Content strategy: How to make your content live forever

Content is king.

Who hasn’t heard that?

But do you know who said it originally??

Microsoft founder Bill Gates.

Back in 1996, he wrote an essay (with the title “Content is King”) predicting:

Content is where I expect much of the real money will be made on the Internet, just as it was in broadcasting.

He went on to say:

One of the exciting things about the Internet is that anyone with a PC and a modem can publish whatever content they can create. In a sense, the Internet is the multimedia equivalent of the photocopier. It allows material to be duplicated at low cost, no matter the size of the audience.”

Even more groundbreaking and foresighted, Gates suggested content would act as an “equalizer” because anyone - individual or company - could create and publish content.

The Internet also allows information to be distributed worldwide at basically zero marginal cost to the publisher. Opportunities are remarkable, and many companies are laying plans to create content for the Internet.

The case for content?

Fast forward 18 years and Bill Gates’ prediction has certainly come true.

Here are just some stats that show how much content and content marketing has changed the state of B2C and B2B marketing:

And...300% more cost-effective results from content marketing vs. paid advertising.?

These are just a few of the compelling reasons why content is now king.?

The content challenge?

While the above numbers certainly paint a very rosy picture for content marketing, what lies beneath the surface is another story.

Many B2B Marketers are still struggling to get to grips with what to produce, how to produce it, where to publish it, etc.?

The endless treadmill of content production can prove too much for many as these statistics show:?

Could it be the case that too many B2B Marketers are trying to create more and more content rather than make their existing content work harder for them?

Content creation is time-consuming and expensive. Who hasn’t created a great piece of content and then moved rapidly on to the next piece without truly exploiting it??

Clearly, we’re not ‘coping’.?

It’s time to COPE

Have you heard of ‘COPE’??

‘COPE’ stands for ‘Create Once, Push Everywhere’.?

The methodology was originally created by National Public Radio for a very specific content management tool case.

But since then it has been adopted by marketers as a roadmap for how content should be developed.?

The COPE roadmap offers a sustainable route to build powerful foundational content that can then be repurposed, reimagined, and adapted to use on multiple social media channels.??

I apply the COPE methodology for my Let’s talk ABM podcast.?

It all starts with the podcast interview - 30-45 minutes packed full of Account-based Marketing learnings and insights.

We use Riverside.fm to record the podcast producing a much better quality than ZOOM or similar.

Our video team then adds captions using rev.com and creates the intro, outro, and question transitions that you'll be familiar with.

What do we do nex

1. Publish as podcast

We publish through Anchor and distribute it to all major podcast platforms - Google Podcast, Spotify, Apple podcast, etc.

2. Publish to Let’s talk ABM page of our website with full transcript

3. Video teasers

There are so many great learning nuggets that we can easily produce 4-6 teasers. We are now producing two types: one more polished and another one with no intro.

4. Episode tile

The tile announces the latest guest, episode #, title, etc. It's a great way to quickly tell our audience who the latest guest is and the focus of the episode.

5. Quote tiles

Bite-sized learning nuggets. We create at least a couple of quote tiles to share significant and relevant quotes from our guests.

6. Infographic

There are so many gems and great takeaways in each recording that we very often create an infographic to tell the story.

7. Create Insight

We pick out 6-7 key points from the podcast episode and create an Insight that we publish on our website.

8. Insight tile

We capture the main emphasis of the Insight and produce a tile to promote it.

9. GIF

We have a bit of fun and create an animated GIF to tell a story or to entice our audience to learn more about the podcast episode.

10. Carousel

We love these. We normally create a 7-10 page carousel to capture the main points of the podcast episode. We find these work really well.

Each one of these content assets is then distributed through the relevant channel.?

COPE and ABM

As you can see from our Let’s talk ABM podcast example, COPE is the sweet spot where creativity meets strategy.?

On the surface, these may appear as two distinct and even opposing entities, like art and science, oil and water, or chalk and cheese.?

However, the most successful ABM programs are the manifestation of solid alignment and collaboration between the two disciplines.?

A whole heap of creativity is needed to stimulate fresh thinking and strategic breakthroughs, just as an impactful creative should be supported by well-defined ABM goals, target audiences, buyer personas, and meaningful data, research and insights.

A study by the Content Marketing Institute showed 67% of marketers have been asked to deliver more with the same resources.?

Breaking down divisional silos between strategists and creative teams can solve this challenge and translate into more efficient and effective ways of working.?

As it relates to COPE (Create Once, Push Everywhere), it gets better.?

The culmination of tighter collaboration, better communication and timely knowledge develops into a single idea that can be repurposed on different platforms in varying formats, and can supercharge the value of an ABM program and how it performs against the 3 Rs:

How to COPE

We’ve talked about methodology.? But what does a COPE methodology look like? You need a plan that describes how, where, and when you ‘break up’ your anchor content into bite-sized learning nuggets.?

Your great content is not a tasty snack, it’s a full-on feast — if you know how to ‘COPE.’ From articles to videos to photo galleries, it’s easier than you think to increase the impact of your work via social media, email, and syndication to a content-hungry world.” Stephanie Reid-Simmons, Senior Vice President, News at RealEstateNews.com.?

1. A strong narrative?

You need a strong narrative. A strong story that warrants its ‘life’ being extended.?

2. A strong concept

Once you have the story, you now need to get creative. How do you compellingly tell that story? It’s important to remember that turning a blog into an infographic means translating complex concepts into a simple visual representation.

Equally, turning a podcast episode into video teasers requires you to put yourself in the shoes of your audience and what message they will respond to.?

3. A strong plan

You have the content. Now you need a plan to dictate what, when, how, and where you publish and distribute your content.?

Key benefits of building a COPE strategy

1.Your audience will remember you?

It reinforces your marketing messaging and makes your brand memorable. Have you ever noticed that when you’re listening to the radio, the most memorable songs are the ones with repetitive sequences or lyrics??

Or when you’re watching TV,? the same applies to the ad jingles that end up being the catchiest and stick most in your mind? Repetition shouldn’t be feared in account-based marketing.?

In fact, according to Martech, the average B2B buyer comes into contact with 13 pieces of content before deciding on a vendor. Creating once and pushing everywhere can help you maintain a presence and reinforce key messaging to stimulate intent.

2. Your audience will benefit from your content?

Your buyers (and those who influence them) are unique in how they like to consume content.?

Audio learners may prefer podcasts or webinars. Kinaesthetic learners may prefer something that invokes active participation like immersive events. Keen readers may lean towards articles and white papers.?

Time-poor executives may benefit from something shorter and snappier like GIFs and infographics.

3. Your Marketing team will be more efficient?

Save time and money and strategically reallocate your resources towards profitability or growth objectives.?

Instead of creating new content from scratch each time, reworking a single, solid idea into many forms can help teams get the most mileage.?

It leaves the space and opportunity to invest efforts into optimizing efficiency, marketing performance, and job satisfaction, so that ultimately, when strategy and creativity are in sync, everyone can COPE.?

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