Carolyn McMaster | December 13, 2013
A recent tweet bemoaning the lack of interesting content in that medium made me think about content marketing in general—the problem isn’t just Twitter. There’s a relative dearth of useful or interesting content across all channels, from blogs and newsletters to reports and webinars. Quantity has replaced quality as a goal. And the more there is, the more junk there is likely to be.
People are lazily reposting and rehashing, or creating content that has little or no value. They are operating under the delusion that content marketing is easy: if you sit down to create, then meaningful, engaging content will come pouring out. That’s not true—even for content professionals.
Regularly producing great content requires a plan, goals and insight. As you approach content marketing in the new year, make sure you have these foundational elements in place:
- A guiding strategy—what you should be talking about to highlight your expertise and support your business goals, and the channels you will use.
- Knowledge of what your audience wants and needs.
- An understanding of what good content is (useful, insightful, thought provoking, entertaining, or, optimally, all of those things).
- An editorial calendar for your reports, blog, video production or whatever, to ensure that you’re not stuck on deadline without a good idea, and that you cover a good mix of topics with timing that’s appropriate for your business.
Get more tips on mastering content marketing in our Strategy>Shift guide, Content Marketing: Myth vs. Reality.
