Content Marketing – Quality vs. Quantity

0
236

Share on LinkedIn

Let’s face it – there are days when the creative well is dry and you would rather go to the dentist than write some fresh content for social media or your website.  After all, if you can’t create outstanding content, why do it at all?  You may be tempted to chuck the whole thing and go back to doing something more fun – like filling out expense reports (just kidding on this one!).

I promise that you will be rewarded by your decision to stay the course and persevere with content marketing, but it may require a switch in mindset. There are some principles you must adhere to (non-negotiables) and a few “nice to haves” (negotiables) that you can improve on as you go along.

First, the three non-negotiable elements:

  1. Everything you write must have a point, and preferably one that is related to the value proposition of your business.  This is particularly important in B2B Marketingand specifically online content marketing.
  2. Although difficult to eliminate, keep the typos and grammatical errors to a minimum. People tend to get sloppy when they write for social media, but readers do notice. And when you show poor attention to detail, people tend to project that and form a general impression about your competence.
  3. Establish a minimum acceptable output for your online content marketing efforts. The key word in the term fresh content is “fresh.” Create a steady stream of fresh new content. Remember that a stream doesn’t have to be a torrent — even a trickle will do, if it is new and interesting. But do keep it flowing, no matter what.

And now for the three negotiable elements:

  1. The quality of your copy: This is a big hurdle to overcome. Many business people agonize over every word in an article, blog post or tweet. The fact is that an extreme focus on quality can do you more harm than good. This is an example of perfect being the enemy of good. So write a good post and get it out quickly.
  2. The length of your copy: Although there are some guidelines as to ideal text length (e.g. blog posts of 800-1000 words), these are suggestions, not hard-and-fast rules.  Many great blog posts are 200 words, while others are 1000 words plus, and everything in between.  As Voltaire said, “The secret of being a bore is to tell everything.” So resist the urge to tell everything and leave a little to the reader’s imagination.Write as much as you think is necessary and then give your pen (or keyboard) a rest.
  3. Who writes the copy: Not every bit of copy has to come from the CEO, VP of marketing or head of product management. There may be others in the organization who enjoy writing and would be happy to support the corporate cause. In fact, multiple authors show that a company has energy and expertise outside the executive suite.

For a great example of how to structure the quality and quantity of your content, have a look at our client, www.NextPhaseofLife.com. You’ll see seven categories of keyword rich content on subjects relating to the organization’s laser mission.

Find your workable balance between content quality and quantity. Then produce and prosper.

Republished with author's permission from original post.

Christopher Ryan
Christopher Ryan is CEO of Fusion Marketing Partners, a B2B marketing consulting firm and interim/fractional CMO. He blogs at Great B2B Marketing and you can follow him at Google+. Chris has 25 years of marketing, technology, and senior management experience. As a marketing executive and services provider, Chris has created and executed numerous programs that build market awareness, drive lead generation and increase revenue.

ADD YOUR COMMENT

Please use comments to add value to the discussion. Maximum one link to an educational blog post or article. We will NOT PUBLISH brief comments like "good post," comments that mainly promote links, or comments with links to companies, products, or services.

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here