content marketing

Posts Tagged ‘content marketing’

Instructions For The Triggerpuller

Thursday, July 29th, 2010

There’s a lot to be said for collaboration. It’s helpful to have another set of eyes and a different perspective.

But only one person can pull the trigger.

Go ahead and decide who that’s going to be before you start. You’ll save everyone on your project time and headache, which saves the business money (which is why we do this).

There’s a lot more to a marketing strategy now that in the past. The parts and pieces make it possible for there to be a lot of different places and ways to launch. Better be able to trust the person responsible for it.

Establish tone. Create style. Be consistent. You need to instill confidence in your co-workers just as much as you do in your clients. There’s no way to do that through constant consensus.

If you can do that with the people that you’re working with/for, your work is going to be better. No question. You’ll have eliminated micromanagement from your workflow, because you’ve trained yourself (and your team, and your customers) that your decisions are good ones.

Here’s a path to making that happen…

1. Workflow. Make sure everyone involved in the project understands that you’ll be the one hitting “publish”. Whatever path you need to take to get there, try to make it as straight as possible. Too many cooks spoil the copy.

2. Fight flexibly. Content marketing is a process, not an event. If consensus does move away from your direction, consider the reasons for that. There’s a lot of room as triggerpuller to include other people’s ideas while still maintaining the integrity of the piece. That’s one of the reasons the triggerpuller job is so great: you’re the ultimate ally. But be ready to fight for something you need.

3. Take responsibility. You make decisions based on how you see the marketing landscape, and guess what? You’re going to make a mistake. You’ll read something wrong, upset the wrong person, publish typos. Worse, you’ll do it on behalf of someone else. Oosh. When it happens, be ready. Own up to your mistake. Then get ready to pull the trigger again.

What do you think? Small biz trigger pullers out there, what’s your take?

Tags: blogs, business trust, content, content marketing, content strategy, relatonships
Posted in Content Creation | No Comments »

Do You Believe In Your Content?

Tuesday, July 27th, 2010

It’s easy to say so. Not so easy to actually do.

It’s all about trust. If you trust your customers to get it, you can do amazing things with content. You get to make it personal. You can use a shared language all your own. You can be brave. You can even fail, and try again, and fail, and try again. Content like that commands belief.

No trust, though, and there’s no way to create belief. You have to cover all the bases. You have to hedge. You have to play the devil’s advocate. You have to appeal to all sides. You have to dumb down and market to the largest common denominator. You have to tell only part of the story (the shiny part).

Can you really believe in something like that?

Tags: belief, blogs, content, content marketing, content strategy, writing
Posted in Content Creation | 1 Comment »

Writing Video 101

Friday, July 23rd, 2010

That’s right, it says “Writing Video”. Scripts.

You can do this. Video is huge. There are numbers and statistics showing that investment in online video marketing is continuing to grow, year after year.

Duh. Of course it is. Think of what video has going for it:

-It’s quick. Small businesses can make their own videos in the amount of time it takes a production company to get donuts for their meeting.

-It’s cheap. $150 bucks buys you all the HD camera you’ll ever need. Throw in another ten for some lighting, if you’re getting all fancy.

-It’s easy. Turn it on, shoot some footage, and post it everywhere. Done.

The question is, what are you going to film? What’s your content? Those are the questions to answer, not “how?”.

Here are some tips for creating video scripts:

Less Is More Let the video do the work. Keep in mind that you’re writing for a medium that captures an audience through pictures, not words.

Set The Scene Regardless of whether your video is a monologue, a documentary clip, or an info piece, include the setting in the writing. It should have something to do with your subject, so remember it when writing the script.

Include Some SEO Google is using the same tech as they use in Google Voice to index video clips. That means that what you’re writing, even though the audience won’t see the transcript, can influence search results. Keywords, people.

Outline Especially for informal videos, you want the script to come off naturally. That’s hard to do with people who aren’t professional actors, so including an outline can help cover your subject without setting the script in stone.

Include Directions If you see your action taking a certain course, make sure you include it in [brackets]. Don’t leave everything up to the camera; make the action part of your script.

Remember, these are tips for informal videos. Which you can make tons of without a ton of investment. Add a little planning on the front end with a script, and you’ve got another channel for your digital marketing.

Tags: blogs, content, content marketing, scripts, video, writing
Posted in Blogging | No Comments »

5 Editing Tips Every Blogger Should Know

Monday, July 19th, 2010

Writing is writing. But what you’re doing is something else: business blogging.

You’re talking about what’s going on in your world, giving your perspective, sharing your expertise. There’s an element to what you’re writing that makes it stand out from other content you produce, like brochures or white papers.

That element is speed.

As a business blogger, you need to produce content. Regularly. It has to be interesting. Valuable. Useful. And it has to be quick; if you’re like most other small business bloggers, writer is just one tiny hat among the several hundred others you’re wearing.

