Content marketing has been all the rage for a couple of years now. Most companies are allured by the idea of using content marketing as a way of generating inbound leads. The problem is that too many companies take the term literally and think of it as content that markets, that promotes your brand and drives business.
That’s the indirect result of effective content marketing. Your job as a content marketer is to create superheroes.
“What the hell does that mean?”
It means that you ask yourself “What superpower would I give my readers?” What new skill would you teach them, how would you make them more amazing?
THAT is the goal of your content. Your content should make the people you are trying to connect with better. Better at some core competence that is important to them. For example, if you sell cameras, your job isn’t to create content that sells more cameras, your job is to create content that teaches your customers how to take better pictures. If you can connect with a grandmother that has never used a digital camera and with one blog post teach her how to use a digital camera to take great pictures of her granddaughter’s wedding then you have indeed given her a superpower.
And you’ve created a new fan that will tell everyone about your site and your cameras. Because fans generate sales.
So when you are crafting your content marketing strategy, do this:
1 – Figure out who you are trying to connect with, who your audience is. (For me I am trying to connect with companies that want to learn how to better use and understand social media marketing)
2 – Figure out what skills this group needs, or what information has value to them. (This group needs to understand not only how to use social media tools effectively, but how to use these tools to drive business growth)
3 – Decide on the focus of your blog/social media content , ie the ‘superpower’ you will give your readers (I am focused on teaching companies how to better use social media marketing to connect with customers and to create fans)
So when you are crafting our your content strategy, think about what’s important to your audience, whether it’s new skills, the latest information, or whatever. Once you’ve decided what that audience needs, create content that helps give them these new superpowers that will make them more successful and more awesome.
Besides, creating superheroes is a pretty sweet gig to have!
