On Words and Business

When creating your content marketing plan, make sure stories are part of the equation. You build momentum and excitement by telling stories your customers will enjoy and want to share with others.

Here are 5 attributes to consider when writing your content, thanks to this blog post by Heidi Cohen. If you are having trouble imagining how to incorporate these attributes, think of your favorite novel or your favorite movie and how they used these elements to move you. It’s the same thing with your content–it doesn’t have to be dry just because you are writing about a business topic.

1. Emotion. Think about phrases and descriptions that will connect with the audience you are trying to reach. Paint a picture with the words you use. What kinds of action or language draws you into a story?
2. Identification with the protagonist of the story. This character doesn’t need to be epic, just relatable. Once the audience cares about the protagonist, they will follow him or her almost anywhere.
3. Memorable. Follow the basic timeline of a story, and make sure to have a beginning, middle, and end. That helps your audience remember what they read. Feel free to jump around in time or in thought to add creativity or surprise, as long as you remember to tell the whole story.
4. Easily adaptable. Think about fairy tales and how easily you can change one to tell the story you want to tell. They aren’t necessarily simple stories, but they are easy to remember and easy for readers to enhance with their own elements.
5. Easily sharable with others. If your content follows these steps, your audience will want to share your stories with others. It’s easy for them when the basics are simple enough to repeat and the content is easily downloadable and shareable.

By now you must have seen the Old Spice marketing campaign.

B2B marketers can learn from the success of this creative strategy, as it includes just the ingredients needed to launch a successful content marketing campaign.

1. It wasn’t an overnight success. It was a three year effort culminating in the ads, videos, and social media presence we see today.
2. It involved trial and error. The agency took risks, evaluated what worked, and didn’t give up when something didn’t work.
3. It involved a lot of planning, a significant budget, and trust in the process.

I’m proud to announce the publication of Career Launcher: Manufacturing. Published by Ferguson, authored by me.

If you’re interested in manufacturing careers or know someone who is, check it out.

Marketing isn’t what it used to be.

It isn’t so much about the medium, although that is a key factor. It’s really about producing materials to share with your customers, creating value, and starting conversations.

What have you written lately?

Check out this article on BtoB: Committed to Custom

How has the customer changed?

• Customers will hunt for the best content to address their needs. The company is now the prey.
• Customers will market your company for you, if you give them quality content.
• Find the influencers in your customer base–they are the ones to reach first and most often.
• Content available online helps create an online community–always open.

Thanks to Tim Parker for these rules of content marketing.

Early in the sales cycle, your prospects need basic information:

• Do they have a problem or particular type of challenge? If so, how can they define or constrain it?
• How does this challenge impact operations or business goals? How would a solution to the problem improve operations or help meet those goals?
• What are other companies doing to resolve this or similar issues?
• What vendors offer solutions to the problem?

This is where your valuable content comes into play…