Content marketing should be more cat and less dog
From discovering your brand’s story, to defining your tone of voice, to experimenting with different media, content marketing can be exciting, especially when you start seeing results. Having bloggers raving about your products, your white papers shared by industry influencers and your videos going viral can feel like a nice pat on the head. Good dog, you must be doing something right.
All that ‘liking’, ‘sharing’ and ‘favouriting’ can feel intoxicating. And if it amounts to increased traffic and conversions, you may feel positively woozy. Buoyed by success, you might be tempted to rush out your next infographic, bash out your first eBook (how hard can it be?) or decide that memes are totally your thing because a competitor is doing them. But before you let your inner excitable puppy take over, consider the cat.
Before pouncing, the feline weighs his options carefully and listens closely to what’s going on in his environment, all the while keeping a keen eye on his target. By mimicking this behaviour, you can help to keep your content as sharp as a cat’s claw.
Know your target
Generally speaking, dogs aren’t too fussy about who they interact with. If you’ve got a juicy bone, they’ll be your best friend. Cats, on the other hand, are usually more choosy about who they engage with - and, as a content marketer, you should be too. As nice as everyone may seem, not everyone is interested in what you’re selling, and if you’re not picky about who you target with your content, you’re likely to waste a lot of time, effort and expense.
A vague idea of who your ideal buyer is won’t suffice; clearly defined personas are required if you want to produce content that will resonate with a particular market segment. While you shouldn’t ignore your instincts, qualitative and quantitative research should make up a great deal of the foundation of your content strategy.
To turn a sketch of your target buyer into a high definition, technicolour persona, you can employ a range of tried and tested methods, including website and social analysis, focus groups and interviews. By collecting data about who makes up your target market, you can bolster your content marketing efforts and create strong bonds with your audience and influencers in your industry.
As well as understanding your target, it’s important to know your enemy. Keep a close eye on the content your competitors are producing and ensure you do your research before jumping on any bandwagons.
Kill your darlings
When it comes to creating valuable content, no single individual has the monopoly on good ideas, so it’s valuable to have a range of different perspectives when coming up with new concepts. While you can let your canine-like exuberance come to the fore during initial idea generation sessions, you must exercise feline precision when it comes to refining your campaigns. While an idea may seem ingenious when it’s first conceived, on closer inspection you might discover that it’s not quite right for your audience or just won’t help you to achieve your goals.
Sometimes, it may take someone else to point out the weaknesses in your proposal. Take constructive criticism for what it is and don’t be afraid to kill your darlings. In other words, don’t publish a paragraph of copy or a clip of video just because you have a personal attachment to it.
The goal of every piece of content should be clearly defined from the beginning and, arguably, the worst feeling that your work can evoke is indifference. That’s why, throughout the content production process, you must repeatedly ask yourself the question ‘who cares?’. If you’re struggling to answer this question, the chances are you need to go back to the drawing board. If a single word or image doesn’t serve your audience or further your goals in some way, channel the ruthlessness of your inner cat and cut it.
Karen Campbell, Senior Content Executive, Click Consult
Tel: 0845 366 7586
Email: hello@click.co.uk
Web: www.click.co.uk
Twitter: @ClickConsultLtd