on your page, and you start deleting the comments. If you aren’t ready to accept the good and the bad, then you aren’t ready to be creating content on social media channels.
3. Being “that guy or girl”
You know the one I’m talking about. The one that only talks about himself nonstop, and is completely full of himself at the cocktail party. “That guy” online is the one that only talks about himself and how “great” he is online. Don’t be that guy. One of the tricks for getting your best content shared is that you have to be willing to acknowledge and share others’ work too.
4. Creating inauthentic content
I don’t care if your a company of 1 or 1,000. Businesses are made up of people. People like to buy things from “real people.” Your content needs to be authentic and you know, ‘human-sounding.” To quote Author/Marketer Scott Stratten, “people share awesome.” Generally speaking, there’s nothing awesome about your company’s logo/mission statement, a bunch of legalese and fake/inauthentic stories.
5. No emotional connection.
Contrary to what you may think, people remember (and buy) from emotion. It happens all the time. Whether it’s a blog post, ebook, video, etc, make sure to invoke some sort of emotion with your audience. That’s when it becomes memorable.
