Erika Heald Marketing Consulting

Content marketing that drives business results

Alek Irvin

July 19, 2021 Content Chat Recap: Content Chat Mid-Year Check-In and 5-Year Anniversary Celebration

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In this #ContentChat 2021 mid-year check-in, we discuss our top content marketing challenges, how we’ll define success this year, and ways that we can best support each other as a community. This also marks Erika’s five-year anniversary as our chat host!

If you missed the chat live, please share your answers to any of these questions in the comments. We’re also always on the lookout for new topics and guest suggestions for the chat. Leave a comment or send me a message on Twitter @AlekIrvin if you have any recommendations.

Thank you to everyone who has been a part of #ContentChat!

Q1: How would you describe #ContentChat only using a gif?

As Erika said, it’s just not a Content Chat mid-year check-in and celebration without GIFs.

Q2: What is your biggest/scariest/most time-consuming #contentmarketing challenge right now?

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How a Social Media Audit Can Improve Your Content Strategy

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It’s hard to deny the potential business benefits of an actively engaged brand social media community.

The Sprout Social Index XVII found that 89% of consumers will buy from a brand if they follow it on social media, and 75% will increase their spending with that brand. Hootsuite’s 2021 Social Trends report reinforced this point, finding that the No. 1 social media marketing goal is to increase new customer acquisition. 

This transactional mindset—attract new followers to increase your reach and potentially drive sales—is common for brands. But for social media teams to unlock the full potential of their channels, they must consistently provide actual value to their online communities. 

We recommend conducting a social media channel audit to understand if your social media strategy drives its intended results and continues to delight your communities. Here’s why. 

What Is A Social Media Audit?

A social media channel audit is a systematic process in which you review all of your company’s social media channels, as well as your competitor or coopetition’s social media channels. This involves any online presence for your brand, whether active or not, including Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, YouTube, Clubhouse, or Reddit (among many others).

If your team invests in thought leadership activities with designated brand spokespeople, you will also review those online presences during the audit. 

Your audit can take any variety of formats or styles. Use a Google or Word document, spreadsheet, or whatever tool you prefer, as long as your team can effectively document key information about your channels, filter and sort your data to find trends, and organize next steps to act on these findings. 

We recommend conducting at least an annual social media channel audit. However, a twice-annual or quarterly audit could help your team adjust its course mid-year as needed. Keep in mind that a thorough audit will typically last at least six hours over a business week, if not longer, so weekly or monthly audits are simply an inefficient use of your team resources. 

Why Do You Need to Conduct A Social Media Channel Audit?

A social media audit helps you understand whether your social media strategy drives the intended business results. An effective social media audit will help your team better understand:

  • How your social media channels are performing
  • Whether you have a cohesive brand identity across social media channels
  • Which channels have duplicate, inactive, or unsanctioned accounts
  • If there are new trending post styles that your team can leverage
  • Ways to improve your social media content strategy

Social media marketers are often so deeply enmeshed in the day-to-day management of their channels that they forget to stop and ask whether they should be doing something differently or if the experience they provide is on par with or better than their competition’s.

Simply put, a social media audit is the most effective way to improve the quality of your online communities. 

What Should Your Audit Include?

A social media audit is an incredibly valuable process for teams, and it is easier to conduct than you may think.

An audit will gather various key performance indicators (KPIs) for your channels and help you measure these KPIs over time. Generally, an audit will benchmark the following for your brand and your closest sales and content competitors:

  • The number of people in your online communities/follower count
  • Content cadence or posting frequency by channel
  • Engagement on your content
  • Which type(s) of posts garner the highest engagement

Your team’s defined social media goals should influence the additional KPIs you measure during the audit. 

After you collect your initial data, spend the bulk of your audit time reviewing individual posts and assessing what type of content (format, tone, channel, or time of post) garners the most engagement. This will help you uncover if there are new post styles and topics you should explore. 

Refine Your Social Audit Over Time

Your first few social media channel audits may feel challenging or confusing, or you may be surprised by how long the process takes. Be patient with yourself, and remember that you will become more efficient with each audit you conduct.

If you are looking for best practices for conducting a social media audit, the #ContentChat community of content marketers shared their advice to help you throughout your social media audit.

If you plan to attend Content Marketing World 2021, which is a hybrid event from September 28 – October 1, don’t miss our consultancy founder Erika Heald’s session on How To Conduct A Social Media Audit That Helps Your Community Thrive. Get $100 off your registration with code HEALD100 if you haven’t already grabbed your tickets!

July 12, 2021 Content Chat Recap: How To Grow A Brand Community in 2021

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Many brands and individuals strive to build flourishing online communities, hoping to expand their reach, bolster connections, and drive engagement all year. However, many brands and professionals approach their communities as an audience—a self-serving approach that can quickly alienate your community members and significantly limit your ability to achieve the many benefits of an engaged brand community.

