Everyone tells you what to do, how about a little help around what not do?
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1. All your content must be original
Let’s face it- intelligent content isn’t very easy to create. Well thought out articles take hours of research, a good dose of creativity and a very talented writer. Easier said than done, isn’t it? Does this mean that you should choose between creating average content that could potentially go unnoticed or repurpose good interesting content that’s already been published in a new avatar? Well we’re saying don’t think twice before going in for the second one. Your odds of getting noticed are a lot higher with content that’s witty and worthwhile even if it’s been seen in another form earlier than if it’s plain and dry!
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2. We must all create videos
You’ve been following the antics of the top marketers dotting the best companies with many content marketing feathers in their multi coloured caps and you’ve noticed they all make videos. Hence you deduce- let’s make a video! So before you head out to find your video recorder, we have a word of advice for you- Don’t.
It’s not necessary that the same kind of content medium works for all brands. There are some industries or products that benefit heavily from video based content but that isn’t always the case. Think of it- if you’re selling high security lock systems that guarantee the highest levels of security to a home, chances are the last thing you want to create is a video about the technical aspects of what makes a safe ‘safe’. You’d be better off creating an article about the importance of home security instead. -
3. All content must be seasonal
The interesting thing about us is how we conveniently distribute the year into a series of festivals/holidays/events that could help us get through it! So you’re technically going from New Year to the World Cup to Christmas to Super Bowl… you get the picture. If you follow most of the content that gets churned out, it seems to follow that exact same pattern. But the point to keep in mind is that it’s not necessarily the way it needs to be done. It’s a different thing if your product is a generic one that can be linked to anything under the Sun, but if you’ve got something specific that relates to a defined audience- skip the urge to force fit your brand to every event or holiday that comes along.
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4. We must all blog
For many content marketers out there, content begins and ends with a blog. For this precise reason, they diligently post articles on their blog and think that they have achieved ‘their content goals’. But before you get there, just one question that might get you back to the drawing board- is it really working? If you’re selling a product that is adventurous and exciting or if your audience works long crazy hours with hardly a moment to spare, chances are they don’t spend their free time going through blogs. They want something fun that would pump up their adrenaline or something quick that would ease their stress. Give them that.
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5. Social media is for the youth
For all those people who thought that all those duck faces on Instagram were coming from bored college kids or teenage high schoolers- do we have a reality check for you! Recent research suggests that the growth of social media users among adults has been huge in the last couple of years. So while 89% of 18 - 29 year olds were on social media, following them close behind are those in the 30 - 49 year old group with a whopping 82% active users. So to everyone who thinks that social media content is only relevant to youngsters- think again.
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6. Good content contains magic pixie dust
Any content creator out there will vouch for the fact that their creations are labors of love. What you see on your screen is the result of hours of research, countless trips to the drawing board and lots of absent doodling. So it isn’t hard to believe that they consider these works to be nothing short of perfection which are bound to take the world by storm the minute they’re posted.
Reality is a tad bit different though. There’s nothing more heartening that seeing your ‘piece of art’ getting a ‘pitiful’ number of views and being buried in an avalanche of content. But here’s the thing- good content won’t just magically get carried to your audience. It needs to be marketed as well. This means posting the right number of teasers, sending out the right mailers and making the right noise at the right places! -
7. The Marketer or the Writer will do
Content marketing brought about the age of the commercial writer who was the right combination of journalistic prowess combined with pragmatic realism. The ideal breed is one that knows what to write but more importantly knows how to write it. The internet is flooded with information and it’s tough to sieve through all the clutter and get to the worthwhile stuff. Which is why it’s so very important to hire the witty writer. While marketing the content is the second part of the battle, if you’ve not invested your time to create something worth marketing, you’ve already lost it. So when in doubt- hire the good writer.
-
1. All your content must be original
Let’s face it- intelligent content isn’t very easy to create. Well thought out articles take hours of research, a good dose of creativity and a very talented writer. Easier said than done, isn’t it? Does this mean that you should choose between creating average content that could potentially go unnoticed or repurpose good interesting content that’s already been published in a new avatar? Well we’re saying don’t think twice before going in for the second one. Your odds of getting noticed are a lot higher with content that’s witty and worthwhile even if it’s been seen in another form earlier than if it’s plain and dry!
-
2. We must all create videos
You’ve been following the antics of the top marketers dotting the best companies with many content marketing feathers in their multi coloured caps and you’ve noticed they all make videos. Hence you deduce- let’s make a video! So before you head out to find your video recorder, we have a word of advice for you- Don’t.
It’s not necessary that the same kind of content medium works for all brands. There are some industries or products that benefit heavily from video based content but that isn’t always the case. Think of it- if you’re selling high security lock systems that guarantee the highest levels of security to a home, chances are the last thing you want to create is a video about the technical aspects of what makes a safe ‘safe’. You’d be better off creating an article about the importance of home security instead. -
3. All content must be seasonal
The interesting thing about us is how we conveniently distribute the year into a series of festivals/holidays/events that could help us get through it! So you’re technically going from New Year to the World Cup to Christmas to Super Bowl… you get the picture. If you follow most of the content that gets churned out, it seems to follow that exact same pattern. But the point to keep in mind is that it’s not necessarily the way it needs to be done. It’s a different thing if your product is a generic one that can be linked to anything under the Sun, but if you’ve got something specific that relates to a defined audience- skip the urge to force fit your brand to every event or holiday that comes along.
-
4. We must all blog
For many content marketers out there, content begins and ends with a blog. For this precise reason, they diligently post articles on their blog and think that they have achieved ‘their content goals’. But before you get there, just one question that might get you back to the drawing board- is it really working? If you’re selling a product that is adventurous and exciting or if your audience works long crazy hours with hardly a moment to spare, chances are they don’t spend their free time going through blogs. They want something fun that would pump up their adrenaline or something quick that would ease their stress. Give them that.
-
5. Social media is for the youth
For all those people who thought that all those duck faces on Instagram were coming from bored college kids or teenage high schoolers- do we have a reality check for you! Recent research suggests that the growth of social media users among adults has been huge in the last couple of years. So while 89% of 18 - 29 year olds were on social media, following them close behind are those in the 30 - 49 year old group with a whopping 82% active users. So to everyone who thinks that social media content is only relevant to youngsters- think again.
-
6. Good content contains magic pixie dust
Any content creator out there will vouch for the fact that their creations are labors of love. What you see on your screen is the result of hours of research, countless trips to the drawing board and lots of absent doodling. So it isn’t hard to believe that they consider these works to be nothing short of perfection which are bound to take the world by storm the minute they’re posted.
Reality is a tad bit different though. There’s nothing more heartening that seeing your ‘piece of art’ getting a ‘pitiful’ number of views and being buried in an avalanche of content. But here’s the thing- good content won’t just magically get carried to your audience. It needs to be marketed as well. This means posting the right number of teasers, sending out the right mailers and making the right noise at the right places! -
7. The Marketer or the Writer will do
Content marketing brought about the age of the commercial writer who was the right combination of journalistic prowess combined with pragmatic realism. The ideal breed is one that knows what to write but more importantly knows how to write it. The internet is flooded with information and it’s tough to sieve through all the clutter and get to the worthwhile stuff. Which is why it’s so very important to hire the witty writer. While marketing the content is the second part of the battle, if you’ve not invested your time to create something worth marketing, you’ve already lost it. So when in doubt- hire the good writer.
