Last Updated on June 9, 2017

Many of you hear the words “content marketing,” but do you really understand what it is, and what it can do for you? For those of you who think blogging and content marketing are the same, you’re wrong. Blogging is only a piece of content marketing, just like content marketing is a piece of your marketing plan.

What is Content Marketing – Really?
Successful content marketing isn’t about paraphrasing someone else’s article or blog post. It’s not about creating an award winning journalistic piece. It’s about marketing through content channels directly to your target audience and talking (writing) about the exact things, ideas, and opinions that interest and inspire your audience to become followers, thus promoting your brand.

Content Marketing vs. Content Clutter
So, you can write – big deal. Many people (maybe even you) consider themselves good writers and they’re probably right. However, what you write and how you write (your tone/style) for content marketing are very different. Some journalists and authors have labeled content marketing as “graffiti.” The funny thing is that while digital content continues to grow, so does the amount of really good content marketing, or graffiti (as they say), and boring inauthentic content. So, in order to pick through all of the content clutter on the internet you must first start with a good recipe, but not just a good recipe – a 4-star recipe.

4-Star Recipe For Content Marketing
Yields: Thousands

Ingredients:

• 1 heaping tablespoon of a good topic that your audience can relate to
• 1 cup of research (opinions on the topic from several different writers)
• A handful of your own experience on the topic
• 2 teaspoons of your own unique viewpoint
• A dash of wit…maybe some humor (wet or dry)
• 1 tablespoon of simplicity
• 4 teaspoons of clarity
• A sprinkle of appropriate keywords and links
• 3 tablespoons of headings (H2 tags) for easy reading for both the reader and the search engines
• 1 sticky string of headline
• 1 engaging message or call-to-action

Preparation:
Start with the topic and research; mix well. Add ingredients 3-8 and stir into your topic. Now add your headings and engaging message or call-to-action. Lastly, add the headline.

Now that you have your mix ready, it’s time to let it rise. Begin by publishing the content on one main channel (typically your website). Once the content has risen – it’s time to get it hot and cook through with a little fire. This is where social media, influencer, or blogger outreach, and email marketing, etc. come into play. Use these channels to light the fire for your content, to get it noticed, and to keep it burning.

So, now that you have the recipe, what are you going to make? We’re experts in the content marketing kitchen – give us a call and let’s get cooking!