The Slice and Dice Approach to Content Marketing

Anything you read on the subject of Content Marketing notes the marketers’ concern that there isn’t ‘enough’ to go around – not enough viable topics, not enough budget and not enough time in the day.

That’s why this Ron Popeil-inspirded food analogy seems appropriate: You have to think of any content that you produce as both a feast and a quite-serviceable stew. You may have cooked up a storm — and depleted your pocketbook — to produce a rich and plentiful prime rib dinner for your guests on Sunday (think: a great white paper), but now you should be more judicious by a creating a number of good, work-a-day meals from the leftovers. You need to get out your best knives and chop your way to some new recipes – adding any number of different ingredients to make your ‘after prime rib’ meals inviting.

That said, every time you write a white paper you should be thinking about ways to leverage the information; ways to slice and dice it. For the purpose of this discussion, let’s say that the white paper informs on a new technology you’ve developed.  Here are some of the ways you could market it:

• Announce the new technology via traditional media (have a press conference or issue a press release) and social media (Tweet it, post it to Facebook, etc.).
• Announce in an email campaign – and/or include in your company’s e-newsletter.
• Promote the white paper with banner ads.
• Place the white paper on your website and ask for registrations to download.  Enhance it with embedded video and podcast recordings.
• Have your sales force email the white paper to prime customers.
• Create a lead nurturing program that will feature all attendant white paper content.
• Develop a brochure and specifying data as sales call leave-behinds.
• Develop a presentation and secure speaking engagements at key trade shows and industry events.  
• Write a trade publication article – and a blog — on how your technology stacks up against techniques currently in use.
• Put on your H. G. Wells’ cap and write an article – and a blog — about how this technology could evolve 5, 10 or 20 years from now.
• Create a webcast for your website and develop an email campaign to promote it.  Or, develop a webcast through an appropriate trade publication and let them promote it.    
• Write more articles — and blogs — about best use of the technology in various industries.
• Consider adapting the white paper for different audiences – matching the content to the potential recipient’s industry, location, size, etc.
• Videotape the technology’s developer, or a company spokesman, and place this content on YouTube and SlideShare.  
• Show the technology in use and get a video up and running on YouTube/SlideShare.  
• Create a podcast.
• Create an e-book from the various materials.
• Create an infographic to illustrate the data and feature it in all appropriate materials.  
• Share your data with your peers in LinkedIn and Quora; monitor and engage in relevant discussions.  
• Develop case studies and place them in trade publications and on your website.  Provide pdf or print versions for the sales force.
• Create a Facebook fan page and ask your followers to review your technology; interact with them to get some good data for any future iterations.  (You could even have your followers review your new technology at the beta stage of its development. This should not only help you to create better products, but it could help you earn more word of mouth at the same time.)
• If possible, consider developing a Cost/Benefit Calculator that allows the customer to enter their significant data to arrive at the potential cost savings and benefits of using the new technology. Publish the results.
• Create a thought leadership/innovators area on your website and include all materials there – including any relevant test data or research.

Exhausting, isn’t it?  For more info and ideas, download our free Content Marketing white paper.  But don’t forget, download it “before midnight tonight!”