We’re halfway through 2019, and are at the 3-year anniversary of Erika leading #ContentChat!
In this conversation, we share inspiration we’ve found this year, hurdles we’re facing, and start to plan the next #ContentChat lineup. If you missed out on the conversation live, read through the below and comment if you have other suggestions for future topics or ways we can make #ContentChat even better.
Q1: Share one favorite content marketing article / podcast / book / conference / event that has recently inspired you that we should all check out.
Inspiration can spark at any time, especially when you break out of your work routine to explore various articles, books or events. Check out some of the community’s favorites below.
A1: I attended the Everything Food conference in Utah last month, and got reinspired around the ways I can use Instagram as part of my content mix. It was great to break out of my comfort zone. #ContentChat https://t.co/U5a4EfgltC
— Erika Heald | Marketing Consultant (@SFerika) June 10, 2019
A1b: On the article front, voice search has been on my mind a lot lately, and I recommend checking out this research: https://t.co/3UTz7BWL0e via @semrush #ContentChat
— Erika Heald | Marketing Consultant (@SFerika) June 10, 2019
A1c: As far as books, @MichaelHyatt ‘s Free to Focus has helped me think through how I chunk out my time as a consultant and content marketer. #ContentChat
— Erika Heald | Marketing Consultant (@SFerika) June 10, 2019
A1: We thought this article from @lemonlightmedia was particularly great regarding video content and what causes them to go viral: https://t.co/bgoSkJQ5Zr Some entertaining videos, for sure. #ContentChat
— Sway Group (@SwayGroup) June 10, 2019
A1: I’m currently reading Never Split the Difference: Negotiating as if Your Life Depended on It by @VossNegotiation
Written by a former FBI negotiator. Sooo Goood. It isn’t specific to #contentmarketing but is pertinent to all business professionals. #ContentChat
— Emilie Moreland (@writtenbyemilie) June 10, 2019
A1: #DanBrown “Designing Together”. It’s essentially a book which goes into great detail with practical exercises on collaboration & conflict management for creative professionals. HIGHLY recommended for people in the creative space such as #webdev, #graphicdesign & #marketing!
— Chris (@christhames35) June 10, 2019
A1: I had the opportunity to pre-read @DitchTheAct by @ryanfoland and @MrLeonardKim. I would recommend this one as something to pick up and read. Great good but lots of actionable ways to improve. #ContentChat
— Bernie Fussenegger #Digital360Chat (@B2the7) June 10, 2019
Q2: What is your biggest/scariest/hardest to solve content challenge?
Time is one of the biggest hurdles for content marketers, which is why time management and prioritization is a skill we’re constantly developing.
A2: There is never enough time or resources to create everything I want. So it’s always about the prioritization. #ContentChat https://t.co/fI06RIAT2B
— Erika Heald | Marketing Consultant (@SFerika) June 10, 2019
A2 The biggest content-related challenge I would run into is giving space for every part of the process… collection, curation, consideration, creation, communication and calculation. #ContentChat
— Derek Pillie (@derekpillie) June 10, 2019
On a related note, keeping up with content demands and producing a steady flow of high-quality content is a common challenge for most content marketers.
② – Keeping up with the demand is daunting! Content may be king but it requires so many subjects in its kingdom #contentchat
— Worldmedia Interactive (@worldmediamiami) June 10, 2019
A2.
Oh goodness, that’s a great question!
In higher education and in social media…the ability to generate content and maintain our posting consistent during “slow” periods (winter break, summer break, etc.) can be challenge. #contentchat
— Bentley University (@bentleyu) June 10, 2019
A2: Creating high quality content in sufficient volume. #ContentChat
— John Cloonan (@johncloonan) June 10, 2019
Completely agree! I would also have to add on to that and say without repetition. Creating high-quality content in sufficient volume without repetition is something that does pose as a challenge occasionally. #ContentChat
— OnePitch (@onepitchsaas) June 10, 2019
Another challenge is meeting the needs of very different audiences (which we may not be a part of) on very different platforms. Marketers need to understand their unique audiences and their needs before creating any content, and then data should guide the ongoing content strategy.
A2: Everyday I’m creating content for an audience of which I’m not a target member. It can be challenging, but I like to think of it as a fun challenge where I’m constantly learning something new. #ContentChat
— Caitlin Kinser (@caitlinmarie89) June 10, 2019
A2.
