How many times do we hear that in the marketing world? I was talking to a co-worker who dropped it causally. I was asked to speak on a panel with “content is king”(which I won’t be able to participate in due to work travel) as the title and every article seems to reference it lately. And as overused as it is, it’s all too true. Content is a huge part of your digital presence and what gets you ranking/viewed online.

Did you know that Bill Gates is the person who coined that phase, in 1996? Content marketing isn’t just a trend. It’s been around since the beginning of the interwebs but the strategy has changed.

Content creation is used for many different reasons and a few of those include;

• Establishing brand advocacy.
• Educating your fan base or viewers of the company values and offerings.
• Enticing viewers to engage in your brand.

It’s all about finding your brand’s voice and keeping it consistent throughout your content. I am a huge believer in a voice and tone manual for your content strategy. Most businesses have different content writers for each digital discipline (or switch agencies). It’s easy to get lost in the mess of even 2 writers and still maintain consistency. Having a guide that lays out the brand’s voice, key phrases and how we want to communicate really helps establish that overall brand direction.

My favorite style guide that’s published online: http://styleguide.mailchimp.com/ This is something to reference when building out a guide for your brand. Having a guide is a huge advantage for your business because it facilitates consistency.

While content is king, quality content is quintessential to your brand. Sterile, boring content that doesn’t hold true to your brand or your tone will give you nothing in return. Focus on getting your style of content in order and then work on posting content consistently. Know your audience first, know your backbone and tone next and then produce content.

Party on. Ambushed.