Everyone in marketing knows the saying 'content is king', but the question all marketing directors suffer with is where to find the right content that will boost their brand. Finding the right balance of content for users and also fighting the constraints of budgets can be hard for even the most experienced marketing director.

Content marketing should add value

The first rule to content marketing as part of a social media, email marketing or SEO strategy is to find a way to add value to the user.  Don't spam your customers or audience with useless dribble that they don't need.  The internet is loaded with posts that say nothing or kittens and puppies.  Tap into their needs and address their problems if you want to build a loyal following. 

Content marketing is a marathon, not a sprint.  There are a lot of ways to approach it and many are determined though by budgets and resources available rather than what is the most effective.  Fear Not! 

Marry your brand messages with fan favorite content

Of course as part of any content marketing strategy you will need to get out brand messages, but try to find ways to combine fan favorite content with content that promotes your brand.  Realize that people now have options to opt out of news feed posts, unsubscribe from emails or simply block out spam as white noise. 

It is important to stand out but for the right reasons. Easy wins like contests or funny posts will gain a lot of likes but will be unlikely to build your brand or a loyal following. Find out why people followed you or subscribed to you in the first place and give them more of what they want while also achieving sales and marketing KPI. 

My two 'sense'

Content is king, but it doesn't always need to have the budget of a royal court.  Find easy things to snap a picture of in your company, consumers using your products, success stories of employees or consumers. Ask department heads to send you a couple sentences about their biggest achievement each quarter.  Humanize what you do and people will respond positively. 

Never overlook statistics, what are people clicking on, when are they clicking it and in what format do they prefer, i.e. newsletter, social post, blog post, etc. The more information you have about what you post, the more likely you will be to succeed long term with more fan favorites! 

For more information about content marketing for social media, email marketing or search engine optimization feel free to give us a call, let's meet for a coffee and discuss your strategy!