The Monster is Hungry

Some people consider “content marketing” a specific segment of marketing which, as the name implies, is a type of marketing which concentrates on creating and distributing content for a targeted audience, with the hopes of driving engagement and triggering sales. To my mind, all marketing is content marketing in one form or another. The idea is to put something in front of your target audience in order to trigger a certain action. Maybe it’s to buy something or donate. Maybe it’s to comment or take a certain action. Nothing happens, however, if there’s no content. Which can sometimes be a problem.

One of the things that doesn’t get discussed often in the world of marketing is creating content. There is talk about what sort of content could and should be created, of course, but not much talk about what goes into creating content. What it takes to come up with ideas. The hours that need to be spent actually writing that copy or shooting and editing that video that your target audience might well scroll on past. The fact that each piece of content has a finite life and, to keep things going, there is always a need for more content.

As I’ve pointed out before, successful marketers know that they have to be in it for the long haul. If you commit to a marketing plan, you’re also commiting to a schedule of creating content, and acknowledging the constant need for new content. This is a treadmill that you won’t often be able to leave. The benefits of good content marketing are huge, but doing it successfully means being smart about what you create and how you create it.

Doing Content Marketing Well

Tip #1: Have a Plan - Any good marketing strategy is going to have objectives and goals. Before you start creating or putting out any content, sit down and figure out what you want to say and where you want to say it. Some people use spreadsheets, some use calendars, some use online social media planning tools. It doesn’t matter what gets used, the goal is to have a plan for what needs to be created, when it needs to be created, and where it will be shown.

Tip #2: Use the available tools - There are a number of content creation sites out there. Canva is a popular one for graphics creation. ChatGPT and other AI writing sites are available for creating copy. While I don’t recommend relying on AI too much, there are times when these types of tools can be helpful. If writing is your weak spot, or graphic design is not your jam, find the tools that can help you do what you need to do in the most professional way possible.

Tip #3: Don’t assume you know what content will work best - One of the best things about social media, in my opinion anyway, is that you can talk directly to your customers. It is also a tendency of human beings to have things that they like better and things they like less, and to tend to want to do the things they like better. If I had my way, every piece of content I ever showed my audience would be words, because I’m a writer. That, however, isn’t always what works, or always what my audience wants to see. When in doubt, or when creating your strategy, talk to your audience. Ask them what content they’d prefer.

Tip #4: The pictures they move - For a long, long time, I was fiercely anti video. Mostly because I think I looked good on camera and I found it intimidating. Over time, however, I’ve discovered that video has lots of applications, only one of which is my face being center screen. You can film equipment running. You can do tutorials where the focus is what’s being made. You can do montages of still shots. Video marketing helps increase brand awareness, increase sales and conversions and increase customer retention. It’s worth investing the time.

Action Items

The Ultimate Guide to Video Marketing - Hubspot - This is a soup to nuts overview of creating a video marketing strategy. I really like their concept of a flywheel rather than a funnel when they talk about using video to pull customers through the marketing process. I think it makes more sense than the traditional funnel idea.

How to Create Impactful Shareabout Content on Social Media - Constant Contact - The most useful content is content that’s shared, and not all content will generate the impulse to share. This article gives some tips on how to create content that your users lil want to share. It also talks a bit about why that’s important.

Best Graphic Design Software of 2024 - TechRadarPro - I will admit, graphic design is not really my jam, and I’m sure there are a ton of sites out there that are great of which I am not aware. This list from TechRadarPro mostly covers sites or options I’ve at least heard of, and I tend to agree with the opinions expressed.

About Me

My name is Kristine Shreve. I’m a writer, a marketer, an editor, and an educator. Visit my website to learn more.