It’s hard to believe that two years have gone by since I took on moderating the weekly #ContentChat twitter chats.

This week, we took some time to celebrate two years of learning and friendship and talked about the ideas we’d like to explore in the chat over the next six months.

Q1: What is your content superpower?

The power of simplicity.

A1: My content superpower is being able to take complex topics and distill them into actionable tips. Oh and I love creating editorial plans. #ContentChat

— Berrak Sarikaya | Content Strategist | Speaker (@BerrakBiz) June 11, 2018

A1. I write the way I speak. So important in this day and age of social media. #contentchat

— ⭐ #GoalChat ⭐ (@GoalChat) June 11, 2018

The power of empathy.

A1: I focus on people. I help them take their feelings, goals and talents and turn them into marketable, satisfying directions for their business or personal brand. #ContentChat

— Maureen Jann (@SuperDeluxeMo) June 11, 2018

A1: My content superpower is helping companies understand the needs of their ideal customer, and how to use content to solve those problems and build relationships with those customers. #ContentChat https://t.co/3v7ZqJrYt5

— Erika Heald | Marketing Consultant (@SFerika) June 11, 2018

The power of organization.

A1: My content “superpower” is developing strategies to govern content creation and prioritizing goals to implement those strategies. #ResearchedAnswer 🙂 #ContentChat

— Derek Pillie (@derekpillie) June 11, 2018

The power of focus.

A1: Finding content that supports your brand, instead of trying the spray-and-pray method. Almost never works, and yet people still try it day after day. #ContentChat

— CHARGE (@CHARGEgoforward) June 11, 2018

A1: Working with a business to determine what’s different about them…What’s their Purple Cow factor that will make their content stand out? #ContentChat

— Carole Cudnik ☕ (@cacudnik) June 11, 2018

The power of writing.

A1: Writing and Strategy. Is it okay to have two? Writing = passion, but I love the challenge and fun that strategy brings. Also, drinking coffee. #ContentChat

— Dominic Garcia (@dominicgarcia) June 11, 2018

A1 As a lifetime English major, writer, editor, and teacher, I know the difference between good, bad, and superlative writing–and I use this stuff to improve my own work, and that of my colleagues. Incessantly. #contentchat

— Ken Gordon (@quickmuse) June 11, 2018

A1: Content superpower = creating compelling written content. Not as easy as it looks… 👀 #contentchat #writing

— Michelle Garrett (@PRisUs) June 11, 2018

A1: Gimme a complex issue, whatever the vertical. I’ll make an optimized listicle for ya in a minute. It’s a gift. #ContentChat pic.twitter.com/2GLJ5Me78F

— Shawn Paul Wood (@ShawnPaulWood) June 11, 2018

A1: Commas and writing in plain language. I’m pretty adept at writing to an 8th-grade audience. #ContentChat

— Jason Webb (@JasonLWebb) June 11, 2018

The power of relationships.

A1. I focus on psychology and social media to help people focus on making relationships a priority and that includes themselves! #ContentChat pic.twitter.com/OsMFTpvrDS

— Dr. Dorrie Cooper (@sittingpretty61) June 11, 2018

The power of creative reuse.

A1: Taking long form content and turning it into multiple, snackable pieces that create different touches across different channels. #contentchat

— Samantha Hausler (@smhausler) June 11, 2018

The power of content curation.

A1. I guess my #content superpower is curating great content. But I’m pretty good at developing a #ContentStrategy that works across channels. #ContentChat

— Tod Cordill (@todcordill) June 11, 2018

Q2: What is your biggest/scariest/hardest to solve content challenge?

Challenge: Getting past analysis paralysis.

A2: Email marketing & data analysis, though I’ve gotten much better at interpreting data. Still have a little while to go before I feel comfortable. #ContentChat

— Berrak Sarikaya | Content Strategist | Speaker (@BerrakBiz) June 11, 2018

Challenge: Finding and building a flexible brand voice.

A2: Developing a voice that is consistently on-brand while also connecting with all of our readers. Tied to this voice is relevant, valuable content. #ContentChat https://t.co/IMgxuYxjHR

— Power Digital (@PwrDigMarketing) June 11, 2018

A2b: Getting multiple writers to maintain a consistent brand voice, while also differentiating across multiple brands is always a challenge. #contentchat

— Emilie Moreland (@writtenbyemilie) June 11, 2018

Challenge: Breaking through the noise.

