You don’t always have to reach for the stars. Following an ambitious content marketing strategy can be exciting and successful, but sometimes it pays to stay grounded and follow solid content marketing truisms.
I’ve created a list of five “just for today” mandates in hopes that you can recharge those marketing batteries before your next star-studded trip.
Only for today…
1. Be a little more competitive
Content marketing is a game won by inches. This is illustrated by the famous marketing parable explained by the Moz blog:
Two men are walking through an African game reserve when they encounter a lion. One of the men calmly puts down his backpack and puts on the running shoes he was wearing. The other man laughed and said, “You’ll never beat a lion. To which the other man calmly replies, “I don’t need to outrun the lion; I just need to distance you.
In other words, being a little better, working a little harder, and being a little more innovative can land your brand the lion’s share of search engine rankings, social media attention, or adherence to your website. Moving a single position in a Google Page or having a slightly better infographic on Pinterest that people want to share can be all it takes for an epic conquest.
“If you can’t do it well, at least do a good look.” -Bill Gates
2. Be a little more patient
All marketing campaigns take time to reach warp speed. Being on the web’s laser lanes with content marketing is no different.
It’s no secret that six months is the accepted period for a content-driven social media campaign to bear fruit. And as Evan Bailyn, CEO of First Page Sage, put it bluntly, “The average time it takes to see real results in a properly executed SEO campaign is four to six months.”
Somewhere in between, content marketing efforts will take time, but not light years. The point is not to wallow in anxiety, make hasty decisions, or expect instant gratification. Also, follow this important tip: Communicate on timing with clients and superiors who are in the stellar odyssey.
“Deciding what not to do is as important as deciding what to do.” -Steve Jobs
3. Be a little more helpful
As Ann Handley writes in Content Rules : “Share and solve, but don’t waste.” Also, as Jay Baer writes in Youtility , “Marketing is about help, not hype.”
Handley and Baer, standard-bearers of content iran number whatsapp marketing, explain that the rules of marketing have changed: Buyers are smarter than ever, and the companies that thrive on selflessness and transparency are the ones that will outperform their competitors.
In fact, Baer even gives examples in his book of companies like Hilton and Clorox actually doing things for their competitors when it’s good for their customers.
Obviously, this does not mean giving the keys to your competitors. Instead, just be full service when it comes to helping prospects or customers. You will probably realize or remember how good it is to be helpful and how this attitude will reward you in different ways, such as work ethic and real return on investment.
“If you sell something, you can become a customer today. If you help someone, you can create a lifetime customer. – Jay Baer
4. Be a little more creative
It might seem almost insulting to marketers of all stripes, because we often tend to go beyond reinventing the wheel to reinventing the very universe around us. Sometimes, however, it just takes a one-degree shift in the imagination, one more step outside the proverbial box to create results that will feel like a new universe.
An example of a one-degree change is Jason Miller and Maria Pergolino’s widely successful creation, previously at Marketo – a coloring book. As Aaron Taube of Contently explained:
The Big Marketing Activity Coloring Book (is) a 30-page e-book that marketers could print out to play a game of crazy marketing automation libraries, complete a content marketing word search, and match drawings of influential marketers with the titles of the books they had written .
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This seemingly alien move by Marketo was Cambodia Phone Number List atypical of the traditional e-book, white paper, or pitch deck regularly found on landing pages. Yet, according to Taube, it generated more than $500,000 in revenue for Marketo.
In truth, a coloring book is a step on the ladder of maturity, but our inner child is never too far, wanting to be happy.
“Make the customer the hero of your story.” -Ann Handley
5. Be a little less creative
No, I’m not contradicting everything. As content marketers, our imaginations are always filled with dilithium crystals – we tend to ignore the coloring book idea and jump straight into a concept that requires a trip to Morocco to film a parody of Star Wars with our company’s marketing bias.