I think another challenge in higher education is the amount of stakeholders we have.
-students
-prospective students
-parents
-alumni
-staff
-faculty
-community members
-partners
-etc.You have to create + present content
in a way that speaks to each group#contentchat— Bentley University (@bentleyu) June 10, 2019
A2: Being consistent across all channels with content that is relevant for the audience and being able to provide enough content. Data also plays a role in where your audience is and the content they want and engage with – so it is also understanding that analytics. #ContentChat
— Bernie Fussenegger #Digital360Chat (@B2the7) June 10, 2019
A2: We’re always trying to solve (or adjust) the problem of “what’s the right content mix?” How much time should we allocate to written content, & when should we move more towards video/other visuals? There’s no 1 answer obviously, and our mix changes frequently. #contentchat
— Brafton (@Brafton) June 10, 2019
A2 Writing for the average reader. Since “most Americans” read at a 7th or 8th grade level, it can be difficult sometimes to simplify content. Although it forces you to really focus & hone in on your main points, & not get too lost in exaggeration or embellishment. #ContentChat
— Krystal Blais ️ (@krystalblais) June 10, 2019
Q3: What is your primary content marketing goal for this year? What will success look like for your content marketing efforts?
Whether it’s scaling your efforts, driving engagement or branching into new channels, keeping your goals top-of-mind is a critical step to achieving them. Do you share any of the goals below?
Q3: My goal for this year is all about scaling. Moving from being a solopreneur to a small agency. So it’s about ID’ing the right content that can support that goal. #ContentChat https://t.co/jiBqqaTACN
— Erika Heald | Marketing Consultant (@SFerika) June 10, 2019
A3: A big goal this year is to spark more conversations with our content–we’re putting more effort into creating content, particularly on social, that gets people to leave comments and engage with other followers. #contentchat
— Caitlin Kinser (@caitlinmarie89) June 10, 2019
A3: Link building is big for us this year. So guest posting is an area we are exploring. #ContentChat
— Emilie Moreland (@writtenbyemilie) June 10, 2019
A3.
We have many goals for this upcoming year! We are launching a new website, so a big goal for us l is to organize our content better.
Another content goal is to branch out into new mediums! Video + visual storytelling in general will be key! #contentchat
— Bentley University (@bentleyu) June 10, 2019
Creating content that incites #engagement is probably our largest goal for this year regarding content. #ContentChat
— Sway Group (@SwayGroup) June 10, 2019
A3: Creating a #YouTube channel which ultimately focuses on good content, captions, & #SEO. This has to be the LONGEST process when creating content because the video alone can take days. Then creating the longtail content in the video description and captioning. #ContentChat
— Chris (@christhames35) June 10, 2019
A3: A big goal for myself is to grow my solo to the point I had it 8-10 years ago but now I have social to help along with way – content will be a big part of it as I grow out each channel. #contentchat
— Bernie Fussenegger #Digital360Chat (@B2the7) June 10, 2019
Q4: What content-related topic would you like to see an upcoming #ContentChat address?
Comment below if you have others to add to this list, as well as if you’d like to host an upcoming session.
Can we talk books again? I remember a fun summer reading #ContentChat last year.
— Emilie Moreland (@writtenbyemilie) June 10, 2019
A4.
How to maximize
the use of our content.Would love to explore
how to get more creative
with how we repurpose content!#contentchat— Bentley University (@bentleyu) June 10, 2019
A4: I would like to see how to best create content for multiple channels and how to better repurpose. #contentchat
— Bernie Fussenegger #Digital360Chat (@B2the7) June 10, 2019
A4. Good #content topics are how to define the customer journey and map content to it. #ContentChat
— Tod Cordill (@todcordill) June 10, 2019
Shoutout to John for his multitude of suggestions.
