What does it all mean?

What's the point... Why are we here, what does it all mean??

Tis the season when we all fall victim to the occasional existential crisis.

But really, why are we here? What do we, as content marketers, think we're doing every day? Through every blog post, each infographic, countless 140-character-tweets... what's the point?

The Meaning of Life

Content marketing is about delivering quality, useful content to consumers. It's our goal to create interesting writing, clever graphics, and snarky comments to drive that elusive metric, "engagement"

A content marketer's mission, our Meaning of Life, if you will, is to reach and resonate with customers. It's not to drive sales, or get leads, or walk people in the door. Not directly, anyway.

We're meant to elicit a chuckle. Provoke a thoughtful chin-stroking. Maybe even a surprised head-tilt. If you're doing your job right, you'll get Likes, Shares, and Retweets. And if you're really lucky, you'll get site visits, phone calls, and closed deals.

They're Just Not That Into You

We often get lost in the data of marketing, and forget that people don't like ads. No one enjoys being marketed to, especially when it's interrupting their lives (e.g. TV commercials, pre-roll ads delaying your YouTube video, or data-stealing Facebook ads that run as you scroll through your newsfeed on your phone). So then how are you supposed to advertise your business to keep the lights on and food on the table? A marketer's gotta market, amiright?

People don't like being marketed to, it's true. But they do like being entertained. So entertain them!

Treat your customers to helpful holiday tips that solve those pesky problems everyone encounters each year. Create an infographic that'll have them emailing and sharing with the family because doesn't that sound JUST like Uncle Fred last Christmas? Post about familiar things, ideas that are useful, commentary that is thought-provoking. Whatever you do, don't just market at them. Be fun. Be funny. 

New Year, New You

We all lose steam from time to time, especially around the holidays. After a full year of content marketing, it's easy to burn out and lose that creative edge. Thankfully, this time of year is FULL of ready-made wit. It's easy to resonate with your customers with content that speaks to what's on their mind - the holidays!

So take it easy and use the theme of the season to add a little punch to your posts. Then regroup and start off the new year with a bang, feeling refreshed and creatively charged!

Put some content in your content

My old voice teacher had a saying when students were singing, but not giving out that quality, robust sound they could be. She'd shout out, "put some sound in your sound!"

In singing, you can tell when the sound is hollow, and she could tell when we had more to give. It's hard to explain exactly what you needed to do to make it fuller, but that phrase had something to it. You were singing, but there was something missing - you needed more sound in your sound.

Writing can be similarly hollow in its quality and feel, leaving you lacking satisfaction.

Putting lots of words on a page is one thing, but does it really mean anything? Does it say what you're trying to say?

I often find that people write in such a way that the end result is.... empty. Their statements are noncommittal. Their points are never fully made. Their focus is fuzzy. It's such a waste of good writing!

Now, I admit I fall victim to this on occasion myself. It's especially likely when I am writing about something unfamiliar, or I haven't quite settled on an angle to help me dig into a topic. The more undecided or uncomfortable you are, the more likely your content will also be uncomfortable.

Whether you're writing blog posts, ebooks, or press releases, your content needs to have a purpose and say what it's meant to say.

So how can you put more content in your content?

• Have a thesis. This one goes back to the good old days in school. But your English teachers had a point! A thesis creates a focus for your writing, around which everything should revolve. Doesn't tie back to your main argument? Doesn't belong in this post. It's that simple.
• Don't be vague. The death knell of any piece of writing is the lack of any real statements. Sentences dance in circles around a point, teasing at its existence, but never quite saying what they really mean. Spit it out! Don't be afraid to say it outright - your content will be all the better for it.
• Have actual supporting points/statements. Making an argument is great, but can you back it up? A one sentence statement doesn't have the impact or clarity that a statement, followed by supporting information does. Make your claim and then stand by it with good reasons.
• Use concrete examples. On that note, find examples! Nothing makes your case better than a (clearly explained) case study outlining the very situation or cause-and-effect you're trying to discuss.

and most importantly

• Say why it matters. So you've presented an argument, made your case, and supported it with strong statements and clear examples to illustrate your point. Now what? Your great points fall flat if you can't tell your audience why they should care. You should always say it outright when there's a benefit or key takeaway to be had from your point, even when it feels like stating the obvious. It provides a sense of closure (a conclusion!) and you never know when someone may not have followed your sense of reason all the way to the finish line. 

Put some sound in your sound! Make sure your writing is clear, concise, and describes things explicitly. Your customers (and your bottom line) will thank you.

There's no "i" in Content

There's no "i" in content.

