Yes, content marketing works! But it’s hard, has many moving parts and doesn’t play directly into a cold-eyed ROI analysis. That was the topic of our recent webinar with Paul Hagey – managing editor at T3 Sixty and founder of HageyMedia.

Paul, who has years of writing and journalism experience, explained the importance of content marketing and shared its components, strategy roles, and goals.

Content Marketing

Simply put, content marketing is a strategic approach to creating and distributing information to attract a specific audience. It’s more important and powerful now than ever because consumer attention is very difficult to attract and maintain. Content Marketing enables you to own your own platform by providing original information that consumers can’t find anywhere else. Paul shared the Denver Ear and Tacoma agent Marguerite Giguere’s websites as two examples of successful content marketing strategies.

Components of Content Marketing

The three components of content marketing include creation (i.e., video, blog posts, photos), distribution via social media channels/email, and measurement (i.e., Google analytics, Facebook insights). Paul stressed that distribution is just as important as the quality of the content you are creating. Measuring your efforts will also help you determine which content is resonating with your audience.

Strategy

To create a smart content plan, you must clarify your business goals, know your brand, identify your audience, create your content, and distribute and measure it. It’s important to understand your value proposition and what will make you stand out.

Roles

Content marketing roles (which can be outsourced or done by you) include strategists, creators, editors, distributors, community managers, and analysts. These are people who think about your business goals and the type of content you want to create, brainstorm ideas, and create and edit content — many things that Paul noted are often overlooked. Community managers help maintain and nurture online relationships by replying to questions and comments. As Katie Lance often reiterates, social media is a two-way street. Lastly, a good analyst will make the time — whether weekly, monthly, or quarterly — to assess what strategy and content is working and what is not.

Goals

Before you get started, it’s important to identify your goals for content marketing, otherwise, what’s the point? Some of these goals may include generating new leads, growing your database, increasing SEO and brand awareness, demonstrating expertise and establishing trust with consumers.

The big takeaways from Paul’s presentation include: committing to your content marketing strategy, starting small and building a strong foundation, understanding why you’re doing it, and measuring so you can tweak your strategy along the way.

Want to jumpstart your content marketing efforts? Schedule a free consultation with Paul.