A2. Getting tuned out. #contentchat

— Samantha Hausler (@smhausler) June 11, 2018

Challenge: Getting executive buy-in for content marketing.

A2: Buy-in from higher-ups is a constant battle for content marketing for me. #contentchat

— Emilie Moreland (@writtenbyemilie) June 11, 2018

Challenge: Balancing ROI and the time it takes to build a robust content marketing program.

A2: My biggest challenge is balancing client ROI expectations with the time it takes to define and build out robust, engaging content. It doesn’t happen overnight! #ContentChat https://t.co/5AHisJj9g0

— Erika Heald | Marketing Consultant (@SFerika) June 11, 2018

A2: A little similar — When you explain ROI to a client, and it’s “not quite the ROI expected.” More audience response doesn’t always mean better. No flourish of amazeballs writing can block that fastball. #ContentChat

— Shawn Paul Wood (@ShawnPaulWood) June 11, 2018

Challenge: Obtaining enough resources for your content marketing efforts.

A2: My most significant content marketing challenge is getting enough time/resources/people for content creation. Because my current project is a volunteer-driven effort, finding the pieces to cover all the bases is a little overwhelming. #ContentChat

— Derek Pillie (@derekpillie) June 11, 2018

The challenge is just accepting I’m not going to have everything I want, but find ways to get done everything I need to accomplish. Prioritize based on strategy. Rinse. Repeat. #ContentChat

— Derek Pillie (@derekpillie) June 11, 2018

Challenge: Managing expectations.

A2: When your efforts bring back a different result than you expect. Too much= paranoia that it will end or be expected. Too little= why didn’t the thing work? #ContentChat

— Rebekah Meyer (@RebekahLMeyer) June 11, 2018

Challenge: Driving action with content.

A2: I think it’s getting folks to actually see/read/share the content once it’s created. And act on it. #contentchat

— Michelle Garrett (@PRisUs) June 11, 2018

Challenge: Starting a content marketing program from scratch.

A2. Starting out is scary. I mean starting with a blank slate. Proper metrics and tracking can help guide you, but without them …AGHHHH #ContentChat https://t.co/gyX4XfAhpq

— Amy Higgins (@amywhiggins) June 11, 2018

A2: wondering how many struggle with benchmarking and analytics #ContentChat

— Troy Janisch ⛴ (@socialmeteor) June 11, 2018

@amywhiggins That’s partially why I am so excited about my new project. It’s a new position, no one has done it and we’re starting from scratch. Of course my livelihood doesn’t depend on it, then for sure it would be much scarier but I love breaking new ground! #ContentChat

— Derek Pillie (@derekpillie) June 11, 2018

Challenge: Keeping an audience’s interest when your product rarely changes.

A2: How do I keep people interested in buying a product that rarely changes? 😜#ContentChat

— Jason Schemmel – Podcaster. Speaker. #GSDChat🎙🤯 (@JasonSchemmel) June 11, 2018

Challenge: Scaling a global content program with limited resources.

A2: Scale. Building programs that can adequately meet the needs of a global program – ABM, region-specific, brand, demand gen, etc. – can be hard, especially with limited resources. #ContentChat

— Dominic Garcia (@dominicgarcia) June 11, 2018

Challenge: Inspiring and encouraging internal SMEs to become content creators.

A2 Getting my colleagues to be PSYCHED to write. #contentchat It’s hard for them to find the time and energy to be totally enthusiastic writers. Even when they want to scribble, so many other things demand their immediate attention. Hard to make writing a priority. Working on it!

— Ken Gordon (@quickmuse) June 11, 2018

Challenge: Prioritizing those great ideas.

A2: Our marketing team says it all the time, “more ideas than time!” I wish I could run on all the many content ideas we have, it’s just not possible. #ContentChat

— 🎙JMatt (@JMattMke) June 11, 2018

Challenge: Not falling into a research rabbit hole.

A2: balancing time between article research & writing. Not going too far down the “research rabbit hole”. Sometimes I just want to write but w/o some guiding data points, it’s risky; striking a balance between free form writing & writing w/ intent #contentchat

— Holly Miller |Digital Strategy |Content Marketing (@millertime_baby) June 11, 2018

Q3: What is your primary content marketing goal for this year? What will success look like for your content marketing efforts?

Goal: Creating a solopreneur editorial plan.

A3: Create an editorial plan for my biz blog and email that’s on the same level as what I build for my clients and start 2019 on a strong note. #ContentChat

— Berrak Sarikaya | Content Strategist | Speaker (@BerrakBiz) June 11, 2018

Goal: Setting and tracking against attainable goals.

A3: My biggest objectives on the content marketing side of things is with starting a new project making sure we execute against our goals and are able to measure how we’re doing – if I can get all that done this year it will be a huge success for me. #ContentChat

— Derek Pillie (@derekpillie) June 11, 2018

Goal: Building an empathy-based relationship with my ideal client.

A3: My primary content goal for this year is to get into a consistent posting cadence with my sites and get to really know and understand my three distinct audiences (GF, marketers needing a career coach, startup marketing leaders). #ContentChat https://t.co/yEfDMgikVl

— Erika Heald | Marketing Consultant (@SFerika) June 11, 2018

Goal: Increasing content stickiness.

A3: Increased stickiness and depth to site visits. Much clearer CTAs, too. We want to get people to stick around our website more, request appointments and the like. #contentchat

— Jason Webb (@JasonLWebb) June 11, 2018

Goal: Continued brand growth.

A3: I think you can over-generalize my personal and professional brands’ goals to “growth” – growth in audience, growth in reach, growth in engagement. We want to continue growing our brands and evolve through experience! #ContentChat

— 🎙JMatt (@JMattMke) June 11, 2018

Goal: Getting more out of our content through smarter distribution.

A3: Internally, our goal is consistent promotion of our content. There’s little point taking the time to create outstanding content if it doesn’t get in front of the right eyes. For our clients, it’s creating consistent, valuable content and building viewership. #ContentChat https://t.co/wtUk1dkyNB

— Power Digital (@PwrDigMarketing) June 11, 2018

Goal: Creating content that converts.

A3: Content that converts. Literally, a top objective for 75% of my clients. With the clutter online, that’s so important to shareholders. #ContentChat

— Shawn Paul Wood (@ShawnPaulWood) June 11, 2018

Goal: Create more video content.

A3. I plan to get back to doing videos on a consistent basis, both in quick tips and podcast form. #contentchat

— ⭐ #GoalChat ⭐ (@GoalChat) June 11, 2018

Goal: Defining what content marketing success looks like.

A3: My priority goal is to define what success looks like for all of our content efforts – measure it correctly and report back to the team. 2019 will be to blow that success out of the water! #ContentChat pic.twitter.com/WYhaP2R1t1

— Amy Higgins (@amywhiggins) June 11, 2018

Goal: Creating content with intent.

A3: Creating content with intent. Ensuring that content has a clear goal, audience, and plan to be leveraged over the long tail. Otherwise why was it created? #ContentChat

— Dominic Garcia (@dominicgarcia) June 11, 2018

Q4: What content-related topic would you like to see an upcoming #ContentChat address?

Goals.

A4: Aligning your content metrics against your business goals is a talk we have a lot with clients. Don’t be tricked by the vanity metrics; find ones that move the needle! #ContentChat

— CHARGE (@CHARGEgoforward) June 11, 2018

Prioritizing content opportunities.

A4: Topics I’d enjoy next year would involve prioritizing competing content opportunities / evaluating the value of one activity over another as it relates to strategy. #ContentChat

— Derek Pillie (@derekpillie) June 11, 2018

Livestreaming video as part of your content strategy.

A4. I would like to see some areas around content marketing and video streaming. #ContentChat

— Dr. Dorrie Cooper (@sittingpretty61) June 11, 2018

Balancing SEO and content integrity.

I’d love to hear how other people deal when SEO and content have competing needs (keywords vs. more natural language, length needs, etc.). It’s always a balancing act, and being able to share tips/tricks/commiseration would be awesome! #ContentChat

— Rebekah Meyer (@RebekahLMeyer) June 11, 2018

Industry research conversations.

A4: I think it’d be super fun to discuss recent industry research – maybe from @CMIcontent – and have folks weigh in w/ thoughts/interpretations! #ContentChat

— Dominic Garcia (@dominicgarcia) June 11, 2018

The best content marketing tools for the job.

