In this post from Stacey Hood, we talked about Content Shock, the term coined by Mark Schaefer. The idea is that we will be so inundated with content that eventually we’ll start turning away from it.
This is already happening.
We’ve seen content farms take their beatings from the latest Google updates. It’s simple, people want useful content. Anything standing in the way is “bad.”
In no way does this mean that all content done with marketing in mind is a waste of time. Today, it’s actually the opposite. As Ann Handley once told me “make your marketing something your client’s will THANK you for.” Powerful!
Many have countered Mark’s argument with the idea that the good content with always rise to the top.
As many of you know, this is not always the case. We still see the junk coming through in email, on Google SERPs, and on social channels.
Where does this leave us? Right where we started, literally. Wood Street’s very first article (before blogs and social media) was titled “Turn Your Site into a Resource.” It worked then and works today.
But, creating a resource hub is no longer enough. You need to create a real community and engage with people on the channels where they spend their time… Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat, Pinterest, whatever.
And then bring them to your owned content… your website and blog.
Utility Content – The Content Your Clients Will Thank You For!
That’s where utility content comes in. This is content your target audience can actually use. How do you know what this content should be? Spend time getting to know your target audience and what they need!
The steps to utility marketing can be straightforward, if you allow them to be…
- Develop your buyer personas
- Take an inventory of your existing content
- Determine your content team
- Develop a content plan assigning content to personas
- Map content to channels – social, desktop, mobile, email, etc.
- Check stats and adjust as needed
Take a look at this presentation we did recently at a local tech conference to see more of what I mean…