Carolyn McMaster | September 4, 2014
When businesses get excited about the potential for a content marketing program—a blog, say, or newsletter—they often want to include all kinds of things that are irrelevant to their business or to their clients and target markets.
When we start narrowing the field to their own industry and audience needs, we often get this reaction: “What could we possibly say? It’s all been done before. We don’t have any content that anyone else would be interested in.”
They’re undervaluing themselves. If you have expertise in an area, you have something to say. Think about it: If you had nothing of worth to contribute to the marketplace, you wouldn’t be in business, right? And rare is the potential customer of any business who prefers to be blissfully ignorant about what they’re buying, why it will make their life easier or how to use it.
Everyone has information to share that other people want—insights into common problems, tips and how-tos, technical knowledge and so on. Customer questions are great fodder for content marketing, as are best practices you’ve developed or tested, observations you make in the field and topics you find people often misunderstand. You can also provide perspectives on trends or news in your industry—and don’t worry that your views are not unique. Your opinions are valuable because they are yours and show others how you think.
Start thinking about your content along these lines and you’ll find you have more than enough to feed a program that spreads your knowledge, nurtures prospects and increases understanding of your brand and mission.
Get more tips in our Strategy>Shift guide, Content Marketing: Myth vs. Reality.
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