The #1 Key to Content Marketing Success [Quick Video]

3 min read
April 8, 2015

Thekeytocontentmarketingsuccess

A few months ago, we gave a seminar on business blogging. Throughout the course of the presentation, we covered why companies should start business blogs, how to get started, how to create content, and how to maximize efficiency when marketing with content. We presented what we think are some great insights into launching a content marketing program, yet all of these insights are useless if new bloggers ignore the #1 key to content marketing sucess...

As blogger and marketing thought leader, Garrett Moon, puts it, "There's only 1 thing that matters to writing a great blog:"

  • Consistency = Trust
  • Consistency = Traffic
  • Consistency = SEO
  • Consistency = Perfect
  • Consistency = Authority
  • Consistency = Content

Get where I'm going with this? Consistency is everything.

Well, consistency and quality.

Experts in the content marketing space love to argue about whether quality or quantity are more important but the reality is that they're both critical.

In my mind, the consistency/quantity of posts is how you establish surface-level credibility and drive traffic, whereas the quality is how you demonstrate thought leadership and convert visitors into leads.

So how do you develop a plan with both quality and quantity (or consistency) in mind? Here are a few ideas:

1. Determine who can contribute content and with what medium

Once you know what topics your blog will cover, look around your company for folks with valuable thoughts to share. If you spread the responsibility of creating content around various teams, the burden becomes much less to bear.

Don't have a lot of great writers? It's okay - there are numerous other ways team members can contribute. Consider the following:

  • Interview key internal stakeholders and write up their thoughts on interesting topics
  • Ask willing contributers to video themselves discussing topics of interest
  • Ask any photographically-savvy team members to create a photo-journal
  • If you have graphic designers on board, ask them to create relevant infographics
  • Encourage team members to write 'listicles' rather than posts with traditional sentences and paragraphs

Spreading the work around not only simplifies your job, but also diversifies your blog, which will make it more appealing for readers.

2. Examine internal capacity

Time is always among the top concerns of marketers when implementing content plans. Before you commit to one, it's important to assess your company's capacity for content creation and to set reasonable goals when it comes to blog frequency.

The more often you can post, the better, but it's best to set smaller goals that are reachable and scale up rather than to set ambitious goals and fall short.

Determine who has the bandwidth to create content internally and decide how many weekly posts are feasible. Work toward posting however often that is and then scale up over time.

3. Examine external capacity

After looking at internal capacity, you may find you don't have the availability to post as often as you would like. Additionally, you may start posting once or twice a week and find you're not getting the results you want. In either of these situations, it's helpful to look for external resources such as guest bloggers or even freelance writing support. Some companies use writing services such as WriterAccess to find industry-specific writers to fill gaps in their editorial calendar and keep content publication consistent when lacking internal bandwidth.

Watch the video below for more insight: