Doug Davidoff
When companies begin developing content they tend to get very excited. Afterall it's quite an effort getting to the point where your content is ready for the public. You've got to:
- Create your buyer personas.
- Develop the messaging to support your content.
- Develop an editorial calendar.
- Write stuff (the hardest part of all).
So when content starts going live, it should be an exciting time. Unfortuantely companies often confuse the content marketing process with Christmas. Their first blog gets posted and they jump on their analytics package to see how many people read it. They create their first landing page and think that, like unwrapping a present, the leads are going to flow right in.
Immediately they're disapointed. And in a short period of time, they're often questioning the value of the whole effort. When they stick to it, businesses find content marketing to be among the most effective lead generation tactics available.
Rand Fishkin, of Moz fame, created an excellent presentation that highlights both the cause of failure and what to do about it.
Here are a few quick tips to ensure you get the lead generation results your want from your content effort:
- Build your content plan for the long haul. Your goal shouldn't be to create a best seller eBook, but to sustain engagement through the buying process.
- Always remember that you're creating content for your customer, not for you. The clearer you can be about what's on their mind the faster you'll build the community Rand talks about.
- Remember that today your program is never done, it's always a work in progress. So test and experiment, try crazy things and watch what happens. Remember, this is supposed to be fun.
- Let facts and data (not your beliefs or opinions) be your guide. I'm constantly amazed by the data that disproves common wisdom (like shorter is better).
