Live from OMS: The 10-Step Content Strategy
It was amazing how few hands went up yesterday at the Online Marketing Summit when moderator Joe Pulizzi asked how many people in a room full of marketers have a content strategy in place. Attendees scribbled madly as his expert panel laid out a plan:
- Start with a needs assessment. Mike Stelzner of SocialMediaExaminer.com suggested starting out by asking who your ideal reader is. You need to be able to visualize that person and focus clearly on his or her persona to create content that resonates with that audience, he said.
- Get a sense for the competitive landscape. Where does your desired audience get information? Determine if there is a need that isn’t being filled and if you can own that gap, advised Content Rich author Joe Wuebben. Lawrence Coburn of RateItAll mentioned Seed.com as an example of a data-oriented service that can tell you what your market is searching for. (After you become a contributor, you have access to loads of user metrics.)
- Find out what stories people are telling about your brand. Listen to what your desired customers are saying. Survey them, if possible, and integrate what you learn into your plan.
- Choose your corporate voice. Simon Kelly of Story Worldwide suggests creating a “story platform” that will help define your voice. Make sure your voice is congruent with your core corporate values and consistent across channels. Your corporate voice will be defined by your audience demographics and company goals. It shouldn’t be confusing to your audience in any way.
- Know your core keywords. There are relatively inexpensive ways to find out the best keywords to target on your site. Coburn mentioned Wordtracker and Keyword Discovery as places to start.
- Commit to your blog. In Arnie Keunn’s business, Vertical Measures, 25% of his Web traffic comes from its blog. The blog should be the hub for your marketing activities, with platforms such as Twitter, Facebook, Linked as the spokes. Your blog is real estate you own, and you can control 100% how your content is presented.
- Make content educational, not promotional. Tell stories about problems your customers have, don’t just pitch your product. Consider asking for registration/further engagement with your audience at the end of your content — once readers are hooked — rather than at the beginning. Shoot for 200 to 400 words, which is the sweet spot for blog-post length, and don’t forget to augment your content with video whenever possible.
- Integrate your content with the other social-media channels. Embed social media into your content — even if your content is PDFs of case studies, e-books or white papers. Give readers the opportunity to engage in your content and share it with their networks. Lightweight ways to encourage reader engagement include adding a “like” button to your content, plugging in Facebook Connect and including discussion threads for blog comments.
- Create a content calendar. Build the calendar at least three months out. Make sure it includes season- and industry-related events and is accessible companywide.
- Tend to reader comments. Last, but definitely not least, leave no reader comment unattended.
Image credit, Eoseye, via iStock
Posted by bretsimmons on February 24th, 2010 at 6:55 pm
Exceptional advice, Merritt. The only thing I would add is be prepared to learn even more about your content. Content will come easy in the beginning, but you will reach a point where you need fresh things to say. That's why content marketing makes you even better at what you do. One way to learn is to engage others that write similar content. Visit their blogs, leave comments and engage them in conversation. Great tips! Bret
Posted by @dspark on February 25th, 2010 at 6:01 pm
Great advice Merritt. I've also interviewed Joe on this very subject as well in a discussion "Be the media rather than surround the media." You can listen to our interview or read the summary here: http://bethevoiceblog.com/2008/10/17/be-the-media…
Also, I invite your readers to read my article, "'Be the Voice' – Build Your Business by Becoming your Industry's Thought Leader" which speaks to the same topic: http://www.sparkmediasolutions.com/bevoice.html
Posted by merritt colaizzi on February 25th, 2010 at 11:16 pm
Outstanding point, Bret — one that was underscored at a number of other sessions this week at the Online Marketing Summit. Learning from others and contributing when you can add value is absolutely key. Thanks for reading!
Posted by MerrittColaizzi on February 25th, 2010 at 11:37 pm
Thanks for these great complementary resources – good stuff.
Posted by Ann Stofflet on February 25th, 2010 at 7:01 pm
Thanks, this is a great post, Merritt!
Posted by Joe Pulizzi on February 26th, 2010 at 6:16 pm
Hi Merritt…thanks for the shout out.
Couple thoughts since our discussion.
