We have a current client that has built (with assistance from us, of course) what is probably the best content engine I’ve seen in my career. It generates engagement and drives social and website traffic. It produces marketing-qualified leads and converts through the entire funnel. It also feeds the rest of our program and the marketing function as a whole.
What makes this particular content program so successful? I think there are several key elements:
Valuable material. Obviously, you need to offer information or a perspective that others find to be worth their time. You need to know your audience, and then help enrich their careers, solve problems, add value to their organizations, etc. The best content programs are always digging for the best stories among a variety of sources. With our program, we have 1-2 focus areas that we know our audience cares a lot about – and we cover those areas from as many angles and different perspectives as we can find.
A great group of contributors. It’s one thing to have one or two experts who can offer opinions and thought leadership. It’s totally another to have 10 or more of those experts. More is indeed merrier for many reasons: you can keep things fresh by featuring a range of perspectives and writing/speaking methods in any given time period; you can build in some redundancy so you are always publishing something and never get caught off-guard by the inevitable schedule changes or personal fire drills; you curate something akin to a Board of Advisors that can help with marketing and general corporate strategy; etc. In our program, we have anywhere from eight to 15 content contributors at any given time, and we’re always open to adding fresh new voices. It’s the strongest bench I’ve ever seen, and one of the most accomplished subgroups that any company has formed in my client’s industry.
Consistency. Come hell or high water, we publish at least one new piece every week. The day and time will vary some, but we know when our audience plugs in and how they want content delivered to them. So we do what works best, and rinse and repeat. People know what they’re getting from us and when it’s coming; there’s a trust factor that my client has earned with our community from doing that. And we always deliver on it, so people never have any reason to doubt or wonder about us.
Executive buy-in. Both my primary client contact and the company’s CEO fully support the program. They make our program a regular weekly agenda item in our status calls. They regularly feed me ideas and mine their networks to send me other experts to vet for the program. They also measure several important metrics relating to our program, and we periodically strategize around them as a group. It’s very clear that they see the value in the program, and they steadily invest their time and resources into it.
It's exciting to be a part of a program that has generated such clear business value and momentum. Let us know how we can help you do the same for your organization!
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