“Content is King” has undoubtedly become the marketing catch phrase of the past decade. It is one that has been repeated hundreds of times, and is often used as the canned solution to everyone’s marketing problems. Fast forward a few years (and thousands of whitepapers and case studies later) and you find yourself in the content saturated marketing world of 2015.
With this change, organizations have begun to be separated based on the two lines we often hear when inquiring about campaign components:
- “We’ll have to look at getting something created. I can’t think of anything right now.”
- “Oh, well we have plenty of content. What do you need?”
Group A falls into the easily preached solution, “Content is King” which is a topic that has been discussed for years. However, it is the new group that I want to focus on in this post – Group B – those that boast an infinite resource library. This is always a welcome relief… kind of. There is a big difference between having content, and having content someone cares about – or even more so, content that someone would be willing to give their email address for to gain access.
If in one instance, someone can search the topic of your content and find 50 whitepapers on the first five pages of Google, how do you make sure that your organization’s resources aren’t lost in the influx?
Below are three key tips that will help make your content stand out in the marketing noise:
1) What
The fact of the matter is people click on something that catches their eye. A blog or whitepaper could be packed full of top notch industry knowledge, however no one is going to take the time to read it if the headline doesn’t grab their attention originally. A great trend that has been happening is the numeric title. This is something internally we use as a best practice when creating content:
- “3 Steps to Successful Channel Partner Marketing”
- “4 Simple Steps to Drive Channel Sales with Rules-Based Lead Distribution”
- “7 Secrets of Lead Nurturing Success”
With users consistently flooded with data, this is a simple method to keep their attention while allowing them to scroll through content and grab the applicable knowledge. If you’re not going to go the numeric approach, think of something that will grab their attention. A good way to judge this is to drop your headline/title into google and see how many similar results appear. If the first 10 results are all for a “Database Storage Solutions for Your Business” whitepaper, consider brainstorming something more unique.
2) Where
Knowing where your content will be used is the “Target Audience” of the 21st century. We aren’t looking for SMB CFOs between the ages of 35-55 – this is more elementary than that. This is about recognizing where the prospect is within the buying cycle. Content that is used in social media, blogs, PPC campaigns, or email campaigns often requires very different messaging. You wouldn’t necessarily promote an industry analyst report in an introductory email, however by the third touch in a nurture campaign it is a valuable asset to those engaged. On the flipside, you wouldn’t promote your CEO’s latest blog post with a PPC campaign; however it is the perfect content for LinkedIn.
3) When
A great way to make your content automatically relevant is to be one of the first to speak up on a topic. Browse industry trends and blogs. Do a Google search and set the custom timeline to the last few weeks. What is the buzz in LinkedIn groups? See if you can establish a problem discussed in the industry and give your views on the issue. Being one of the first to pipe in with your “thought leader” view – is an easy way to get readers engaged. Additionally, you’re creating a credibility level that will later reflect with prospects trusting your product and services.
Regardless of whether your organization falls into Group A of needed content creation or Group B of content influx, it is important to remember that the market is heavily competitive in today’s digital marketing world. Although content may be king, quality is the new ace that will help your company win this round against your competitors.
