Content marketing and thought leadership generate big results
Our content marketing and thought leadership site touched an estimated 24+ million in pipeline in 2016. When done right, it can fuel your business, too.
When I first started creating content back in the 1970s, we called it programming. When we moved beyond print, radio and television, we called it new-media. This was a long before the internet, blogs, web 2.0, and social media… so many channels and platforms, trying to stand out in our content rich world today.
So what is content?
I take a rather broad view. I hold that anything you deliver to a customer, any product or service, is your content. It could be an article, blog post, podcast or website. It could also be a T-shirt, souvenir yard-tall glass, or your widget.
The fashion industry has known this for years. They make designer clothing that people want to be seen wearing. Marketing content is part of the product. The fashionistas will make sure that it’s worn right and is genuine, while others may decide that their fashion is breaking fashion rules or even substituting a fake. We’ve lost control of telling the marketplace how to behave with out brands.
Your content creates a story
You can’t control the content. You can control the story.
One of my favorite examples of content marketing is the Vegas souvenirs that people take home, display and cherish for years. Imagine the low CPM on impressions you get from a logo hanging in someone’s living room. They don’t just see it every day, they likely share a story with visitors of how they got the item, and talk about your brand with passion for decades.
I decided to get a photo of one of the souvenir glasses and ask my son. Thirty seconds later, I had the photo you see below. He didn’t have a glass, but he did have an app handy.
I know that the photograph here is not going to fool you into thinking that I’m holding that glass, but I know you’ll believe me when I tell you the story.
When you’re creating content for your marketing, you need to represent your brand with professional editing and better photography and videos than I used here. When you do, don’t forget to keep them real, and authentic version of the story you share.
What’s your story?
An authentic story today will break through the hype in the clutter and connect with your prospects and customers. It’s as simple as that.
