I finished the course, Learning Content Marketing with C.C. Chapman on Lynda.com.
C.C. Chapman is an award-winning marketer, author, and content creator who has worked with clients such as HBO, Verizon FiOS, and The Coca-Cola Company. He published Amazing Things Will Happen and Content Rules and is the founder of Digital Dads and the Cleon Foundation.
Content marketing is all the photos, video, written word, audio–everything that you create to share your brand’s story online.
Be Listening
My main takeaway was that in content marketing you should always be listening and responding to your audience.
If your customers say on Twitter that they love your product but one aspect isn’t working, you should respond to that person and say “Thank you for the idea. I will forward it to our engineering department.”
The same principle goes with customers that are unhappy. Listen and respond.
Have an Online Presence
Also, your business should have a website and a presence in most of the major social media platforms, even if it is just a basic business profile so that people can find you.
You will need a business profile on:
- Google Plus
As Chapman says, if you don’t have a business presence on these platforms, then your customers can’t find you, tag you or make it easy for you to find them talking about you.
All social media should lead back to your website since your website is the one space that you control and own. The other accounts are rented spaces that may change tomorrow depending on events and business dealings.
Focus on Your Strengths
Content marketing is similar to learning any craft or musical instrument. Practice makes perfect. The more content you create, the better you will get at it.
Think about your strengths, whether it is with visuals, audio, video, or writing. Focus on that and create more content based on your strengths. If you are a visual person, produce lots of photos and graphics. If you enjoy making and editing video, have lots of video content.
“If you just magically start throwing things out and hoping for the best, it’s not the way to do it.” says C.C. Chapman.
“By playing to your strengths and creating on a regular basis, that’s how you’re going to get better at it, and it’s the only way you’ll get better.
Trust me. Take the time, and create on a regular basis and your content will continue to improve over time.”