{"id":2997,"date":"2017-06-20T13:03:00","date_gmt":"2017-06-20T13:03:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blueskyvideomarketing.com\/?p=2997"},"modified":"2023-11-08T14:26:18","modified_gmt":"2023-11-08T14:26:18","slug":"13-the-3-cs-of-a-successful-content-marketing-strategy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blueskyvideomarketing.com\/blog\/13-the-3-cs-of-a-successful-content-marketing-strategy\/","title":{"rendered":"The 3 C’s of a successful content marketing strategy"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
I wrote this article after attending a CIM event in Belfast featuring Gavin Walker, Editor of Business First magazine and Chris Fielding Martin of hotel brand, Malmaison.<\/p>
I was going back through the blog archives from a few years ago and came across this article that I wrote after attending a CIM event in Malmaison Belfast.<\/p>
As I read it I thought it was worth sharing again…<\/p>
We\u2019re all producing new content on a daily basis which we hope will be eagerly consumed by customers. This involves the distribution of this content to our target media \u2013 both online and offline so what is it that will get our content selected for publishing?<\/p>
The\u00a0Chartered Institute of Marketing<\/a>\u00a0in Ireland (CIM) held an event in\u00a0Malmaison Belfast<\/a>\u00a0today which sought to address this very issue and one of the contributors was\u00a0Gavin Walker. Editor\u00a0<\/a>of the Business First publication. As the gatekeeper who is in ultimate control of whether our content gets the airtime we desire when Gavin (or others holding editorial positions) speaks it\u2019s worth listening.<\/p> What I took away from Gavin\u2019s presentation were the 3 c\u2019s to a successful content marketing strategy:<\/p> \u00a0<\/p> Context<\/span><\/p> The first point in relation to context refers not to the subject matter of your material but instead focuses on the infrastructure and resources available to the majority of publications that we target.<\/p> Gone are the days when editorial teams are staffed with an army of willing copywriters and journalists who will have either the time or the inclination to redraft your content to make it suitable for publication.<\/p> Therefore, in order to maximise the opportunity for your content to get published you need to think about how it will be formatted.<\/p> The copy that you send to your target media will have a much greater chance of success if it can be lifted and placed with minimal additional editing.<\/p> This requires you to make sure that your copy does not make unsubstantiated claims about how good your product, service or company is.<\/p> A simple way to overcome this is to first write about yourself in the third person. Construct your copy as if it is being put together by an impartial journalist \u2013 this ensures a focus on the facts and the key messages you want to get across and avoids it reading like a paid for advertorial (which won\u2019t get published \u2013 unless you\u2019re paying for it).<\/p> Another key element of context is an understanding of where the content will be published.<\/p> Is it for a magazine or newspaper or is it for an online publication?<\/p> It\u2019s increasingly likely that it\u2019s for both as most print publications will have a website as well.<\/p> If the content you\u2019re sending is specifically for print or online then specify this within the release.<\/p> A technical article or detailed project case study is probably best suited to a print publication where people will most likely give your content some more time.<\/p> A release about the event you\u2019re hosting, a new product launch, new appointments may be best suited to the online publication as a result of the immediacy it offers.<\/p> Gavin made some very interesting points about the formatting of releases destined for online publication:<\/p> Headlines<\/span>\u00a0\u2013 keep these to 65 characters or less to ensure search engine optimisation and make sure they include relevant keywords<\/p> Description<\/span>\u00a0\u2013 include a meta description of 160 characters or less which is keyword focused and can then be used by the online publication to describe your content.<\/p> Images<\/span>\u00a0\u2013 name your images with relevant keywords and include the caption to accompany the image as separate text within your release.<\/p> Links<\/span>\u00a0\u2013 if you would like your content to link to a specific landing page on your website rather than the home page then include the details within your release.<\/p> Social links<\/span>\u00a0\u2013 include details of the links to all your relevant social media channels so that if (and when) the publication decides to share your new content they are able to include you in the post.<\/p> \u00a0<\/p> Content<\/span><\/p> Now we\u2019ve got the structure sorted it\u2019s time to focus on the content itself.<\/p> Gavin observed that too much content is focused on what the MD wants to talk about rather than what our customers will actually find interesting.<\/p> With editorial departments being swamped by over sterilised corporate releases a little bit of extra thought and consideration for your copy can greatly improve not only the potential for it to be published but for it to have real impact.<\/p>