In 2013, you will hear a lot about content marketing. Google is jumping on this bandwagon with Google Authorship. Blogs are coming back in a big way and being incorporated more with organic search, but is it just a bunch of articles, keywords and authoritative writing or is there more?
The Answer is emphatically “YES”
After reading the following article, “On the Common Ground of Content Marketing” I have a renewed enthusiasm, because the reason content marketing works for me is not the words or ideas that are shared. Yes, from time to time, I can write some good articles, but I also write content that frankly, is very boring and not very interesting. The key to content marketing is to have a team of people behind you. (Workers and Advocates) These are people who you personally meet or who you have connected on a deeper level. You can’t connect this way with everyone, but if you can find some of the best people to connect with, you will be able create great content and you will see results.
Content Marketing needs people to be successful! (It’s about service, not just mere words)
Company – Content Marketing
I write blog content that ties in our services and affects our clients. My goal is to drive the conversation to the phone, email and on social media. It is working superbly, but that is because our company has 18 client service representatives in the office and 7 in the field. These people are the voice and face of the company. The content simply starts the conversation. The “contact” and connection are made once the person acts on the content and wants to learn more.
Profession – Content Marketing
With respect to this blog, I am writing content that will help connect me with other great marketers at agencies, companies and schools. This blog provides insight into how I apply different marketing tools to get results as a by-product it associates my name with my company brand and a personal brand so people connect with someone with direct experience. In this case, I am a client services team of one. In this case, I can make connections at conferences, on the phone, or on social media platforms.
It is always about the connection. If I was writing only for Google ranking with no connections, I might as well be a machine regurgitating information already out there. The only reason I write is to make connections with others.
Herein lies the value. Too many times, we focus on getting content out on our sites, fresh content at that. We must never forget that content is only good if it gets people’s attention and ultimately makes a connection with others.
When someone mentions the words, “Content Marketing” – Ask yourself this question, “Is this person ultimately writing to really connect with others or is he/she still trying to find a magic way to increase follower counts and like counts. Making connections is ultimately where you should want to be with respect to content marketing.
Image courtesy of pat138241 / FreeDigitalPhotos.net
