Is Your Content Marketing Fluid?

Is Your Content Marketing Fluid?:

Content Marketing is the latest in a long line of online marketing buzzwords. So, what does it mean? Junta42 has one of the best definitions…

“Content marketing is a marketing technique of creating and distributing relevant and valuable content to attract, acquire, and engage a clearly defined and understood target audience – with the objective of driving profitable customer action.”

Chances are you’re probably doing some of this. Most businesses today have a website, some have a presence on social media channels, and some even have a Blog (or two). Let’s break this content marketing definition down a bit…

• Relevant and valuable content – Blog posts, video, podcasts, eBooks, white papers, etc.
• Attract, acquire, and engage – make a connection that has value to them and you
• Defined and understood target audience – your ideal client
• Driving profitable customer action – your goals met, be they monetary or otherwise

At Wood Street, we’ve created lots of websites, lots of blogs, and have worked with many of our clients to help them integrate social media marketing into these and other content channels. This is all important and useful.

If you’re doing some or all of these things, good for you! But, is your business getting the most it can out of all of this content? Do all elements of the definition above apply to your content marketing efforts?

Content marketing should be fluid. Before I expand on that, let’s take a look at what the word “fluid” really means. According to Merriam-Webster, fluid means…

1a: having particles that easily move and change their relative position without a separation of the mass and that easily yield to pressure : capable of flowing

1b: subject to change or movement <boundaries became fluid>

2: characterized by or employing a smooth easy style <the ballerina’s fluid movements> <fluid recitation of his lines>

When you think of your content, do words like move or change come to mind? Is your content capable of flowing? Does your content have a smooth easy style? It should.

The idea behind content marketing is that you’re targeting your potential clients with valuable content where they’re looking for it. And you’re doing this with the intent of driving them to some sort of movement. Action.

Fluid content can live anywhere. An idea on Twitter can lead someone to a Blog post. A post on your Blog and be shared on your Facebook page and then transformed into an eBook or a YouTube Video or SlideShare presentation – all working towards a common goal, allowing an idea to change position without a separation of the mass.

In order to have a fluid content marketing strategy, you must accept the fact that you’re aiming at a fast moving target. Your audience, more than ever before, is on the move – blogs –> websites –> YouTube –> mobile…

You need to know who you’re marketing to. What are your buyer personas? What do these people look like? What are their hopes and dreams? Ok, a bit far, but you see what I mean.

Let’s say you run a local chapter of the Humane Society. You know your target audience is made up of people concerned about animals who are looking to adopt a pet or looking to care for the pets they have.

What content is going to help them achieve their goals when it comes to their pets? Blog posts about pet care? Sure. Video about animals? Of course. A white paper on the endocrine system of a parrot? Maybe, but that’s one you need to work up to.

The white paper example is important to look at. A white paper can be an important part of your content marketing efforts. But, can you post a technical white paper and expect hoards of pet enthusiasts to flock to it? No, of course not.

Your content marketing is an organism made up of many parts working together as one. Our parrot example could have many parts. Sure, you have the white paper about the endocrine system of the parrot. But, this would be considered “in the weeds” and not the first place someone with a parrot issue would necessarily look.

They’re going to look for quicker answers to their questions. Answers contained in blog posts, a video showing what a parrot experiencing pain looks like or a podcast interview with a parrot specialist talking about a parrot in pain – all placed on the society blog and then shared…

These concerned parrot owners are going to ask their Facebook friends or Twitter followers for resources on pet bird ailments. They might search through YouTube for helpful parrot care videos. Is your content marketing fluid enough to reach all of these places?

As you can see in the graphic above, all of this should lead back to your website and blog, where you have strategically placed, targeted calls to action. For a local humane society, this could be a callout to signup for an upcoming workshop, or a button to donate online.

As you can see, there isn’t one line with a beginning and an end. Content marketing is not linear. It’s fluid. It moves and transforms itself so that it can be where it needs to be when it needs to be there.

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