Your website, your social posts, your videos... you're the one writing and creating them, but do you have your customer or yourself in mind when you're doing it?

It's natural to have expectations and specific desires for what's included in your copy. It's easy to go from "guided" to "heavy handed" with information that you think is crucial to the point where you're overloaded. When writing, it's important to take a step back and think about what's important to your audience.

Who is your content really for?

It's not for you, certainly. So it must be for someone else (hint: your customers). So make it about them!

Tips for keeping yourself out of your content:

• Avoid "I" and "We" like the plague. Why? Because it's not about you! You should be talking about your customer and what matters to them, not what matters to you.
• You can get away with using "we" in some of your website copy especially when describing your company and your excellent customer service, but otherwise, steer clear. 
• Social media? Forget it - those posts should be 80% about everyone and everything other than your business.
• Your best bet? Talking about your customer and how products/services/etc. can benefit them, their lives, their businesses.
• Follow the 80/20 Rule. Social media posts on any network should be only 20% self-promotional and 80% other content. That's right - 80% not about your business!
• Post about related topics, interesting articles, funny quotes, anything that keeps your human customers engaged and enjoying your posts. That way, when you do say something about an upcoming sale or new product, they're more likely to notice and listen.
• Keep it simple. Don't overload your site or blog with astronomical levels of detail. Your customers don't need it and might not even understand it,
• Save the specs and mechanical intricacies for the in-person explanation when you get to it. Too much up front is confusing, overwhelming, and off-putting.
• You may think all that detail is interesting and important - and it very well may be - but it's just not relevant to your customer. Think about what's most important for them to know right now, at this stage of their buying cycle.

Content, of any type, needs to be designed for your audience or else it's a waste of your time. You already know all that information about your business, you don't need to talk to yourself.

Sometimes it can be hard to take an unbiased assessment of your work. Find someone who knows nothing about your industry and have them review your content for it's value to someone with fresh eyes.

Think of it like gift giving. You don't give someone else a gift that makes no sense to them or doesn't fit their interest, you give them something that is going to suit them. Make sure the information you're giving your customers suits them - the questions they're asking, the concerns they have, and the needs they're looking to solve.

What's Old Is New: The Ikea Bookbook

Every once in a while, a piece of really clever marketing shows up. A piece that really resonates with an audience, elicits a reaction, and sticks in the mind.

And that's precisely what's happened with Ikea's latest ad, for the "Bookbook."

Have you heard or seen about this? It's all the rage.

It's intuitive, sleekly designed, and completely wireless!

It's incredible.

Incredibly good marketing, that is. It's snarky, smart, and perfectly targeted to the sarcastic side of the tech market. The ad plays on Apple's product videos calling it a revolutionary new product, just as the new iPhone or Macbook Air might be described.

Ikea nailed it with this one. Not only are they poking fun at Apple, but they're poking fun at all the consumers in the market that fall for those ads - albeit lightheartedly - and letting us all laugh at ourselves and each other.

Meanwhile, we're also watching a YouTube video about a catalog....

Brilliant marketing, really clever writing, and something that people will not soon forget. It doesn't get much better than that.

Long Writing? TL:DR

So you've produced great content. Whitepapers, ebooks, cool articles are just flying off the presses to provide solid information and descriptive discussions of important topics to your audience and customers.

In fact, you're producing long articles with so much good information, detailed instructions, and in-depth analysis, you just can't understand why no one's reading it! Why isn't anyone following up with your business, why isn't your phone ringing off the hook?

Why? Ain't nobody got time for that.

No really. They don't. Let's take a look at some of the facts:

Americans spend nearly 32 hours a month online (not including the time they don't admit to wasting on the internet while at work...). Of that time, they're devoting

• 22% of their time to social media
• 21% to searching
• 19% to email and communications

That's 62% of people's time online gone, without a second of it spent on reading materials produced by your business.

But that still doesn't get to the root of the problem. There's still 38% of online time left over! Why aren't they consuming your high-quality writing?

A human's attention span is now just 8 seconds. 8 seconds - down from 12 just a few short years ago in 2000. That means, in fact, that we now have an attention span shorter than that of a goldfish!

Content on the internet tripled between 2010 and 2013. All that great content you're producing, on all those channels (Facebook, LinkedIn, email, news sites, etc...) is bombarding people and driving them to distraction.

So how do you combat short attention spans online?

