I tell every client and prospect I meet that when it comes to their sales and marketing, they need to focus on developing their content marketing strategy.
Here's the problem with this:
These people panic, because they think they either have to HAVE a large audience, or that they have to BUILD a large audience. And as a result, they shut down, claim that it is too hard, and do nothing.
Understanding content marketing isn't complicated. It is generating content that tells stories about the purpose, the mission, the "why" of your business. Tells the stories of how you help and serve your market. And that content is distributed in countless ways, from advertising, to blogging, to social media, to video, and to podcasting...to name just a few.
The confusion comes with the question: "Who am I generating all this content for?"
It is an important question.
If you think you can't host a videoTV series, or a podcast, or shouldn't publish a regular blog without a large audience to consume the content, you are dead wrong.
Yes, it is true that consistently publishing a video series, podcast, and blog content, you will certainly grow an audience for the content over time. But this is a slow and steady process, one that takes time. [by the way, this isn't a bad thing...]
But the simple message I want to communicate today is this:
The content you create can be, should be, must be...created for a very specific audience. And maybe even for ONE person.
Your customers, your prospects, the influencers in your market space have specific questions, specific needs, or require clarity on something particular.
Create content to answer those inquiries. One piece of content - one question - at a time. And then, be darn sure that person receives a personalized communication from you linking to the content specifically made for them.
But then, something magical happens...
When you answer a question for one person, you know darn well (or will certainly find out), there are countless other people and organizations that will benefit from the same content.
And that's how your audience is built over time...
Drawing by Hugh Macleod.