The Content Awakens: Making Content the Force Behind Your Marketing

Ok, ok, I know what you’re thinking, “Another Star Wars related blog in my newsfeed? I’ve got a very bad feeling about this.”  But before you give in to anger or hate and blast an innocent office womp rat, just remember this one fact… you can NEVER have too much Star Wars in your life. Never. We here at BKA Content are living, breathing examples of this.  From our CEO’s high school fan films to our Marketing Director’s Lego displays, we are as pumped as anybody about what happened a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away and can’t wait to see the next installments in the new trilogy!

That being said, we are also muy muy interested in helping people boost their content marketing efforts through quality, original content.  Put it all together and you get one extremely nerdy blog post.  So without further ado, here are some of the best ways to make content the force behind your marketing.

Increase your Content’s Midi-chlorian Count (Quality)

Easier said than done, right?  Not all of us have a women’s razor that counts midi-chlorians (that’s right, Qui Gon used a women’s razor) in our back pocket.  We do, however, have the ability to create high quality content that is found by the all-encompassing Google algorithms which then gets listed on the rankings. Look at Google like you would the Jedi Council.  Just like the council identifies people with the highest midi-chlorian counts early on, Google does the same with high quality articles.

‘Quality’ is a loose term thrown out in the industry. Remember that making a quality article goes far past just having correct grammar and spelling. Rather than just cloning other articles already written, you should look for unique angles to attack. You should take into account your audience, the purpose of the content, the medium it’s being shared on, and the timeliness of the posting.

You should also consider voice, storytelling, article length, audience, white space, emotion and statistics/research. Anything less than this is likely to fall flat.  Take, for example, the original Star Wars Trilogy versus Episodes 1, 2 and 3.  In the originals, you had a little of everything – action, excitement, romance, sarcasm, dogfights, lightsaber duels, excellent storytelling and so much more.  In Episodes 1,2 and 3 you had Jar Jar. ‘Nuff said.

Back to my Jedi Council analogy – yes, the argument could be made that Anakin had the highest midi-chlorian count ever and was missed by the council (note: he WAS eventually found), but I would counter that that should be a lesson as to why you need to strategically plan where you post your articles.  Don’t post your best articles onto crappy sites or article directories (Tatooine) or it may take longer for Google to find it and give it the credit it deserves.

Beware the Dark Side of Content Marketing

Spammy content, keyword stuffing, paid links and other black hat tricks may seem enticing, but just know it’s a trap.  Sooner or later Google’s algorithm catches up with these tactics, blockades them and then penalizes those that use them with their droid army.  Even just having thin content is enough to get you penalized these days.

Just remember, being a Jedi… er Content Marketer requires the deepest commitment, the most serious mind.  If you choose the quick and easy path, you’ll surely become an agent of evil.

I would also submit that not having a content strategy or schedule is one of the greatest tools of the Dark Side.  This is especially true for small businesses that haven’t yet dedicated members of their team to content management.  Without a firm schedule and clear cut (long term) goals in mind, it’s easy to lose sight and get caught up in other projects in the company.  If this is you, just keep these words from Yoda in mind the next time you get sidetracked by other company projects:

“Decide you must, how to serve them best. If you leave now, help them you could; but you would destroy all for which they have fought, and suffered.” – Yoda

Han Shot First… So Should You

In the same vein of creating a solid content strategy, it’s important to get ahead of the game.  You’ll always have greedy(o) competition trying to take your spot in Google rankings and bask in the organic traffic of two suns (too much?), so you can’t make the mistake of playing it safe in content marketing.

The industry is evolving and so you should you.  Take advantage of trending themes, holidays, industry news and out-of-the-box ideas to stay on the cutting edge.  You may not always get it right, but at least you’ll never regret not having tried.  With a firm content strategy/schedule in place and a creative team you can stay ahead of the competition and make the Kessel run in less than 12 parsecs.

Utilize the Cantina of Content

Just as the Cantina scene in Mos Eisley became famous for its use of so many different types of creatures/aliens (it was ahead of its time), you shouldn’t settle for only using a few types of content in your marketing or you’ll be left in the dust.

Whether it’s Wook-Ebooks, infographics, press releases, blogs, videos, or something else, you should diversify.  People consume content in a myriad of ways, so the more methods you can disseminate it the better off you’ll be.

Remember Alderaan – Consistently Post Great Content

This one might be a bit of a stretch, but it’s still great content marketing advice.  You should pride your company on consistently creating high quality content that rewards your loyal readers.  One great blog, or one viral video a year isn’t enough in today’s market.

If you consistently put out good work then people will keep coming back. Once you’ve built a solid content marketing strategy, the last thing you want to do is create a disturbance in the campaign by putting out a bad piece of content and have millions of voices suddenly cry out in terror and have your newsletter subscriptions suddenly silenced.

Trust Your Feelings

You can use all the X-Wing computer tracking systems, software and analytics that you want, but in the end you should trust your feelings when it comes to creating and distributing content.  If the content isn’t stellar, it probably won’t get shared.  If some of the SEO tactics you are using seem like they came straight out of Mos Eisley, you’re likely to run into trouble.  When it comes to content marketing, take the steps to increase your content’s midi-chlorian count, avoid the dark side, shoot first (like Han), diversify your cantina of content, remember Alderaan by providing consistent content and last of all, never let anyone tell you the odds.

“Sir, the possibility of successfully navigating the content marketing landscape is approximately 3,720…”

“Never tell me the odds.”

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