Thread by @_daveirwin

Let’s talk about #contentmarketing.

We all know that content is king right? Have the right content and eventually you will be successful is something that I think a lot of people have taken to heart.

If you are a small to mid sized business owner the idea that you can just

#create amazing content that will drive more customers to your #business right off the bat, Is a pipe dream. It is a very easy trap to fall into and one that can become a killer of time and profit. I tend to reference @garyvee a lot in my recent tweets as he is kind of a wiz with

Content marketing online. He knows how and what drives engagement. He also has a #mediafirm backing up everything he produces, making it easier to release the various pieces of #content that is produced. If you are not in the media business, this really isn’t possible.

Sure, he started out in wine, but his real goal was content marketing, wine was just the medium he used to get into the business he really produces. Marketing and PR.

So? How do you go about producing #content for your #marketing initiatives?

For one, produce what you know. Start with something small and scale up. If I was to take myself as an example, I understand digital marketing and #marketingspend as well as #graphicdesign so that is what I can produce. This in turn also has an effect on my platform of choice.

You may think, well #design, that’s a visual medium so therefore a really visual platform like @instagram would be appropriate for my business. I don’t think that is correct and it isn’t the bet I am making. I chose #linkedin because my target demographic is business owners

And #marketing firms. It is far easier to produce content, presentations, portfolio pieces and live video for #linkedin than it is for Instagram. I am not making content for other designers, that won’t lead to many sales. I did fall into that trap at the beginning of my business

When I wasn’t thinking strategically about who I should be #targeting. I didn’t get a single sale in 2019 from Instagram. So I’ve chosen to amend my strategy and platform for #linkedin.

This will also inform the type of content I produce. LinkedIn is not instagram. Certain

Pieces of content will work across both but far more I need to produce content that is optimized to the platform instead. So my #contentmarketing efforts are designed around the platform I chose to operate on.

They say the best way to sell a service is to be seen as a market

Leader, or in the case of modern marketing speak, a #thoughtleader. This may be a little Orwellian, when everyone is saying the same thing, especially true in the social media marketing (#ssm) we exist in on these platforms. But it is true none the less. Expertise sells

And if I was to prove to another business that I can help their business grown through #graphicdesign services geared towards #marketing their busines, I better produce content that speaks to those pieces of information.

So taking that into consideration, we now know 3 things

1. Platform to #design for
2. People I want to target
3. Type of #content works for those people on this #platform

Okay, now comes the research part, because most marketing is #research. You need to go to the market place, find the type of people you want to target

And make a note of the type of #content they actively engage with. Then, you need to start creating and actively pushing this content to them, by interacting with them on the platform.

So while this may seem like a daunting tasks, at least you have a battle plan for #success.

Before you started your targeting #contentresearch, you would have just been creating something and releasing it to the world, and kind of hoping that someone would stumble upon your genius. While people can go viral this way, it’s far more likely to get a one off hit rather

Than sustained interest. Sustained interest is what you want because it will lead to sustained business.

It can also help your .#creativity because, paradoxically, it tends to be far easier to create good content with some constraints than free form briefless content.

To put this in #design terms. Treat the content you create like it is being written with a #creativebrief outline because essentially it is. For your business.

Finally, measure and test. So you now have a content strategy, but that doesn’t necessarily mean you have a winning

Strategy. #Contentmarketing, like any marketing, is a waste of money, without measurable success. You have have success from a marketing campaign from the get go, but without testing you will never be able to replicate the behaviour.

You won’t know what part of the marketing

Worked. So measure, test, and repeat.

Okay, this is a huge topic and one I could talk about for hours but that’s what I have for now.

I love #marketing and talking about it so if you have any opinions or thoughts I’d love to know them.
#cheers

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