We want to make creative content, at least I assume that for the sake of convenience. Yet we often let ourselves be limited by what we have learned, how we think it should be done, and other rules. It is time to let go of that and start making even better content.
That is why from now on, you will patch these rules to your ‘content boot.’
Content must always deliver results.
Content does not always produce anything. Is it, therefore, bad content? No, definitely not. You have tried something, and you can only learn from those results. Yet many marketers and marketing teams are still judged on the result.
- How many views does a blog have?
- Has it been shared often?
- Do people click through to the form?
A shame, because by focusing on the result like that, you block creativity. You and your colleagues opt for safe and do not dare to take risks, because after all, you do not know whether it will yield anything.
By focusing on the result, you block creativity.
Brainstorm with your marketing colleagues and make a list of ideas you want to try. Pick one item from the list every month and go for it, regardless of the outcome. Analyze what it has yielded and learned from it that will improve your content, and therefore ultimately yield more results.
(Content) marketers create the content
No! As a content marketer, you cannot know what is going on in the organization or tell customers the story. You can be the connecting factor.
Contact colleagues and customers and let them tell their story. That you then articulate it even more beautiful and share it on the right channels, that is indeed your job. Let go of the idea that marketing is responsible for the content of the content.
Respond to what the customer expects
That is boring! You want customers to come to your website and think, ‘hey, I haven’t seen or read this before.’ Surprise customers. That arouses real interest and makes them want more from you. How do you get there? Brainstorm with customers and delve deeper into the question, ‘how am I surprised?’.
Continue to do that regularly and dare to discuss your own marketing communications with them critically.
What can also help is to take a close look at your competitors. You will see that there are several things everyone does. Make sure you have a good idea of this and stay far away from it.
Be consistent
To be fair, I have always shouted this very loudly from the rooftops. But I will come back to it now. Do you normally post a new blog every Thursday, but do you suddenly have a brilliant idea? Don’t wait until Thursday. Do you always write, but do you finally want to try video? Go for it. If you know your audience well, you really feel when you can take a risk. And be open to their feedback too.
Stick to what works
In my opinion, Brian Piper, responsible for the University of Rochester’s digital content strategy, is absolutely right.
The content marketing landscape changes so quickly with new technology and shifting audience trends. A good content strategy must be versatile and willing to try new channels, and constantly work to understand the audience.
It’s great when you’ve found something that works, but don’t sit back. If you don’t experiment, your competitors will.
Use what works as a basis and keep trying. Do you always get very positive reactions on your blog, but are you curious if TikTok can work for your company? Just give it a try. Another nice blogging idea: write something about why you wanted to try TikTok, how you went about it, and ask your readers what they think. What works does not always work.
Create fast content
It is often said that we, as humans, have a short attention span. Certainly, we want fast and easily manageable content with the amount of information we see every day. That may be the case, but it really isn’t always true.
If your content is valuable to your readers, they would love to read a longer blog. So don’t let that stop you and tell your story in the way that best does justice to it.
Go for quick success.
Something about runners is dead ends. It takes time to build your brand, gain regular readers and followers, and drive new business from content marketing. Opt for a road trip instead of around in a formula 1 car. This means that it may take a while before you achieve the desired result. Don’t just give up, hang on, ask for feedback, try something new, and did I already say: hang on?
I hope I shook you up: don’t keep doing what you always do. Take a walk outside the beaten pool, dare to risk an experiment completely failing. This is the only way to keep surprising your readers and (potential) customers. That is what it takes to ensure that content marketing will ultimately yield you something.
Which ‘content rule’ do you ignore?