• Give the goods up front
• No one's going to wait around for the information they came to find. Don't bury key info after piles of lengthy paragraphs. Giving the important details at the start helps convince people to read more, rather than feeling like a waste of time.
• Keep it short
• Your writing should be short overall, using short paragraphs, and short words. No one's looking for a Dickens novel after clicking a link on Twitter. Use straightforward language and simple sentences to get to the point.
• Stay focused
• Speaking of getting to the point - keep your content focused and concise. No wandering tangets and digressions. Stay on topic and your writing will have clear direction.
• Bite-Size & Scan-able
• Using headings, subheadings, and bullet points helps readers stay engaged. These features provide a multi-level approach to reading that allows people to choose which parts and to what amount of detail they want to read.

People are busier than ever these days, and our attention spans are the proof. With the constant stream of distractions and things to look at/see/do/read/watch you've got to take advantage of those precious few seconds when you're granted them. Keep your writing focused and don't waste any time showing people just how valuable your information is, and then they'll stick around to read more.

5 Content Marketing Tips from #ContentRising 2014

Yesterday, Boston's own Moakley Courthouse played host Content Rising 2014, a meeting-of-minds dedicated to content marketing, big and small.

Hosted by Skyword, the panel also included bigwigs from Conductor, Outbrain, and Traackr, all cool names in the content world, and the local digital marketing scene.

I had the pleasure of attending to hear what great minds had to say about content. Here's what I learned.

• It's hard to mingle and balance a tiny plate of apps on your wine glass.

• The Moakley Courthouse has a spectacular view of the harbor and downtown waterfront.

Wait... back to the content

• Pierre-Loic Assayag, CEO of Traacker, brought the focus straight to your audience. Calling on marketers to "Influence the influencer," Pierre-Loic argued that your audience is full of influencers, and it's the marketer's job to reach them so they in turn influence their audience. A fascinating take on what we do, I loved the idea of reaching out to a few people who have a big voice in their communities (whatever those may be) and focusing on resonating with those people, then letting them do the heavy lifting of convincing a broader audience. At it's core, it's leveraging word of mouth via digital-age tools and networks.

• Seth Dotterer, Marketing VP at Conductor, reminded us all of the importance of SEO in what we do with a staggering stat: 94% of site visits come from unpaid content sources, like Pinterest, not your SEM campaign. When your content exists where you can't control it (your consumers do), it's crucial that your SEO strategy comes first to inform the content creation, so you can be found for the right things. 

• Tom Gerace, CEO of Skyword, rattled off a fantastic list of questions you NEED to ask when creating content, to make it meaningful, relevant, and scalable. And it all tied back to identifying your audience, matching your message to your brand's personality, and focusing on the end goals to define the hows and whats of your content campaign. Life (and marketing) moves fast, so there's no time to waste on creating content that isn't informed and backed by logical decisions!

• Last but not least, Gregg Freishtat, SVP Strategic Alliances at Outbrain, took the mic to remind us all that content's not about us - it's about them (your audience). Understandably, consumers care about themselves and their lives, not about your brand, so if you want to reach them you'll need to provide something that's of value or use. Your work won't go far if it doesn't serve a purpose in your reader's world. Make it resonate.

All in all, Content Rising was a reminder (and affirmation) that content marketing isn't just something you push out and force on people. It's an experience. Create an experience - blend content with your audience's needs and lives - and you'll create a brand relationship, not just "advertising."

Watch your tone

Are you talking to me?

If you are, then I expect snarky attitude, quick quips, and concise information. If you're talking to my grandmother, then she'll expect a softer tone, and LOTS of detail. Then she'll call. (I'll email).

What I'm getting at is the all-important question of tone of voice. Something that not too many think about, or not in so specific a way, tone of voice in your messaging is critical to the success of your marketing efforts.

Whether it's your website, your company blog, or your display ad campaign, the way you write conveys more than you might realize about your business.

You've got to consider ALL the factors when setting out to write for your company. Who is your audience? Where are they located? What's their personality and style? What are their expectations for your business or your industry?

You're not going to resonate with senior citizens in Minnesota if your content is jazzy and quick-witted and sarcastic, just like you're not going win over 20-somethings in LA with long, droning, wall-of-text traditionalism.

But wait. Your grandma is hip and with-it and loves sarcasm? Cool. (And good for her!)

That's why you need to know your audience. There's no formula for nailing down how you should talk to your people, how you should convey your business' personality. As some of my favorite tone of voice junkies recently said, "Tone of voice is a process, not a hard and fast set of rules."

Who are you? Are you the funky digital company shaking up the industry? Awesome. Use language that says that. Are you a down-home, local company serving your more-traditional community? That's wonderful - use language that says that.

Tone of voice is all about making your company sound less like a company and more like a human -- and humans have personality. Let yours shine through and reach out to your people with confidence in who you are!