So you have to be quick and you have to be good. It reminds me of that old sign you’d sometimes see: ”It can be quick, it can be good, or it can be cheap: pick any two”. It’s arguable whether or not blogging is cheap; there’s a significant time investment if you’re going to do it right. But for now, let’s say that one’s a given, and we’re going with the other two. Quick and good.

How do you make that happen? One way is to be a better editor. It’s one thing to crank out some ideas, but it’s another to make them readable and interesting.

Here are five editing tips you can use to help make your writing both quick and good:

Don’t Stop: It’s not quite stream-of-consciousness, but you shouldn’t stop writing once you start. Keep pushing instead of working on that “perfect” paragraph. William Zinsser has some excellent examples of writing through your mistakes (the opposite of editing as you go) in his book On Writing Well. There is no slower way to edit than to do it as you write.

Get Consistent: Build some style into your writing that you go back to over and over. For example, use two spaces after sentences. Or start to understand that you like to begin sentences with “And” or “But”. Get familiar with where you like to use colons. The more comfortable you are with the devices of writing, the less of a challenge it’ll be when you go to edit: you’ll already know what you want your words to sound like. Consistency builds speed in editing.

Read: Without exception, good writers are good readers. With 14 bazillion blogs out there, you should have no trouble finding something to read that you’re interested in, and that can help provide some ideas about style for your own writing. Don’t get too caught up trying to write like others, but do pay attention to what other writers, good writers, are doing. This blogging stuff is like anything else- there is technique to be learned. Reading a lot helps you be a better, quicker editor.

Read (part II): I say it a lot, because I feel it’s the most neglected (and probably the best) piece of editing advice I’ve come across: read your stuff out loud before you publish. There are tons of reasons to do this, not the least of which is because you want, to a large extent, to write like you talk. Also, it’s hard to miss mistakes if you hear them. Reading out loud is the cruise missile of editing. You can cover pretty much everything with it.

Cut. Cut Again. Cut Some More. The reason I saved this for last is because it’s probably the most widely known editing tip, but maybe the most misunderstood, especially when you start to think about writing in terms of being quick and good. When you go through what you’ve written, what are you looking to cut? Well, start with paragraphs (make them smaller). Then sentences (make two short ones out of one long one). Then words (don’t use “unornamented” when you mean “plain”). The thing is, once you get used to those inevitable cuts when you’re editing, you’ll start to incorporate the cutting process into your writing, making your posts better, at the same time you’re producing them faster.

Well, what about it, editors? What am I missing here? Can you be quick and good, or are they mutually exclusive?

Tags: blogs, content, content marketing, getting started in social media, marketing blogs, writing
Posted in Blogging | No Comments »

Developing A Content Calendar 101

Monday, July 12th, 2010

Quit stalling.

Your digital marketing needs some new content. But instead of writing something interesting, something that only appeals to your fans, something not everyone will like but is true to your personality, you write what you wrote last year. You’re having a sale. There’s a special. You’re so much better than the competition.

Ugh.

Part of the reason you went that route is because it was easy. Rewriting your old stuff is the path of least marketing resistance. No one will call you out, no one will make fun of you. No one will really notice. But you can check “done”.

A much, much better way to go is to create a content calendar. Planning out your content inspires creativity and gives perspective. If you’re putting time and money into digital marketing, you want to make a content calendar. Here’s how:

Make Some Strategy Decisions: You need to think about platforms, distribution, and consistency. Also tone, style, and substance. All the content in the world isn’t going to make a difference without the planning to make it worthwhile. Who are you writing for? How often? What does your reader need? Who will do the writing? Who owns it after it’s done? What are the outcomes you want at the end?

Define Your Subjects: One cool thing among the many offered in a typical blog platform is the ability to categorize your work according to subject. I’ve had a lot of success starting here in a whiteboard session. If I want to plan out blog posts for a year, it’s going to be a lot more cohesive if I can define several subjects that my posts will cover. It’s a great method for staying on the path you set out with your strategy.

Calendars Aren’t Always Temporal: Another thing I’ve learned is that a content calendar doesn’t always have to follow a time schedule. For instance, if you group your topics according to 6 subjects, you might want to fill each subject with 8 topics, for a goal of 2 posts a week for a year. Then you can pick and choose which topics to write about according to what you’re learning as you write (metrics, man… metrics).

Timely Posts Are Smart: Having said the above, it can also help to plan your topics out according to day. IF there’s a big conference in your vertical, it’s probably good to have a plan to how you’re going to talk about that. Planning your calendar according to day can also help motivate writers; deadlines have amazing power when wielded by the right editors. If, in your case, that’s the same person, all the better to keep you on track.