A4: Tools – best tools for content promotion, automation, etc. #contentchat

— Michelle Garrett (@PRisUs) June 11, 2018

A4a: Oh and using automation in content marketing. #ContentChat

— Berrak Sarikaya | Content Strategist | Speaker (@BerrakBiz) June 11, 2018

A4: What about a deeper topic around tool alignment – looking at marketing automation with your CRM with your analytics #ContentChat

— Amy Higgins (@amywhiggins) June 11, 2018

Personalized content creation.

A4: I have admittedly missed recent chats, so I’m not sure what has and hasn’t been covered recently.

But one thing I’ve seen on some other Twitter Chats are users replying with custom GIFs, which inspired me to make my own.

Maybe “how to personalize your content”. #ContentChat pic.twitter.com/CxDjDxp1rz

— 🎙JMatt (@JMattMke) June 11, 2018

Other misc. topics.

A4:
1. Breaking down writer’s block
2. Scoring with freelance gigs
3. Trends in keyword research
4. Mind mapping
5. Purpose-driven marketing
6. Native advertising#ContentChat pic.twitter.com/D730aTyvRg

— Shawn Paul Wood (@ShawnPaulWood) June 11, 2018

A4: Lean content marketing for small biz, content & community, maybe going more in depth with Google Analytics (versus just data). #ContentChat

— Berrak Sarikaya | Content Strategist | Speaker (@BerrakBiz) June 11, 2018

A4. What is going to be the next best thing? And, how we can best leverage interactive content and get people to actually interact with it. #contentchat

— Samantha Hausler (@smhausler) June 11, 2018

Q5: Is there an amazing content marketer or content creator you’d like to see as a #ContentChat guest? Tag them!

A5: If we do this, then I think @KMullett would be a good guest. https://t.co/yM0WCCCvfe #ContentChat

— Derek Pillie (@derekpillie) June 11, 2018

A5: I would love to learn from @ChrisKubby on a Twitter Chat! #ContentChat

— 🎙JMatt (@JMattMke) June 11, 2018

Q6: If you could design your dream content app or tool, what would it do?

Content marketers want a content creation platform that proofs and suggests related topics.

A6: A @Grammarly app that doesn’t charge for premium “errors” but also created related content topics for brainstorming on-the-fly for those writers who use it. #ContentChat

— Shawn Paul Wood (@ShawnPaulWood) June 11, 2018

Content marketers want a content marketing platform that builds in the C-Suite buy-in.

Q6: My dream tool could help me gain buyin from the execs to pay for it #sellitself #ContentChat

— Amy Higgins (@amywhiggins) June 11, 2018

Content marketers want a multi-touch attribution tool.

A6: My dream content marketing app would help me report on multi-touch attribution for every piece of content. #ContentChat https://t.co/FjZWmcuqOE

— Erika Heald | Marketing Consultant (@SFerika) June 11, 2018

Content marketers want a new, cutting-edge social platform.

A6: I think it’s time for a new cutting-edge social media platform. I have no idea what that looks like, but last time it happened we were fascinated by Instagram and Snapchat entered the game. What’s next?? #ContentChat

— 🎙JMatt (@JMattMke) June 11, 2018

Content marketers want a truly multifaceted content marketing workflow tool.

A6: My tool is part CRM to manage/evaluate your community/creator relationships, part ed. calendar/PM tool & part analytics package allowing you to evaluate metrics vs. key objectives, also scalable so smaller groups can afford it as they grow into large communities. #ContentChat

— Derek Pillie (@derekpillie) June 11, 2018

Q7: What has been your favorite #ContentChat topic so far this year?

A7: I loved the strategy series from a few weeks ago. SO much goodness there! #ContentChat

— Dominic Garcia (@dominicgarcia) June 11, 2018

A7: There have been lots of great topics this year and I don’t know how good my memory is, but recently the 5/14 Content Chat Deep Dive: How to Research + Document Personas stands out for me. The personal branding topic also had a big impact on my approach to SM.
#ContentChat

— Derek Pillie (@derekpillie) June 11, 2018

Be Our Next #ContentChat Guest

Interested in being a guest on #ContentChat to discuss one of the topics the community identified over the course of the chat? Leave a comment with your pitch!