“Vision without execution is hallucination.” –Thomas A. Edison
So your boss wants a new blog, the CEO picked a new logo and all the branding stuff needs to change or the digital marketing people you hired just don’t get the job done? Or all of the above? Welcome to the madness of content marketing today. The “Vision of the Week” syndrome that crushes the spirit of even the bravest working in small business today.
Your vision is big. You want more customers. But it seems harder to get results these days. The bottom line is your content counts big time if you want to attract, convert and serve more customers. You need consistent, engaging content that fits your brand, voice and marketing plan of action. And you need more content than you think to get the resutls you need.
That’s where the execution rub hits the road. Most small companies are not executing because they don’t have the right leader in place who knows the rules of the content marketing and digital game. The right people are often missing. These are the people who actually know how to take your vision and map it into today’s marketing automation platforms for blogs, email and social media. They will get the work done, on time, on budget with far fewer headaches. These people are in high demand which makes it even more challenging to succeed with content marketing execution than you’d prefer.
When it comes to the content marketing activities (action) we see most of the time, it’s meaningful, conversion-friendly content that’s missing. I mean completely missing. Sometimes there is no copy. Just a “vision” of what is supposed to happen. Well, someone has to actually write copy that sells, no? That’s content and killer content is what drives killer content marketing results and conversions. Conversions mean money.
Coordinating your content in strategic fashion can enhance value beyond measure when done consistently well over time. Yes, time. No content marketing strategy happens without many months and years of testing, learning and improving incrementally. After all, is there really any “finish line” when it comes to sales, customer acquisition and all the content marketing you need to drive that?
Content must be great if you want results! The most efficient way to start mapping out your content marketing plan is by taking these three action steps …
1. Hire and pay a professional to really drive your content marketing strategy. It’s ideally the person leading your marketing organization on contract or direct hire. They better know content marketing, search marketing and be able to hold your team accountable.
2. Build an editorial calendar on a platform that enables you to manage content marketing deployment. The calendar is part of the overall sales and marketing road map every successful team needs in place. Otherwise, fly blindly and get no content.
3. Leverage top creative, design, copy and systems automation talent. Don’t be cheap here. Great design and copy writing content converts better. That’s a fact. Why cut corners?
Content marketing doesn’t have to be as maddening as it seems. Learn and apply these three action steps and see what happens to your results.
What else would you add to this list?
To your success!