How can you avoid common messaging and content pitfalls?

Craft a well though out call to action. Your message needs to give your audience a clear understanding of next steps to take.

Leverage engagement data from direct contacts like email campaigns and/or authenticated web sessions to help validate segmentation assumptions.

The tools referenced are important. It is also paramount from a first round of using them to identify trends and specifically early adopters. Once you ID early adopters, double down with them to learn their needs and drivers (business, technical, regulatory).

Realize different audiences consume content differently, and buyer groups are made up of multiple people. Tailor your messages to address benefits specific to each group.

VERIFY: When sharing news articles or statistics it is important to be sure the content is coming from a legitimate source sharing factual information and not trying to push an agenda or simply misinform the community.

Make it simple, not in a dumb-it-down way but simplify until only the most essential remains. This will be your ??something?? you can repeat consistently to own. It must be understandable and meaningful to the *core* audience: don’t try to be universally relevant, you’ll often mean nothing to most. So be specific, and keep it as focused as possible - that’s particularly helpful in a commoditized category.

I've found that there's an extremely important distinction every company and product needs here-and that's where the value proposition actually comes from. Oftentimes the value prop is from the executive team or product creators and doesn't fully align with what real customers are genuinely getting value from. The best way to find that out-ask your customers.

Find ways to back up the value proposition with at least two, but ideally three ‘reasons to believe’ — essentially proving the claim.

Spend time with the engineers/product development team to understand what design principles that used in the development of the product... you may find your value proposition statement there, and you will ensure that whatever statement(s) you create are aligned with what the engineers kept in mind in the creation of the product.

Great value propositions should be understood inside of a 90 second two-way dialogue or one-way potential client perusal of your website.

Vary the approach based on the medium to craft more in-depth storytelling in the channel(s) where that’s appropriate, and be brief on channels where the audience wants a quick-hit. Consistency of message is key, but the application is not a one size approach.

And don't underestimate the effectiveness that strong (and differentiated) creative can play and making your story more impactful.

Listen, then understand a client's needs and where they are in their journey. Then apply the relevant storytelling technique. Very few people, especially in large firms, really want to be first in anything. Most want to know what their peers are doing. Hence the value of Forrester, Gartner and others who poll leaders and communicate trends.

Using storytelling as a holistic sales technique can greatly enhance the effectiveness of the sales process. When salespeople create captivating narratives they are able to establish a connection, with their customers making them more open, to the product or service being presented. These stories build trust and relatability. Also demonstrate how the offering can address customer problems and meet their needs. This approach ensures that the sales pitch is memorable and compelling ultimately leading to a chance of closing a sale and relationship.

I've found out that the best way to test content is directly discussing the articles/content with some clients or customers directly. It doesn't need to be a focus group, it can be an informal chat with your favorite customer or high rollers. You will most likely discover a treasure trove of insights that would not reveal themselves from unilateral research or theorycrafting.

AND...make sure your messages (and creative expression, tone, etc.) are aligned with and build upon the overarching company's brand message and vision.

Strategy drives structure, positioning, messaging and delivery. It should be based on sound economics then vetted well with clients, early adopters then scaled up.

All of the above are good suggestions, but the key takeaway is this -- when developing messaging and content, the target audience's perspective should always be the first thing to consider. This ensures that any messaging being developed focuses on what the customer's problem is and why they are looking at your product. Too often messaging and content is focused on the product, the technology, or the company and not on the problem being solved. That's why customers are looking for a problem though. They have a problem and need a solution. Remembering that one key point will make your messaging and content much more effective.

Generally depends on whether you have an existing product that's fixed and you're trying to position or re-position it (e.g. Yagermeister previously a German Apertif served warm, now served chilled with Gorilla marketing techniques) or if you the ability to change or modify your product if you're in earlier phases.

Build a community by sharing a bit more personal information and opinions about the subjects you work on. Create a brand image with meaningful and impactful stories: share your successes and your more difficult experiences where you were able to learn something, people want to follow a human being, not the image of a company, it's too impersonal. Be sincere! Sincerety and honesty are not overrated.