1. Failed content marketing often comes from a lack of consistency. That's why the content calendar is so important.
2. If you want online content marketing to really work, someone in your organization MUST get active where customers are at online, and clearly show passion for the industry. It takes a lot of work, but it's worth the pay off.
My recent post Brands as Publishers – Where's Your Content Strategy?
Posted by MerrittColaizzi on February 26th, 2010 at 7:17 pm
Hi, Joe. I appreciate your follow-up comments, especially because after I posted this, I realized that I neglected to mention that this content strategy plan is for companies in all industries — and is especially aimed at those who've never before thought of themselves as content creators. Passion for your industry — not just your product — will go a long way. Thanks for the terrific session!
Posted by MerrittColaizzi on February 26th, 2010 at 7:15 pm
Hi, Joe. I appreciate your follow-up comments, especially because after I posted this, I realized that I neglected to mention that this content strategy plan is for companies in all industries — and is especially aimed at those who've never before thought of themselves as content creators. Passion for your industry — not just your product — will go a long way. Thanks for the terrific session!
Posted by Randy Duermyer on March 1st, 2010 at 9:01 pm
Great post. Joe's last two comments are especially on -point:
"
1. Failed content marketing often comes from a lack of consistency. That's why the content calendar is so important.
2. If you want online content marketing to really work, someone in your organization MUST get active where customers are at online, and clearly show passion for the industry."
I think not making the commitment in those two areas will make life a lot harder, and it's probably something nearly all of us are guilty of at some point.
My recent post Hey Google, That Blog is NOT Spam
Posted by Randy Duermyer on March 1st, 2010 at 9:01 pm
Great post. Joe's last two comments are especially on -point:
"
1. Failed content marketing often comes from a lack of consistency. That's why the content calendar is so important.
2. If you want online content marketing to really work, someone in your organization MUST get active where customers are at online, and clearly show passion for the industry."
I think not making the commitment in those two areas will make life a lot harder, and it's probably something nearly all of us are guilty of at some point.
My recent post Hey Google, That Blog is NOT Spam
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[...] Merrit Colaizzi posted from the Online Marketing Summit on the 24th with Live from OMS: The 10-Step Content Strategy [...]
Posted by Doug Kessler on March 4th, 2010 at 10:00 pm
All good stuff. Thanks.
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Posted by JSTBooks on July 1st, 2010 at 9:50 am
Perfect advice here. Content marketing rules the day and the sooner you make it work for you the better.
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Posted by mointernational on August 9th, 2010 at 11:06 am
Great advice- i will put it into practice.
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Posted by James on September 12th, 2010 at 7:38 am
Great, great input. Having a good grasp on your content is a must if you plan on posting on a regular basis. The readers will be able to tell when you run out of steam. Truly being an expert in your niche is a must to run a successful blog. Another option would be to invite other experts in the niche to guest post on your site. That way your readers will always be getting fresh, relevant content.
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Posted by 5 Simple Things I learned at #SMAZ 2010 « AZIMA on September 15th, 2010 at 9:04 am
[...] could use a reminder, and if you are not already following these simple tips, here’s a refresher on how to develop content [...]
Posted by home based leads on October 10th, 2010 at 8:20 am
Excellent post. Thanks for the free advice! Much appreciated.
My recent post Internet Lead Generation- 4 Steps to Successful Lead Generation
Posted by Bit Doze on February 3rd, 2011 at 1:30 am
Content is the most important thing in the success of a blog, with out good content you will not accomplish nothing. This is a very good list of tips. I will try to implement them on my blog to see how it works.
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Posted by Web Design on February 5th, 2011 at 12:40 pm
[...] The 10-Step Content Strategy [...]
Posted by Robin on March 31st, 2011 at 7:07 am
A content strategy is so important! Having someone on board who knows this stuff inside out can really help. This is a useful article. I would change the emphasis a little bit to make sure the importance of listening comes out. Points two and three covers this a bit, but it is my belief that listening to what others are saying, customers, competitors etc. should form half the work of developing ones content strategy.
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someone on board who knows this stuff inside out can really help. This is a useful article. I would change the emphasis
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