A tipping point. We have one.
It appears a large number of marketers (and life coaches) in the social realm have stumbled upon and are trying to capitalize on the idea of content marketing, the art of developing and promoting relevant content. And as ninjas are prone to do, they've been using this groundswell of momentum to start slapping the term all over the place.
While we kid our ninjas because we love them, it's not their fault.
We've trained everyone to identify hot terms and phrases then place them in their blog headlines and cram 'em into their Twitter profiles. But before content marketing crosses that threshold, I want to go on record that the topic is far too sophisticated to let it die slowly upon the pile of outdated catchphrases.
I beg you.
The idea of content as an online marketing tactic has existed in the SEO lexicon for quite some time and will be around well after Facebook takes on Google in 2012 (allegedly). In theory, it has been a part of advertising, marketing and communications for even longer.
Yet, it languishes and unjustly so.
To help illustrate that point, below I've outlined a few reasons why we cannot let content marketing be a term of the masses. If everyone is a content marketer, no one is a content marketer.
1. Content marketing cannot work without a deep understanding of a desired audience.
You would think this is obvious - alas - that is not the case.
Think of each target audience you are trying to reach and the places that they congregate. If a practitioner doesn't know how to engage those audiences with relevant messaging, how can they possibly be marketing?
2. Content marketers must understand branding.
Every single piece of content you put out there should be consistent to that very specific audience you are trying to reach. After that, content should take advantage of any existing brand equity that exists.
Others may disagree that for content to be shareable, it must be stripped of it's brand so as to remove any sales pretense. I disagree.
It depends on the overall goal of such content as well as the proposed reaction of the audience. Branded content increases the desired action of the target audiences because it is in the voice tailored just for them as designated by the strategic marketing plan.
3. Content marketers must understand analytics.
One of the best parts of developing content is examining the results and learning from it, therefore any onsite and offsite metrics you can analyze and makes sense of is crucial to campaign and departmental growth.
While each client and audience is different, knowing how to segment and test certain variables can help the strategic thought process for future campaigns.
4. Content marketers must understand SEO
Understanding SEO doesn't mean having an SEO-friendly site, it means being conscious of the entire process from competitive universe to keyword selection to how content fits into an existing link building plan.
It also means planning the ideal format and lifespan of a particular piece of content. For example, if it's a guest blog post, will it link back to your desired site, how long will it be up and what type of traffic should you expect? Or, if your content is part of a microsite, marketers must map out the life cycle of the site to determine when it needs to be redirected into the main site.
5. Content marketers must understand the client's sales cycle
Each specific piece of content must exist to move the prospect or customer to a new stage in the sales cycle, however, it would help tremendously to understand what part of the sales cycle needs help.
6. Content is by definition, tactical.
While others argue semantics about "content marketing" and "content strategy," the fact remains that content should be driven by strategic marketing first.
While there are some tremendous content strategists and marketers in the enterprise, this thought process is often missed in smaller marketing departments. And if content marketing is destined for the masses, do your part and educate the masses.
If you are interested in hearing more about our theory on content marketing, please let us know.
