HOW TO GET THE MOST OUT OF YOUR CONTENT MARKETING CAMPAIGNS
Today’s news cycles are so fast that content published in the morning is often outdated by lunchtime. Now with the rise of social media channels such as Twitter and TikTok, anything that doesn't go viral can have an even shorter shelf-life.
So how do you ensure your content doesn’t have an equally ephemeral existence?
When you’re building up your content library, it’s important to consider how to get the most mileage out of your marketing assets.
That doesn’t mean all of your content needs to be evergreen—piggy-backing on a news event and producing timely content is a smart way to show clients and prospects that you have your finger on the pulse, particularly if it helps them navigate or make sense of a news event.
But while being flexible and following market trends is vital for any successful content strategy, the ability to draw from a well-stocked library of ready-to-go, multi-format content will ensure you can always keep your output fresh and your audience informed and engaged.
Keep your shelves tidy
The first step in building your content library is making sure it is properly organised. Think of it like a real library, with books stored in alphabetical order or catalogued by subject matter. By auditing your existing content and managing it in a way that makes it easy to find later, you can achieve two things. First, you can identify any gaps in your content. And second, it will save hours of frustration when you or a colleague need to dig out, say, an old product guide, and you can’t remember what its file name is or what folder it was stored in. This might sound like basic stuff, but when you’re focused on the big picture—namely strategy and content production—the basics are easy to overlook.
Choosing the right format
Blogs, guides, white papers, case studies, e-Books, videos, podcasts, infographics, webinars, newsletters—all of these should have a home in your content library, and using them in combination can help increase the longevity of your content campaigns. Producing a white paper? Then consider ways you can spin that out into different formats. Maybe there’s an angle you can explore in more detail in a blog, or perhaps a brief explainer video would help illustrate the main points in a more digestible fashion. By producing content across a range of formats, you can then start to gather data on what your audience engages with most—and therefore what is most likely to convert leads into new customers.
Making research go further
Investing in research content is not only a good way to enhance your reputation as a thought leader, it can also provide a gold mine of material that you can repurpose for other formats. If you’re interviewing experts for a report, then chances are you’ll only be using a handful of their quotes and the rest will end up on the cutting room floor. Instead think about how you can recycle those leftovers into new content. Publishing an extended version of the interview online can be a great way to drive web traffic. Turning the key research findings into eye-catching, easy-to-understand infographics that can be shared on social media will also help promote your report and potentially reach a broader audience.
Revamping old content
Content that has been gathering dust on the shelf for several months doesn’t need to be put out to pasture. If there are contemporary references that have gone stale, simply take them out and replace with something fresh (or just avoid them in the first place). Reviewing old content can also help spark new ideas or help you identify themes to follow up on—perhaps there has been a market development that means the content needs updating, or maybe there is some old research data that could be worth revisiting to see how trends have changed. You might not even need to revamp it at all—content that you produced five years ago could be just as relevant and valuable to your audience today as it was back then.
Put it in the diary
Ok, so you have your content library well organised, you know what new content you’re producing (and in what formats), and you’ve got some ideas how to freshen up your old material. Job done? Not quite. The last stage in this process is putting together a content calendar to map out when and how you are going to publish your content. Planning a big thought leadership project? Then don’t just dump everything on your audience in one hit, consider some teaser content first in the run up, then keep it fresh after publication with spin offs that add value. By setting out your schedule in advance, you can maintain a steady stream of content while ensuring it is aligned with your wider marketing objectives and business goals.
Next steps…
Building up a rich library of content is a time-consuming project. Speak to Pensar Media today and find out how we can help you unlock greater value from your content marketing campaigns while keeping your clients and prospects engaged for longer.
