Content is Fire. Social Media is Gasoline.
Jay Baer once said “Content is fire. Social media is gasoline.” It was with this that three Strategic Americans recently attended the Brand Driven Digital Content Marketing Bootcamp to learn how to harness these two power tools more effectively. Check out our three quick takeaways from the bootcamp below.
Andy’s takeaway:
According to multiple sources, 90 percent of B2B, B2C and non-profits currently have some type of content marketing, and the percentage that are effectively using it is drastically lower. With the three sectors averaging just 45 percent effectiveness, there is clearly an issue.
With more than 50 percent of content marketers admitting to lacking a content strategy, it’s not hard to wonder why the effectiveness is so low. While the usage of content marketing is increasing, marketers are struggling to create enough content that is engaging and effective.
Part of the problem is that marketers don’t have a content strategy developed. While it’s not a fix-all, a well-defined strategy brings an understanding of your objectives while also identifying how you plan to achieve them.
It all trickles down from that strategy, and while you can’t guarantee that every piece of content will be effective or engaging, you have a set of expectations already in place for each piece of content. As with every strategy, revisiting and revising it over time will help you to approach your objectives and make adjustments as necessary.
Image via Brand Driven Digital Content Marketing Bootcamp.
Jessie’s takeaway:
After attending the Content Marketing Bootcamp, it seems that one thing remains to be true; content is king! While this may not come as a surprise, I think it is important to note that it has, and will continue to, become more and more important to a company’s success with their marketing strategy. Whether you are creating a new website, blog post, or delving in to social media, there are a few things to think about in creating your content strategy. A key takeaway that the Bootcamp drove home was that great content should be helpful, add value, build relationships, and be timely. When considering your audience, ask yourself four things:
- What does my audience need help with?
- What does my audience value?
- What kind of relationship do we want to have with our audience?
- When is a valuable time to be in front of your audience?
By answering these key questions, you’ll have a greater focus and understanding of your brand’s content strategy.
Bri’s takeaway:
Your content marketing strategy is nothing without your team. One of the sure ways for your strategy to fail is to let everything fall on one person’s plate. Don’t be afraid to ask for help. Assigning roles to your team members will help lighten the load for everyone. Use these roles as a starting point:
- Responsible – Editor-in-Chief
- Accountable – Writers, Programmers
- Consulted – Department Head, Management
- Informed – Other Departments
The phrase “too many cooks in the kitchen” doesn’t apply here. Build up your resources and build the fire!