In this #ContentChat, we’re joined by Monina Wagner (@MoninaW), who has had an integral role in building the Content Marketing Institute and #CMworld community, to discuss how to grow a brand community in 2021. Read the full recap below, where we explain how to grow a new online brand community, ways to keep your community engaged throughout the year, how to co-create content with your community, and more.

Q1: How do you define a community? What makes a group of people a community instead of an audience?

Your online following is simply an audience until you build relationships with and actively engage the individuals who follow you. You talk to an audience. You interact and engage with a community.

An audience and a community are groups of like-minded people who have a common interest or goal. One difference is that a community stays together after their immediate needs have been solved.

A community needs to be a safe place for its members. A place where they can openly share ideas, provide support, and celebrate together without judgment.

A community manager plays a critical role in nurturing the community and fostering a culture of inclusivity.

But your community should be able to sustain itself regardless of any individual person and the role they play.

Q2: Communities can take any range of shapes and sizes. What are some of the most common types of communities you’ve seen in terms of brand or content marketing industry communities?

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June 28, 2021 Content Chat Recap: So You Want To Start A Marketing Agency

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Have you considered creating your own marketing agency? It can be enticing to cut ties with an employer to pursue your own business interests, but there is also a considerable risk involved with starting an agency. However, by conducting the right research and thoroughly planning your new agency, you can be better prepared to weather the initial hurdles of business operations and chart a path for sustained success.

In this #ContentChat, we’re joined by John Cloonan (@JohnCloonan), longtime #ContentChat community member and co-founder of Audacity Marketing, to discuss what it takes to build a marketing agency. Read the full recap below, where our community of marketers and agency founders explains why they launched their own marketing agencies, how to find the ideal business partner for your marketing agency, operational hurdles to address in the early months, and general tips for creating a new agency.

Q1: If you have launched your own marketing agency, what was your main reason for doing so? Why did you feel like it was the right move to make?

John shares his journey below. Much like John, many marketers explore a mix of in-house and freelance working arrangements before officially launching an agency.

There are many benefits to launching an agency. Our community says that it can give you complete (and potentially much-needed) freedom to conduct your work, enables you to explore new passions or interests as possible, and your agency brand can elevate your personal profile (and vice-versa).

Q2: What research do you recommend someone conduct before starting to plan their new marketing agency? How do you know if this is the right career path for yourself?

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June 21, 2021 Content Chat Recap: How Marketers Can Optimize Their Use Of LinkedIn For Content Marketing

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What are your go-to channels for content marketing? The 2021 Social Media Marketing Industry Report found that Facebook and Instagram are most used by marketers, but LinkedIn remains a top priority with nearly 81% of B2B marketers using the site, surpassed only by Facebook.

In this #ContentChat, we’re joined by Louise Brogan (@LouiseBrogan_), owner of Social Bee and host of LinkedIn with Louise, to discuss how marketers can optimize their use of LinkedIn for content marketing. Read the full recap below, where we discuss the essential LinkedIn profile elements all marketers should address, how to syndicate content on LinkedIn, the new features you may have missed, and more.

Q1: How is LinkedIn different than the other widely-adopted social media channels, and what unique opportunities does it provide?

LinkedIn is the most business-focused social media channel.

But posts with a more personal/human element (opposed to promotional or blatant marketing material) typically perform well on LinkedIn.

Users are not limited by word counts (unlike Twitter).

LinkedIn groups provide a unique opportunity to share thoughts and network with other professionals, and new features may help increase the popularity of LinkedIn groups. Facebook also offers groups.

Direct or private messages are abundant, and potentially valuable, on LinkedIn.

Q2: LinkedIn constantly introduces new features and capabilities. What new features from 2021 should marketers know about?

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June 14, 2021 Content Chat Recap: How To Create Accessible Content For Your Audience

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When creating content for your audience, do you consider the range of potential barriers they face in consuming and understanding that content? Members of your community likely experience visual, auditory, or other circumstances that can make it difficult—if not impossible—to engage with your brand. But, there are a few simple best practices to ensure that your community can get the full value of your content.

In this #ContentChat, we’re joined by Melissa Eggleston (@Melissa_Egg), founder and UX designer at Birdcall, to explain how to create accessible content for your audience. Read the full chat below, where we discuss the common accessibility issues we see with brand sites and other content, how to get started in improving your content accessibility, and our go-to resources for help.

Q1: What is accessible content?

Accessible content can be consumed by as many people as possible, regardless of their abilities.

“Accessible” can be swapped with inclusive, which is a more broad term.

Many professionals overlook the accessibility of their content during its creation, which is a major disadvantage for your brand (we explain why in Q3).

Q2: What are some typical accessibility issues you see with brand websites and other content?

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