So, here’s one process for doing all that:

-Sit all the principles down in front of a big whiteboard.

-Discuss the strategy points listed above. Depending on the scope of your project, this phase alone can take hours or weeks. Plan accordingly. Also, be ready to change strategy as the process unfolds.

-Write out your subjects. Make sure they fit in with the strategy points you’ve decided on.

-Fill those subjects with topics.

-Arrange as necessary. Go with a calendar. Assign topics. Whatever structure works best for your project, you’ll need to build it before you start writing.

-Follow through by updating, revising, editing, and monitoring your work. It’s not dead once you hit the publish button (the map is not the terrain, after all).

What do you think? Ever built a content calendar before? What do you do that’s not included here?

Share, people. Share.

Tags: blogs, content, content marketing, content strategy, Digital Marketing, getting started in social media, marketing mindset, motivation, project management
Posted in Content Creation | No Comments »

If You Want To Write, You Have To Struggle

Monday, July 5th, 2010

The blank page.

That’s a pretty scary opponent for most people. It’s what keeps most marketing from being effective, much less from being any good.

It’s sadistic, but the blank page makes me happy. It’s a security fence. A checkpoint. Only the people who are willing to struggle through the blank page, who put some effort into this, are going to get anything done.

That’s as it should be.

Here are some tips for those of us who face the blank page, and come out writing:

Bank- It’s called a swipe file, and it’s a necessity in the content world. Take your ideas and keep them somewhere accessible. Then, when the blank page greets you in the morning, you’ll immediately have an answer to the never ending question, “What should I write?”

Move- Don’t stop to wait for inspiration to hit you; you’ll be waiting a long, long time. Keep moving. By that, I mean don’t stop to edit as you write. Outlines are a good way to keep moving. So are deadlines. So are prompts. If you continue to press ahead, eventually, I promise, the ideas will come out.

Dig- If you’re not reading a lot, you’re probably not writing a lot either. They say the web is an echo chamber, and that’s definitely true. To an extent. Better to think about improving on the ideas of others. And hopefully, your ideas will be written down for others to improve on as well. Dig around to find the people with good ideas, and read about them.

Fight- The blank page is waiting for you every time you sit down. Sometimes you’re ready. When you’re not, don’t give up without a fight. Pound out words. You definitely have something to say about your business, your marketing, or your customers. It’s all in there. Fight to get it out.

Dream- Go big or go home. Vete a casa grande o ir. It’s okay to be wrong. Be imaginative. If what you’re writing feels uncomfortable, you’re probably on the right track. Put your dreams into what you’re writing. Otherwise, what is your marketing, really? Another billboard?

Does the world really need one of those?

Writing is a struggle. A good one. It’s worth it.

Tags: blogs, content, content marketing, getting started in social media, Social Media, writing
Posted in Blogging | 5 Comments »

What Should You Put In Your Business Blog?

Monday, June 7th, 2010

Don’t start blogging without asking yourself this question. Please. Just take a moment, grab a pen and paper, and answer it.

If you do this one tiny pinch of content strategy, you’re going to save yourself a ton of headaches. And you’ll save your current and future fans, all the people that like you, the mild discomfort of having to ignore you.

Most business blogs suck big chunks of awfulness precisely because no one ever did this. The reason? I think it’s because businesses entering a new phase of digital marketing look too hard at the tools and not enough at the technique. It’s an old-model mentality, one that lets businesses feel comfortable ignoring real change while putting up the facade of actually being engaged with their customers.

You can tell pretty quickly which ones are using the “no strategy” form of content strategy. Ask yourself if what you’re reading fits nicely in a catalog or brochure. If the answer is yes, then you’re reading a blog that hasn’t thought it through. They’ve just changed media.

So what’s the answer? It’s going to depend a lot on your widget or your service. But there are some general guidelines you can use to help:

Introduce yourself.

In the first person. (Unless you’re Mr. T. Then you can use the 3rd person). Blogs aren’t sales letters. They’re editorials.

Projects.

What are you working on? How are you progressing? What’s exciting about it? Most importantly, how can other people use the expertise you’re putting into it?

News.

What’s going on in your field? How does what’s happening affect how you operate?

People.

No better way to be personable than by talking about people. How about the ten best things about your UPS guy? And further, if you can’t talk about people comfortably, you should re-examine more about your business than just your blog.

Yourself.

How’d you come to do what you’re doing? What are the most interesting parts? What are your dreams and goals for your work?

What else? I’d love to hear your thoughts if you’re blogging, or if you’re thinking about it.

Tags: blogs, business trust, content, content marketing, writing
Posted in Blogging | No Comments »

The Four Parts Of A Content Strategy For Small Business

Monday, May 24th, 2010

Digital marketing requires participation.

