There’s a sweet spot when it comes to writing content briefs:
Include too much and you’ve killed creativity and should just write it yourself.
Include too little and you’ve left the door open to get what you didn’t need and won’t work for your goals.
Diana Briceño explains how to be “unequivocally clear” and shares what she includes in her briefs here.
Critical elements:
Ben Goodey provided a list of the bits that make up “Good SEO” in this LinkedIn post.
Among them are some pieces you might not be thinking of, like
✅ Integrated content strategy
✅ Product management thinking
✅ Psychology of conversion
Read the full list here.
Related: Google is deranking websites due to AI generated-content. Tom Dotan explains why it matters here. (Business Insider account required)
Kerry Campion’s publishing a mini-series about hiring writers over on LinkedIn and this post hit home.
There are pieces of content marketing that you are responsible for when you hire a writer:
Some bits can be transferred during a ramp up period, but you’re not going to get the content you’re hoping for if you don’t do your part, or pay for more than writing with the understanding that you’ll still have to be available and contribute.
Psst! If you’re looking to fill in the missing pieces of your content marketing team, I know of a great place to start.
Should We Call This Content Journalism?
A mix of content marketing and brand journalism helped Parabol reach 150k monthly pageviews. This Animalz article by Tim Metz explains how the approach they took merges the most effective bits of content marketing and brand journalism.
I’ve always seen this as layering immersion journalism (truly diving into a niche and reporting on it from that deep vantage point) on top of the practice of content marketing (trust-building to drive interest and conversions). What do you think? Does the new name work?
Content Marketing Mindset Shift: Tactics Aren’t Strategy
“[Content marketing] gets seen as a tactic (something we check off our to-do list) and not a strategy (something that drives business growth). Shift the mindset from tactic to strategy…”
Does your content marketing feel a lot like checking off a to-do list? In his LinkedIn post, Winston A. Henderson challenges marketers to stop thinking this way and lists 8 ways to align content strategy to business goals.
Is Podcast Searching And Listening Part Of Your Content Strategy?
Tristan Pelligrino is onto something special. His video shares how he uses Listen Notes—a podcast search engine—to prepare questions for guests coming on his own podcast.
He also recommends using podcast research in some additional ways, a few of which could be applied to inform your content strategy:
“✔️ Listen to a conversation featuring a decision-maker at one of your key accounts
✔️ Pinpoint key phrases & learn how your ideal customers explain their challenges”
Additionally, he mentions that a podcast search could help you identify industry experts to interview for your own podcast as well as finding supporting quotes for content you’re creating.
Psst: I took a minute to test out Listen Notes and was reminded of some fun conversations I’ve had in recent years.
This article by Vivek Mathew details a content repurposing workflow (along with a real-life example) you can use to get the most out of what you create.
Quotable quote:
“Don’t let your greatest hits collect dust.” - Ross Simmonds
Video Customer Testimonials As A Tool For B2B Growth
Have you tried creating video testimonials? In this episode of Marketing Smarts, Alexander Ferguson makes a case for video customer stories.
Why?
“Even the average ones perform better than most other types of videos because it has the customer in it and it’s using the words that your other customers want to hear. It’s the journey. It’s the pain points. It’s the problem. And it just resonates better than most other videos and being able to convert and actually move the needle in your marketing efforts.”
Alexander explains what makes for a good one—they need a full story arc—and why they don’t need to be exceptionally high quality to be effective.
Psst! Audience Ops has been creating video testimonials (plus captioned ads for social) for our clients and we’re sharing what we’ve learned in the Audience Ops Insights section (below).
Beyond Case Studies & Testimonials: How To Involve Your Audience In Content Creation
Customer involvement in your content has the potential to be powerful, authentic, and credible. However, Sara Stella Lattanzio explains that this means you need to go beyond simply creating case studies.
Check out 9 other ways you can involve customers in your content strategy.
Building a podcast (or any content series, really) with the goal of generating/directly impacting revenue can be tough, and the reality is it’s easy to get “stuck.”
Refine Labs Stacking Growth Podcast recently featured Lindsay Tjepkema, found of Casted, to talk about what she calls the Amplified Marketing Maturity Curve.
Lindsay identifies 5 stages of growth and explains how to get “unstuck” at each stage.
