On Thursday, Jan 16th, I had a blast talking with my friend and SNCR.org colleague, John Cass, about content gardens on the podcast. What the hell is a content garden, anyway?
Content Marketing Gardens
A content garden is all the ways you develop content – it can be content created by a community that already exists and is passionate about a topic related to your company or industry, it can be company-created content, it can be consumer- or customer-generated content, and it be outsourced and syndicated content. It’s hard to create all of your own content, and sourcing content that is created by a community means that your community is more likely to SHARE that content.
Why does it matter?
Google’s Hummingbird algorithm looks at social signals – content that gets shared in social networks and communities – and factors into content rankings. Content that is social (heavily shared, forwarded, commented on) is critically important for search.
How to Create Your Content Marketing Garden
John and I discussed a number of ways to get started:
1. You need a marketing plan (with personas and goals!) Can I get an Amen here?!
2. Check to see if you can source content or if a community around a certain idea already exists. It’s much easier to try to connect with an existing community than to create one.
3. Research what topics are being heavily written about: this will help your SEO efforts as you create and source content.
4. Understand how your content maps to your customers’ buying journey. In the case of Ford, for example, customers that are passionate advocates create their own content, and belong to enthusiast communities. The more passionate advocates you have creating content, the better it is for you and the community.
Want more? Listen to the podcast!
How do you create your content marketing garden? Leave a comment below!