And, as a rule, participation as the cost of entry is setting the bar pretty low. In fact, it’s the award you got in P.E. when you weren’t good enough at sports to win any other awards (welcome, fellow geeks!).

From that standpoint, digital marketing is pretty simple. Get a website. Register your business on a bunch of networks (facebook and twitter aren’t the only ones, people). Start a blog. Post some pictures. Take a little video.

Yup, that’s it.

Except when you factor in a content strategy. That’s where the work, the planning, the effort all come in to it.

You need strategy for digital marketing, because you’re not just doing this to make friends. You’re doing it to make customers. But that business/customer relationship changes so much when you get into the digital realm, and social media, and all that it entails; if you’re not prepared, if you don’t have a strategy, you’re setting your business up to fail.

Publicly.

Without strategy, your blog gets neglected. Your facebook page gets no interaction. No one follows you on Twitter. Your pictures gather dust. Your video gets ignored.

Ever go to the gym and see people standing around? Those are the people with no plan. They don’t have a strategy for what they want to do. No goals. No way to measure their progress. No real chance at success.

Plan or fail. That’s when participation makes a difference. When your business takes the time to think about what to say, when to say it, how to say it, who to talk to, and why, that’s when it starts to pay off.

In other words, content strategy. Break this down into four parts:

Learn,
Plan,
Create, and
Govern

Here’s how that works. This is the content strategy workflow that was developed by Kristina Halvorson in her book Content Strategy For The Web.*

Learn- Take a look at all the content you have. All of it. Yes, someone has to read it. Create a spreasheet with all the information you have about those pages, including analytics and quality. Most small businesses don’t have any analytics info (one of the reasons digital marketing hasn’t paid off for you, if you’re in this group), so you’ll have to go on pure instinct: does this content help us with the direction we’re thinking of going, or is it outdated?

Plan- There are literally thousands of ways to market online using new and updated content. There are two main questions to ask here: 1) What are your objectives? and 2) What are your tactics? If you don’t know how to answer those questions, seriously consider hiring professional help. You’re a small business, so every dollar counts, and there’s nowhere that your money will go farther than in the planning phase of your content strategy.

Create- Ah, down to business. Here’s where you’ll map out who will do what and when, then put someone in charge of organizing it. Develop a workflow, and decide who will write, photograph, video, edit, etc. You’ll also decide what is getting created and when. The creation piece basically dictates who owns what; don’t leave it to chance. There’s plenty of room for strategy here, even with very small (like, two person) teams.

Govern- One of my favorite content strategy quotes from Kristina is “Text is messy as hell”. That’s why it needs to be managed. Once it’s up, it’s not finished; monitoring your content for conversion, for improvement, for user interaction, for growth… that’s all part of the deal when it comes to content strategy for small businesses. You can’t just publish it and forget it (and that goes for all of your content, not just text). Who owns the content when it’s up and running? That’s the question you answer in the governing phase.

What do you think? Does this process make you feel lost? Or is it too simple for what you have planned? I’d like to hear about how you’re using strategy for your content…

*Edited. The post did not originally name Kristina as the source for these ideas.

Tags: blogs, content, content marketing, content strategy, small business
Posted in Digital Marketing | 2 Comments »

No One Is Listening To You

Tuesday, May 18th, 2010

Except the people who want to hear.

That’s a tough nut for most small businesses to crack. It used to be that you could just send out your email blasts and your brochures and your mailers, and that was it. Wasn’t not knowing that people were ignoring you great?

No. No it was not.

If you actually measured how many people weren’t listening, it would be downright depressing. All that broadcasting you did, throwing your stuff out there to see what would stick? Sheesh. Who’d want to measure it?

Listen to the sounds of silence. Those are the people not listening to you, not interested in what you’re saying on Twitter. Not fans on your facebook fan page. Actually, facebook has made it even more plain: They don’t “like” you.

Which leaves just the people that do like you. The people that are listening.

Those are the same people that help you do things like spread your message, increase your credibility, talk about you to their friends. Yours are the words in their “word of mouth”.

How many people are listening to you depends on a lot. You have to ease their pain, to put it in Jonathan Fields terms. You should be doing for them, and making it clear and plain that that’s what you’re up to, because it is so easy to ignore someone online. So you need a very clear way of saying what it is you do, and how that can help those listeners. Proving it over and over (and over) is as much about marketing as it is about your actual business.

Here’s what won’t work: You cannot expect to put a couple of words out there in the information stream and get much attention. It’s just not that helpful.

And if you are being helpful? The amount of people still not listening to you will be staggering. But the number of people who do will grow. It’s a slow process. It takes patience. But it will happen.

That’s where you should start. No one is listening to you, except the people that are.

So talk to them.

Tags: business trust, content, content marketing, marketing strategy
Posted in Digital Marketing | No Comments »

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