In marketing, choosing the right channel to settle on to create profitable relationships with people is important. But it is equally important to identify and define a suitable language for our audience so that they can better understand the message we have to tell them.
Why assume that a piece of content can fit anyone and work in any medium?
To address the topic of content strategy, I chose to interview Piero Babudro, creator of the blog SegnaleZero. Here are the questions I asked him about it.
What is content marketing?
Content marketing uses information content as a tool to build valuable relationships between companies and stakeholders: it does so on the basis of a strategy carried out upstream – the so-called content strategy – which is responsible for identifying the reasons why certain content is published, the marketing and communication goals it is aimed at. Content strategy explains why one should move in a certain direction and how certain goals can be achieved sooner and better. Content marketing translates these directions into actions and tells us what to do.
This is the most correct and workable definition, at least from my point of view: in order to define content marketing we must necessarily also talk about strategy.
At this point a clarification is necessary regarding the type of content needed to nurture one’s content marketing activities. I am not talking about format yet: the choice between texts, blog posts, videos or content designed for social media comes at a later stage.
The content best suited for content marketing are those that-without promoting products, people or services-address topics related to the product or service experience, clarify its most controversial or lesser-known aspects, make tangible expertise. Finally, they accompany the potential customer to discover a world of experiences mediated by the use of the product or service being talked about. All without advertising. And that is the challenge of content marketing: using quality content to talk about worlds and experiences.
What are your principles for writing valuable content?
The definition of “valuable content” is very broad, and there is often no one-size-fits-all view of the topic. From my perspective, as I wrote in a post on the topic, quality content can be recognized on the basis of six parameters.
- Features and information capacity
A piece of content must answer the question, “Where is the news?” It will have to be informationally and ethically correct. It will need to contain an appropriate level of information commensurate with its promises. Present a clear thesis or point of view on a topic, possibly unrelated to facts. Provide an answer to an explicit or implicit question, as long as it is real. Creating induced needs, on the other hand, is up to advertising language. This is – among other things – how I would define the subtle difference between content marketing and copywriting.
- Psychological and emotional impact on the recipient
I do not necessarily enter the realm of persuasive copywriting. On the contrary. By psychological impact I mean the natural ability to jolt the recipient’s emotions and, through the exposition of facts that touch his or her emotional universe, produce a natural reaction.
- Communicative ability of the content
Being formally consistent, being understood and appreciated, using storytelling techniques to appeal to emotions-all these and more constitute the communicative capacity of a piece of content.
- Content Design and User Experience
Content must be produced based on a clear and consistent strategy, as well as taking into account usability on digital platforms. The quality of a piece of content is also determined by the way information is presented. For the same information density and emotional impact, an infographic, text or video are not the same thing.
- Distribution channels
A piece of content should also be designed in relation to its ability to be distributed through a multiplicity of channels and platforms. Social media and the Mobile ecosystem are the two most striking examples of the need for a “neutral” approach to platforms and a nontrivial focus on the strength of the message. An element, the latter, that comes before any content and determines its nature and strength.
- Objectives
Every piece of content must be produced with the objectives contained in the strategy in mind.
How can content marketing be integrated into a digital strategy?
Certainly with the help of a professional who knows how to combine an editorial approach to content, creativity and experience. Sharing timely and accurate information can be decisive for business marketing success, especially at a time when advertising language has had its day.
Conversely, gone is the era of conversation for its own sake-typical of the 2009-2014 period, at least in Italy-now companies and professionals are faced with the opportunity to make a difference. How? By sharing information, by cultivating day by day that “thought leadership” that is increasingly important if one wants to defeat fierce competition without necessarily resorting to huge investments in advertising. Not only that, in addition to content there are what I or call “corporate narratives.” Building a brand story capable of combining narrative patterns and marketing or communication objectives has become an imperative for everyone who “inhabits” the Internet. The real problem, if anything, is finding a trained professional. You don’t win the battle of content and storytelling with slides, as so many people think.
What can the content marketing manager do for a company?
Devise a strategy that translates business and marketing objectives into digital content and govern the flow of content production, if necessary coordinating the work team. All of this-while all due respect-is much more than simply compiling an editorial plan, because the complex part is represented by interfacing with professionals from different areas.
Your day may start by talking about content positioning on Google and end with a meeting on social media strategy or the updates that need to be made at the Tone of Voice level, going through a report on Hubspot, Hootsuite, and you name it. It makes sense that at these junctures the real difference is not the technicality, but the ability to see things strategically and be able to make decisions based on information that is often not exactly the most complete.
There, that’s the part of the job that I like the most and certainly the part where those who are good make the difference. Because with a 20-hour online Academy you probably learn how to draft an editorial plan, but the ability to make the right decision in a very short time is a child of experience. And I would add, experience alongside major clients with their own complex and challenging challenges. That is the only way to grow.
How important are A/B tests to you in identifying the right copy?
Very. The paths that drive consumer choices are increasingly circuitous, irrational and unpredictable. For this reason, different copy almost always needs to be tested in order to intercept these fragments that drive people’s behaviors. This makes sense, however, if upstream there is a clear understanding of the audience, its drives and desires.