5 Effective Content Tactics to Help Elevate Your Brand

As marketers, researching how to help the brands we represent stand out is a constant pursuit. And with the sheer volume of content generated on a regular basis, it’s hard to sift through all the noise and find the tactics that, when implemented, will bring us and the brands we work for a true return on marketing spend.

Below are five tactics that every marketer should take, internalize and nurture as part of our journey to be better marketers.

1) Start With Why

“Start With Why” is a concept every marketer should know and understand. In fact, if you implement just one in support of your brand, it should be this one. Simon Sinek introduced this concept in his TED Talk. This TED Talk is an 18-minute game-changer for any marketer.

He uses several leaders and several companies to explain the concept of the Golden Circle and why “Starting with Why” is so important. Are you leading with your products/services features and benefits? Or are you leading with your beliefs?

2) Authorship Implementation

A company should understand that a brand not only consists of the appearance of its click and mortar location(s) or the marketing messaging it disseminates on a regular basis. A company’s brand is also comprised of each individual working for it.

Authorship gives each author the ability to be seen in Google’s eyes as a subject matter expert in a particular industry. By relation, the brand benefits from the content created by its thought leaders.

The problem is that most companies do not understand authorship as it relates to marketing and ad spend. This post gives a new take—brand leadership—on an old topic, authorship. Most marketers may pass on this opportunity, as implementing this tactic requires a lot of work. That’s why authorship is like an Arthurian quest. Do you have what it takes to wield Excalibur?

3) Let People Know Who You Are

The previous tactic alluded to this one. Each individual marketer has his or her own brand. Relatedly, each individual marketer contributes his or her brand to the company’s brand. The company’s brand is the sum of all its employees’ brands.

At the recent American Comedy Awards, Bill Cosby was the keynote speaker. He gave the audience some good advice. You take your brand with you wherever you go. When you show up, you bring an element of personalization to your audience. By connecting with people, your company’s brand connects with people. Does your content let people know who you are?

4) Create Remarkable Content

Content needs to be written with one purpose: to be remarkable. That means that it must provoke a response or a remark from the reader. Many companies think that if they create content that fulfills a need or answers a question, they will somehow be rewarded with their content being shared by millions.

But it doesn’t work that way. Find the users who care about what you’re creating. Market to them. Make it easy for them to share with their friends.

Is your content worth your target audience’s remark? Remember: just because it’s remarkable to you doesn’t mean it’s remarkable to your audience.

5) Use the Common Structure of Great Communicators

Writer and graphic designer Nancy Duarte uncovers the common structure of great communicators in this TED talk. Here’s how to you communicate your ideas, your beliefs, your content:

Start with what is, then show your audience what could be and how the world is better with your idea. Rinse. Repeat. End on a high note, which is what your target audience could experience with your product or service. Does your content follow the common structure of great communicators?

Content Promotion

You now have five content tactics that can elevate your brand and make you a better marketer. But in a world that revolves around a customer with unlimited information at her fingertips, how do you ensure your marketing message connects with your target audience?

As mentioned your content must be remarkable, but it must also be promotable. Content promotion helps get your content with the right message to the right people, at the right place at the right time. It generates media coverage, earned media, thought leadership, brand awareness and return on ad spend. Grab the Content Promotion and Distribution Cheat Sheet to begin promoting your content today!