The 3 C's of Content Marketing If you really want to connect with customers, keep these three principles in mind as you shape your campaign.
By Jim Joseph
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The following is the seventh article in the series, "Content Marketing Like the Big Brands," in which marketing master Jim Joseph discusses ways that small to medium businesses can create compelling content for their customers to generate breakthrough business results.
It's not easy creating content for a brand. There are no standard rules, perfect tool kits or simplified checklists to shape your specific business situation. It's every brand for itself.
So while we've talked in this series about letting your brand be your guide and we discussed always putting your customer in the center of your content, you may need a little guidance to create the content marketing calendar I discussed earlier.
Related: A Simple Trick for Finding Top-Notch Writers to Create Your Content
I know that whenever I'm creating content for my own brand or clients, I try to keep three things in mind -- the 3 C's of content marketing, if you will.
Be compelling. Content should be intriguing and it should pull your customer into your brand. The information and perspective you provide should feel unlike anything that's available elsewhere, and it should give your customer pause -- to want more and to seek out your brand. Your goal should be to stop them in their tracks.
Always customize. When publishing your content, it's important that it feel unique to your customer, specially created to suit their certain kind of needs. Your customer should feel like you are talking directly to them. You'll be successful when your customers see themselves in your content.
Related: Overcome Short Attention Spans with 'Micro-Content'
Keep consistency. Each piece of content you distribute should be published consistently, with purpose, and with a constant brand voice. All of the information should feel like it's coming from the same place, with the same objectives in mind. Content that is inconsistent will lose your customers quickly. You know you've done it right when your customer recognizes your brand each and every time.
We can probably thank Red Bull for setting the standard on these three points. The brand's jump from outer space not only created a compelling moment of "breakthrough" content (literally), but it launched the brand into the stratosphere when it comes to delivering customized and consistent entertainment, information and inspiration to its customers. Day after day, season after season, we watch with awe the content that Red Bull produces, whether that's through its events, magazine, promotions or website. The brand aims to shock and awe at every turn, with or without the beverage in hand. It consistently pumps out compelling content, customized for its unique customer base. It's quite inspiring to watch and to learn from.
When you look at Red Bull's activity, you see that content marketing is not a one-off or a one-night stand, but rather a long-term relationship with the customer. You too should treat your content with consistent care and a goal to continually please. You will then be well on your way to developing a loyal customer base for yourself too.
Related: Want to Break Through All The Content-Marketing Noise? Keep Your Customer at the Center.
