I recently took some courses with Content Marketing University to update my skills and see what's new in the world of content marketing. Here are 5 things I learned (or re-learned):
1. It's All About Your Audience's Needs
- Establish a measurable relationship with your audience.
- Use advocates and influencers to build trust - your audience trusts them more than you.
- Use paid media to earn media, and target influencers to share your content.
2. Content may be king, but distribution is queen
- TV marketing spends $5 on distribution for every $1 spent on creating content. Content marketing is the opposite, but needs to shift toward the TV model to minimize content churn and provide more value.
- Send content out through press releases to improve organic search ranking.
3. Be Clear About Goals & Related KPI'S
- Decide what you're trying to accomplish (build awareness, sell more products) and measure accordingly. Trying to do it all will ensure you do nothing well.
- Keep content marketing away from being just another way to communicate sales material.
4. Always Nurture
- Onboard your audience into everything - if they sign up for your blog, send them your 5 best blogs before you put them into the regular schedule.
- Use each email in your nurture pathways to get someone to ask the next question.
- Use nurture marketing when onboarding new employees - you will excite them about your mission and in turn they will help distribute your content and be valuable advocates.
5. Use Content Strategy To Break Down Silos
- Plan cross-function, gathering resource from around the organization, soliciting ideas, and involving in review.
- Everyone has a unique role to play and there's enough work for all. Comms, PR, Marketing, Media - you all need each other and your work will improve drastically when you approach it together.
- You probably have something to learn. Being open minded will help you come up with breakthrough ideas.
What do you think should be added to the list?