Content Marketing
28th June 2011 / All, How To
Content marketing – no need for another dress.
I spent last Saturday afternoon shopping for a new outfit to go out in that night. It’s something I’d not done for a long time. “Surely not, Ellen?” I hear you ask. “I thought you PR types were always at one party or another. In fact isn’t that what PR’s about?”
Well, no, sadly the life of a PR isn’t quite as glamorous as that. But I do get along to the occasional (OK not that occasional) night out. No, the real reason I’d not bought a new party frock for a while is because I do what most people do with their outfits – I’d been re-using them. I’d worn the same one at different parties knowing that no one there had seen it before. And where I was seeing the same people again I’d put different pieces together in new combinations.
But last Saturday the time had come. I had to bite the bullet and hit the shops. I found a lovely dress, and it was a fantastic party, so it all ended well, but it did get me thinking about how we’re increasingly doing the same thing with marketing material these days (re-using it for a different audiences, I mean – not taking it out and dancing with it on Saturday nights).
It’s an idea that makes such perfect sense it amazes me that more organisations don’t do it. Very often we meet a potential new client and we describe the vast array of press releases, whitepapers, presentations, training material, how-to guides and so on that we’ve produced for our clients, they raise their eyebrows and ask how much this all costs. They’re amazed when we tell them how much, and then we explain that it’s cost very little because much of the content has been created once and then re-purposed.
To give you just one example, we recently took an e-book we’d produced for one of our clients, and we used it as a website download, in e-mail newsletters, for top tips articles, as content in articles and blogs, as the basis of a live webinar, as well as several events and training sessions. The messages we developed in that e-book appeared in the marketing press, and in social media such Twitter and LinkedIn.
You see how much can be done with the one piece of content? It’s also incredible how using content in a new way can bring it to life. Just as the same skirt can be transformed by the right pair of shoes, or a more appropriate event, so what wouldn’t quite work as a press release can really galvanise response when used as, say, a blog post.
What’s more this tactic allows our clients to put out a high volume of outstanding content, reaching more and more people, all for a surprisingly affordable investment of time and money. There aren’t many marketers right now who aren’t looking for ways to cut costs – this is one that everyone can implement right now.
If you’d like to have a chat about how we can help you do this, then don’t hesitate to call us now on 01626 249045 or drop us an email at hello@nelliepr.co.uk. We’d love to hear from you.
