We are awash in content. It is actually a problem now. As audiences have become more vocal about what they need, brands and businesses have become more active in providing them that “great” content. “Alas” – and you will excuse the vernacular – “most of it aint great.” On March 21-22, I will join several hundred social media leaders from the North America and Europe for a two-day summit on social media and content marketing. The Reykjavik Internet Marketing Conference (RIMC) will provide business leaders an opportunity to discuss ways to help solve the disconnect between the content demand and supply. My session will cover the three steps of content marketing: need, creation, and connection. Audience Need: If a “journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step,” content creation should start on the foot of “audience need.” Unfortunately, most brands really don”t know what the audience needs or wants in terms of content. The first step, then, is to listen. There are some fantastic social listening tools out there to help you with this. We use Social Media Analytics by NetBase. The idea here is to find the keywords that audiences are using to search for content like yours. For instance, we were engaged in a rather large product launch a few months back. When we analyzed the marketplace after our launch, our analysis showed that the audience we wanted to reach was searching for the term “data warehouse.” We did not use that term in any of our content – not once. Had we created some content on that theme, and used that term, we would have more efficiently connected with our audiences. Our pain is now your gain – lesson learned. Content Creation: This one is tricky. Writing is as much “art” as “science.” But, just like I could take guitar lessons for a lifetime, I will never be a great guitar player (I have tried). I can learn the cords, but my ability to make music is in question. If someone has a “writer”s DNA,” they can learn the tactics and become a great writer. Where most brands struggle is when they assume all marketing people can write. Oh, were this true!! The best thing a would-be writer can do to create content for their audience is to empathize with their reader. Put yourself in their shoes – if you were them, would you read what you want to write? Is that interesting to them? Even if you are not a great writer, writing for what your audience wants will get your further than a well-written piece they dont care to read. Connecting The Two: You know what your audience wants, and you have written a great piece with them in mind. You are close to half-way mark of the process. Publishing and promoting your piece will be as important as the first two steps, combined. The idea of “if you publish it, they will come” went out the window with Kevin Costner“s career. Remember, we are awash in content and most of it is …read more
Source: FULL ARTICLE at Forbes Latest