Why Content Should Be Used As a Product And Not a Marketing Practice?
Content has been used so far as a marketing practice that leverages data and entertainment to proselytize a brand or a product, but when you really get down to it, it appears that product marketing shares a close bond with content. If we compare the commons of content and product, we apprehend that each content piece publishes like a product launch and has a target audience, monetary worth, and documented plan associated to it.
Just like your product, content too can return thousands of dollars online, provided it is not being utilized as a mere designer element or “just” a marketing practice to promote your product.
In the same light, given are a few reasons why you should treat content as your product and what content marketers can adapt from the product managers to place content at its rightful place.
Treat Leads Like Customers
In my opinion, naming your potential customer as “lead” dehumanizes the very visitor you seek to serve throughout your sales funnel. The term customers should be used for ‘leads’ to give them the same respect that is bestowed upon the customers who have paid in cash. Questions like, “how can you refer a lead as ‘customer’ when he hasn’t bought anything?” may arise; but they can be resolved by explaining things from product’s perspective.
“Your leads deserve your best as they have bought your content with their attention, and contact details that are very dear to any business.”
Craft Content Like A Product
Every product is designed to fill a need, and the more efforts you put on the front end the better your product comes out to be. Similarly, every piece of content needs to address the pain points of the customer effectively and offer him a solution that helps.
Before you create your next blog, video, eBook or infographic, challenge your idea by asking questions like- “What is the purpose of creating this content?” or “Will my audience be interested in it?” or “Does my content cut through the clutter?”
Understand Customers And Market
If you want to sell your content like a product, you have to think like a product manager. Product managers need to understand the market conditions, competitor behavior and the demographics of their target to figure out the opportunities that exist for them. Similarly, a content manager should understand the organization's goals and keep eyes on what the customers and competitors are doing, to sell their content effectively.
Create A Roadmap
Once you have understood what you are creating and why it should be created, the next step is to facilitate the content production by smartly prioritizing the essentials that play vital role in content's case. Build a roadmap that guides the production and distribution of your content by leveraging upon the marketing analysis.
Source Team Inputs
To ensure that your content serves your customers like your product, source inputs from your organization's marketing, sales, and support departments. These people deal with the customers at the front end and have the clear knowledge of what your target seeks.
Package Content Like A Product
Purposeful packaging is no less important for content than it is for product. Even a well-planned and value-rich piece will fail to do well, if it is not packaged properly. Both the marketers and designers should give equal importance to the presentation of the content. While the quality of your content will offer information, it is your presentation that will define the overall UX on the page.
Just like products, the packaging shows the value of your content too. You might have posted tons of articles enriched with the most relevant content, but trust me you can do much better.
Support your content with a conspicuous quiz, animation, or effect. It not just keeps your visitor functionally engaged but also instills life in your below average content.
Measure Content Like A Product
Creating relevant and engaging content needs hours of research and hard work. If you expect the product-like returns from your content, you have to make sure that the efforts you are putting are being paid off well. The job doesn't get over with designing and packaging, content marketers should also keep a check on how well the content is being consumed.
Plenty of analytic tools are available in the market to measure the performance of your content. Take the help of behavioral testing, A/B testing, and heatmaps to determine whether it's worth your time and bucks.
Content is the undisputed king of the web that holds little power if not designed, presented, and tested properly. It is the content that is needed to enhance the experience of the user, for which a planned approach to create, package, and measure your work would only get the job done.
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