A4: Leveraging audience-generated content might be one. #ContentChat
— John Cloonan (@johncloonan) June 10, 2019
A4: Might be fun to do channel our inner Robert Pirsig and ask the question “What is quality content?” #ContentChat
— John Cloonan (@johncloonan) June 10, 2019
A4: Maybe some exercises on sparking creativity. #ContentChat
— John Cloonan (@johncloonan) June 10, 2019
A4: Getting more tactical, maybe some best practice in video for different distro channels. #ContentChat
— John Cloonan (@johncloonan) June 10, 2019
A4: …or deep dives into what works on each major social media channel. #ContentChat
— John Cloonan (@johncloonan) June 10, 2019
Q5: Is there an amazing content marketer or content creator you’d like to see as a #ContentChat guest? Tag them!
Who would you like to see? Connect them with Erika on social media.
A5: So many here but would like to see @ChrisStrub @bentleyu @cgritmon @VirtuosoAssist @MLLNNLmotivator to just name a couple…#ContentChat
— Bernie Fussenegger #Digital360Chat (@B2the7) June 10, 2019
A5: It’s so hard to get outside the “usual suspects” for guests. I’d love to see content creators from outside the marketing space, though. Cartoonists, novel writers, animators… #ContentChat
— John Cloonan (@johncloonan) June 10, 2019
Let’s get @Pixar up in here! Who can make that happen?! #ContentChat
— Sway Group (@SwayGroup) June 10, 2019
A5: Oh, how about a standup comic? So many of us write short pieces that it might be similar to writing jokes! #ContentChat
— John Cloonan (@johncloonan) June 10, 2019
A5: @NathanTWright is going to have lots of great insights from a number of perspectives@RorySutherland would be great talking about how the ideas from his book translate to content marketing #contentchat
— Derek Pillie (@derekpillie) June 10, 2019
A5a I have to put a plug in for my former roommate @KirkDrakeIII – he’s a content marketing-preneur #contentchat
— Derek Pillie (@derekpillie) June 10, 2019
Q6: If you could design your dream content marketing or content strategy app or tool, what would it do? And what would it integrate with?
With technology advancing each day, the sky’s the limit for what we may see down the road. What’s on your wishlist?
A6: I do love my mobile @canva app for the creative content but would integrate with your analytics or data to show what is working and what is not so you can make modifications and push back out – along with engagement metrics. #ContentChat
— Bernie Fussenegger #Digital360Chat (@B2the7) June 10, 2019
A2 Consistency is my hardest content challenge. Consistency of:
Cadence
Brand Voice
Audience
#ContentChat— Tod Cordill (@todcordill) June 10, 2019
A6: It would take my longform stuff and automatically suggest optimized versions for other channels. #ContentChat
— John Cloonan (@johncloonan) June 10, 2019
A6 I don’t know that there’s a great content management suite out there that integrates the structural perspective, the marketer’s perspective and the #CX perspective… a CMS/CRM hybrid of sorts. #contentchat
— Derek Pillie (@derekpillie) June 10, 2019
A6. Automatically identify topical trends across audiences, then cross check that against the gaps in our content library. Basically help with new topic ideas aligned to our gaps!. #contentchat
— Dominic Garcia (@dominicgarcia) June 10, 2019
Great idea. I’d also have it highlight the content you have in your library that matches current trends so you can prioritize it for republishing. #ContentChat
— Tod Cordill (@todcordill) June 10, 2019
A6. My dream #ContentMarketing tool would help me:
Collaborate on content production
Publish
Define snippets, keywords, artwork, short form excerpts.
Integrate with my existing #socialmedia publishing tool.
#ContentChat— Tod Cordill (@todcordill) June 10, 2019
Q7: What has been your favorite #ContentChat topic so far this year?
We’ve covered a lot of ground this year, spanning how to get the most out of A/B testing, the ever-changing marketing technology landscape, how to repurpose and reuse your content, and more. Revisit your favorites here!
Q8: By the end of this year, how do you want to be able to introduce yourself and describe the work that you do?
Let’s turn these visions into reality. How can we help you achieve your goals?
A8. By the end of the year I’d like to focus on helping with SMB growth strategy development and less on tactical implementation.
#ContentChat— Tod Cordill (@todcordill) June 10, 2019
A8: I’d love to intro myself and the products I support and have them recognized my my target audience #ContentChat
— John Cloonan (@johncloonan) June 10, 2019
Big Hairy Audacious Goal For 2019:
Build community to respond to our collective human need to connect socially. #inclusive #marketing #ContentChat— HeidiCohen (@heidicohen) June 10, 2019
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