While a lot of people think that the younger generation invented content marketing, we have to remember that content marketing is, in fact, very old news. The original content marketing gurus used content unrelated to sales material to provide value to customers so they would associate something over and above a solid product with a company’s brand name. In 1900 The Michelin Tire Company launched its famous “Michelin Guides” that now give travellers the skinny on the world’s best restaurants. The Campbell’s Soup Company produced its first cookbook in 1916 to give “housewives” ideas for using soup to make meals. Today, the company estimates that more than one million cans of soup are used in recipes every day (source:  http://www.digitaldeliftp.com/LookAround/advertspot_campbells.htm). In 1982 Hasbro partnered with Marvel Comics to develop the G.I. Joe Magazine. And although our concept of “content” has changed over the years, it’s still that one stream of information we can create to inform, entertain, or intrigue people who just might do business with us. It’s not designed specifically to trigger an immediate sale.

As entrepreneurs, we’re pulled in a million different directions on an average day and it can be difficult to guarantee that we have the time available to do all the things we need to do in order to be successful. One of our clients was very excited about the content marketing strategy someone had helped her set up and she had worked very hard at getting it all organized and scheduled. But at the point at which we came into her life, it had been six months since she had completed all of her organizational work, and she hadn’t written her first blog post yet.

This happens to a lot of people because, not surprisingly, it takes quite a bit of time and attention to develop content and make sure it gets to the appropriate place online. If you haven’t followed a content marketing strategy before, and you are trying to do it all yourself, you might find that it is very difficult to make yourself do the work. And, as content marketing strategists, me and my team are a drag on our clients’ time. We require regular meetings so that we can get the information we need to both set up a program and implement it. We need to check in often with our clients to make sure we are representing them appropriately. And we seek approval on almost everything we post online so that our clients feel comfortable with  how we are representing them.

If you haven’t yet launched a content marketing program at your place of business, why not book a conversation with me or a member of my team to find out more about how to generate more brand solidity with a content marketing program. We love content and we also enjoy helping businesses leap towards new successes!

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