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?

Herewith my vote for the top 10 content marketing resources, events, and trends of 2011

10.  The fact that the term “content marketing” is now mainstream.
9.  Measurement.  More companies are relying on web traffic and the quality of sales leads to measure effectiveness.
8.  Rise of the infographic. One of which might make this post much easier to read, wouldn’t it?
7.  The report of the death of print was an exaggeration. Online is important. But content that people can hold in their hands or use when they are offline (or if they don’t have a computer–there are still many of those folks out there) won’t go away anytime soon.
6.  Focus on community. Online and off, making connections and being part of a community is part of the human condition. As content marketing and social media have evolved, we are getting closer to finding the sweet spot.
5.  Curation. At last, content marketers understand they don’t have to go it alone.
4.  Get Content. Get Customers. by Joe Pulizzi and Newt Barrett. If you don’t know how to start or how to maintain a content marketing program, you need this book.
3.  Content Rules, by Ann Handley and C.C. Chapman. Ditto.
2.  LinkedIn IPO and it’s continued growth. It is the place to be for B2B businesses to build communities and reach customers and prospects.
1.  Content Marketing World. The inaugural event this past September was amazing! Mark your calendars for September 4-6, 2012 and get yourself to Columbus, Ohio!

How much content should a content creator create when a content creator creates content?

Like all things related to creating and sharing content, the answer could be considered frustratingly vague: It depends.

On:

• Your audience. Are they consumers or businesses? Are they technology- and media-savvy? Are they likely to seek out the kind of content you create? How much education will they need?
• Your business. Do you sell products or services? Are your products or services easy to describe or rather complicated? Can you see a clear connection between a content strategy and the goals of the business?
• Your marketing. How much other marketing do you do? How can you integrate content into the mix? What resources will you need to direct or redirect toward content creation and management?
• Your employees. Do they have the bandwidth to create content? If not, how can you help them get there? Do you have the ability to look elsewhere for help strategizing or creating content?

Yes and no.

In many social media outlets, it is most important to share the concept and the basic idea. A bit of editing and spell-checking is important so you don’t make too many errors that will make people question if you actually know what you’re doing. But it is also important to get to the point without droning on or taking up too much of your time to do it. You can link to the deeper, more detailed content that takes longer for someone to absorb.

For that more detailed type of content, like brochures, case studies, white papers, newsletters, etc., the words and how they’re written take on more importance, so a higher level of editing and time spent attending to detail is important.

It’s about finding the balance between the time you have to write the project, the type of information you’re sharing, and how important it is to make the information available at a certain time or via  a certain channel.

Fans of The Princess Bride know what I’m talking about. You don’t fight to the death, you fight to the pain.

In the marketing world, what would that mean? What is serious pain for a content marketer? What leaves a marketer in anguish, wallowing in content misery?

• Unmet content creation goals
• A content strategy misaligned with the goals of the business
• Wasting time, money, or other resources on content that is not relevant for the audience

What else causes pain for content marketers?

Things to be thankful for this holiday…

• The family and friends who support me and my business every day
• The clients and prospects who remind me with their dedication, insight, and wit why I like what I do
• Social media, especially LinkedIn, that enables me to stay connected to colleagues, friends, and business partners

What are you and your business thankful for?