Brafton and the American Marketing Association’s Boston Chapter are teaming up to help brands overcome top content challenges. In the first of a series of events, the #amaBOSchat on Twitter invited marketers to discuss the strategies that help them earn quick wins and long-term gains. The chat spanned everything from the first steps to creating a content strategy through measuring the dollar amount of content.
Rounding up some of our participants’ fantastic insights, here are 9 steps to great content marketing:
1. Start with a plan
@amaBoston a7 start with your strategic goals, then focus on content with proven interest that supports them #amaBOSchat
— William Bullard (@wrbullard) October 1, 2015
A7: Back to the basics! Don’t be afraid of a white blank page #amaBOSchat
— Janet Mesh (@meshymind) October 1, 2015
A2) Defining obtainable, actionable goals. Understanding your competition and where your company stands is the best way to start #amaBOSchat
— Andrew Walters (@WaltersContent) October 1, 2015
2. Create a team structure
A4: Strategists cover macro (think goals, calendar, Analytics). Creative & promotions cover micro (voice, production, outreach) #amaBosChat
— Brafton (@Brafton) October 1, 2015
A4: I’ve got a social team at our agency working with/supporting me – not too many, just the right amount @amaBoston #amaBOSchat
— Gabi Valladares (@GabiValladares) October 1, 2015
3. Establish a voice
A1: Content consistency comes from excellent internal communication! Get your team on the same page with a #creativebrief #amaBOSchat
— Katherine Griwert (@kgriwert) October 1, 2015
4. Maintain that voice
A5: Establish a creative brief and trust the teammate with the channel expertise to adapt in the BEST possible way. #amaBOSchat
— Richard Pattinson (@PattinsonRich) October 1, 2015
@amaBoston A5 Sticking to the creative brief is key for establishing a strong and consistent voice across any and all channels. #amaBOSchat
— Katie (@KatiePBee) October 1, 2015
A5: I maintain brand consistency by knowing the objectives + audiences of the brand I am posting for. Each account is different #amaBOSchat
— Bri Rinehart (@bririnehart) October 1, 2015
5. Get by with a little help from friends
A8: @SumoMe is very helpful, and free to try! #amaboschat
— Wilfred Hirst (@WilfredBoston) October 1, 2015
A8: I’m totally using @TweetDeck RIGHT NOW. #amaBOSchat
— Katherine Griwert (@kgriwert) October 1, 2015
A8: Hands down, @canva! ? #amaBOSchat
— Bri Rinehart (@bririnehart) October 1, 2015
6. Determine if what you’re doing actually works
A3: People share content that makes THEM (the sharer) look good. Use shares as a #ThoughtLeadership KPI #amaBOSchat
— Katherine Griwert (@kgriwert) October 1, 2015
A3: 4 KPIs for #thoughtleadership content: Inbound links, citations/mentions from influencers, blog comments, newsletter signups #amaBOSchat
— Brafton (@Brafton) October 1, 2015
7. And then keep that momentum going
A7) Take a look at where you had success before and improve upon that. If you have seen engagement figure out why and capitalize #amaBOSchat
— Andrew Walters (@WaltersContent) October 1, 2015
A2: Balance long term goals w/quick wins for buy in. Document the strategy to keep team organized &accountable for stages of ROI #amaBOSchat
— Brafton (@Brafton) October 1, 2015
8. Don’t let your content collect dust
A6: Re-circulating blog posts on your social media accounts is an effective way to prevent them from “collecting dust” #amaBOSchat
— Janet Mesh (@meshymind) October 1, 2015
A6: Create roundups of top-performing pieces as #ICYMI pieces for newsletter subscribers & social followers #amaBOSchat
— Katherine Griwert (@kgriwert) October 1, 2015
A6) Update a piece of content with a link/stat that is more up-to-date to improve the content’s relevancy for new visitors #amaBOSchat
— Andrew Walters (@WaltersContent) October 1, 2015
@amaBoston a6 pt 2, to avoid dust, use a library of content accessible to all, with careful descriptions and search capability #amaBOSchat
— William Bullard (@wrbullard) October 1, 2015
9. Measure ROI (in actual dollar amounts)
A10) @googleanalytics and @Searchmetrics Great to see strong content performance along with $ associated with a conversion #amaBOSchat
— Andrew Walters (@WaltersContent) October 1, 2015
@amaBoston Per recent session on #marketingattribution, determine the biggest influences by channel, then specifics, test a lot, #amaBOSchat
— William Bullard (@wrbullard) October 1, 2015
