Content strategy is one of three focus areas here at Demand Spring and the audits we do sit neatly between the upfront buyer persona / buyer journey analysis and the Marketo consulting and implementations. Just last week I completed a major audit for a major Demand Spring client. So, not only do I have a bit more time on my hands (for now), I do have some fresh insights into how you should go about the process. A content audit from Demand Spring will tell you many things:
- First: whether your assets meet the minimum requirements for quality and readability.
- Next: whether you’ve optimized your assets to generate results once they’re out in the wild.
- Third, whether they’re the best pieces for each phase of the buyer journey, and what do to about it if they’re not.
Quality is job 1
It’s the price of admission for any asset and so basic as to barely warrant a mention. Still, quality is often the first casualty when you’re simply trying to make a daily deadline. Maybe that’s why I continue to be stymied by broken links, baffled by typos, and PDFs large enough to choke a small horse. Poor quality costs: a 2013 study by Global Lingo reports that 59 percent of survey respondents say bad grammar and spelling mistakes would prevent them from purchasing from a web site. It’s easy to overlook errors like these when you’re so close to the content, but it’s equally easy to prevent them from happening. My advice? Build a quality checklist and use it. For every asset, every time. Quality also touches on language itself and its ability to influence, guide, and convince. The Greeks called this Rhetoric. For centuries it was a core skill for anyone trying to win hearts and move minds.
Now, Marketing pros such as Ann Handley have since picked up the mantle. “Words are your emissaries,” she writes. “They tell your customers who you are. In our content-driven world, writing matters more, not less.” To that, I strongly recommend you read Ann’s eBook Watch Your Tone! (available from Acrolinx). Also, use Hemingwayapp for quick insights into the readability of your assets. For a general, non-technical audience, shoot for Grade 10, though lower is better. This post, for example, reads at Grade 7. Researchers are also discovering a direct link between sentence length and reader retention. Simply put, the fewer words you use, the more your readers will retain. The average sentence in the Harry Potter books, for example, is 12 words long.
Effectiveness is job 2
Even your best-written piece will flounder if you don’t give your readers something to do with it, whether that something is a share, comment, or click. A winning content strategy must lead a prospect from one asset to the next and clearly explain how they’ll benefit in doing so. Clear calls to action are where the Marketing happens. Yes it sounds obvious, but in my travels I still see far too many companies missing too many of these opportunities.
Usefulness is job 3
No asset is an island. Effective content marketing means each asset plays a specific role, whether it’s an early-stage infographic or a mid-stage webcast. Further, each asset should be your best possible example. Content is how you bring your nurture streams to life. It’s likely that you’re using a mix of new and existing assets, but a nurture stream built exclusively on understudies will deliver sub-par results. Also, be mindful of how long your content is out there. Content governance is an ongoing, unsexy and long-term effort; but I’d argue it’s better to have no assets out there than ones that don’t perform. Mediocrity does no one any favors.
Implement These Filters Now. Quality. Effectiveness. Usefulness. Demand Spring will look at each asset with each of these lenses. We guarantee you’ll see your content – and new opportunities – in an exciting new way. Let’s Get Started
About the Author: A media junkie and stickler for clarity, Delaney holds an M.A. in Journalism from Western University and an Honours B.A. in French from Brock. When not railing about split infinitives or Oxford commas, he can be found on the soccer pitch or whaling on the heavy bag at his local Muay Thai gym. For best results, he should be kept caffeinated at all times.
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