Content publishing and marketing is the most important element in a social marketing strategy. Let’s face it, if you have subpar content, you’ll build a subpar community. Pamela Wilson at Copyblogger wrote an excellent article that includes a simple plan to content creation. I am going to take it a step further and share tools that I use to execute her plan.
- Start with a mind mapping tool. I picked up this very productive habit while working with Ian Kitajima, Director of Business Development at Oceanit. There are several tools available, however we use Mindmeister. It’s easy to use, available on the web, iPhone, and iPad (three devices we use daily), and allows media embed.
- Fill in the Details. Now that you have decided on a concept and angle, mapped out your headline and subheadings, it’s time to fill in the details. First, you should be versed in the topic of your article, if you still need some background research, fire up the app Dunno (of course there’s a Mac, iPhone, and iPad version) to do the research for you. And then, as instructed by the plan, begin writing…fast!
- Edit, Massage, and Tweak. Read your article, then read it again but this time out loud. Go through the checklist below as recommended. For WordPress users (ahem that’s a strong recommendation, not an option) activate the Jetpack pluginand configure the Spelling and Grammar app:
- Does the headline stop them in their tracks?
- Is the image intriguing on its own?
- Do the subheads tell your story all by themselves?
- Have you asked an engaging question at the end to encourage comments and conversation?
- Did you add a call to action for a product, service, or your email list?
- Publish and Promote. Now that you’ve published content, it’s time to execute content marketing of your article. As you build an audience to your blog, readers will be notified via their subscriptions. Make yourself available to reply to comments across your network. Facebook has recently launched a WordPress plugin to pull the conversation to your comments.
And that’s basically it. Time to execute!
