Six steps to content marketing

If you were anywhere around Cleveland in early September, chances are you were seeing orange. Everywhere. Content Marketing Institute held its 5th annual Content Marketing World conference downtown, drawing more than 3,200 marketing professionals from all over the world. At Shamrock, we value the importance of Content Marketing; in fact, we brought in Institute founder Joe Pulizzi to speak at our annual sales meeting in May. Shamrock’s Kasey Crabtree grabbed a copy of Joe’s new book titled Content, Inc. How Entrepreneurs Use Content to Build Massive Audiences and Create Radically Successful Businesses. In this month’s guest blog, Kasey shares some takeaways from the book.  

Recognized as the “godfather” of content marketing, Joe Pulizzi is a brilliant resource for all things content related. While his new book slants toward startups, the principles that Joe outlines are applicable to those of us managing content on our own or on behalf of a larger organization.

Content Inc. demonstrates how to build a successful business by developing and engaging a loyal audience and then providing them with meaningful content. Joe uses real-life examples of successful companies that built their audience base before launching their products, reinforcing how his system works. He provides his blueprint for content marketing implementation, breaking it down into six segments:

• Discover and define a content area Sweet Spot—the intersection of your competency and your personal passion. This should serve as the base for your outreach
• Content Tilting: How to “tilt” the sweet spot to where there is little to no competition 
• Building A Base: How to pick the initial platform foundation for your content (blog, YouTube, Twitter, etc.) that connects with your audience
• Harvesting Your Audience: How to turn your single-visit readers into subscribers by harnessing the power of social media and SEO
• Diversification: How to diversify your initial platform to reach and even greater audience
• Monetization: How to monetize it—get paid for your content generation

Joe does a beautiful job of painting a picture for the reader about how smart content marketing strategy is used. So many people see their mission as simply making more money. But the first step is to focus on the needs of your customer or audience—and then the rest will come.

Joe’s content marketing strategy works—but it’s not a get-rich-quick process. Steady, consistent content strategy is payoff for your brand.  

I think most of us would agree that in this digital media era, we’re inundated with content. Throwing content out there without a solid plan—without a defined and engaged audience and a brand-centric message—is simply ineffective. Content needs to be a part of an integrated marketing effort. That’s where Shamrock comes in: For those companies or individuals who need that big-picture creative framework, we have the knowledge and the experience to implement a comprehensive marketing program that gets results.

If you’re interested in ordering the book, here’s the Amazon link: http://goo.gl/VpT2qF