On Words and Business

Failure hurts, it’s embarrassing, and in these days of real-time sharing via social media, it can be very public. It’s easy to be afraid of it.

The result of that fear is that it’s easy to play it safe. In content marketing, that means that the closer what you say is to the middle (of your niche) the better your content will be received.

However, sometimes you need to walk to the edge of the cliff, jump into the deep end, or slip and fall flat on your ass in the middle of a room full of people. Maybe you learn a lesson and grow. Maybe you simply fail and learn what not to do the next time.

Do you want to make an impact? Do you want to have some value? Maybe you’ve got to take a few risks. To wit:

• Try writing in a different voice–maybe the funny or sarcastic one you hide in favor of your business voice, or develop a persona and give it a specific point of view that is different from yours.
• Try new kinds of content you’ve never produced before–perhaps a podcast if you usually blog, or something long form like a white paper if you usually tweet.
• Try a new venue–consider guest posting on blogs that are complimentary to yours or to your industry, or planning an event if you don’t usually do in-person networking to your audience.

These are just a very few ideas on the tamer end of the scale.

Could you fail? Yup. But you could also succeed wildly.

What derring-do do you dare do?

The theme this week at Alley424 world headquarters: taming fierce beasts, big and small.

If the ferocious critter you fear is content, here are some hints about not only surviving but thriving!

1. You’re probably already doing it. Have a blog or a newsletter? Bingo, you’re one step closer.
2. Use what you have and don’t fret about everything being brand new. Shazam, you’re another step closer.
3. Video isn’t as hard as you think it is. Yee ha. You’re almost there.
4. Creating content builds on itself. Be imaginative with what you have, and you’ve taken the final step. Bravo!

Now, doesn’t this particular beast seem a little smaller and less intimidating?

Thanks to Mark Snodgrass and this post on MarketingProfs.

Content marketing, Dr. Suess style…

Red niche, blue niche.
Old niche, new niche.
Some have one need, some have four.
Some have six needs, some have more.
Some are thin, some are fat.
Some wear a funny yellow hat.
Where they come from I can’t say.
But many have come a long long way.
Hello there, customer, how are you?
Tell me, tell me what is new?
How are things in your world there?
What is new? Oh please share.

Of course we have to target our marketing message to what our own audience wants and needs. But what about narrowing the target even more and aiming a message at the influencers in the audience?

Here’s an article that proves there is actually enough time in the day to do this:  How to Make Time for Influencer Marketing

Key points:

1. Don’t take too big a bite to start with: target a small number of influential people
2. Keep the impact on your day small: devote a set amount of time each day to learn about the influencers you’ve targeted
3. Get help: in the form of software or a system to keep track of who you are following and what you are doing
4. Reach out: share your point of view with the influencers
5. Reach out again: share your content and ask for feedback

Seth Godin says in his post, The problem with pandering:

“Marketing-focused almost never works….That’s because no one actually understands what the market wants.”

This makes me think.

Is it possible to believe in content marketing if this post also rings true? How can we reconcile a belief in the power of magic and passion with a belief in marketing?

Some barriers to B2B marketing success, per MarketingSherpa’s latest benchmark report:

• Lack of resources (like time and money)–62% of B2B marketers said this was a problem
• Limited ability to create content–35%
• Lack of clear value proposition–25%

There are a lot more on the chart, but these seemed like the interesting ones to me.

Is it me, or are these basically the same challenges marketing has always had? With the fast pace of change in this space over the past few years…why aren’t we able to knock down these demons?