When Is It OK to Break the Rules?
Kady Hommel
Freelance B2B Marketing Content Writer | Content Strategist | Editor | Ghost Writer | High-impact Content for Consultants, Law Firms, CPA Firms
On the heels of America’s favorite holiday, I must offer a confession.
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If you know me IRL, it’s not a confession. Rather than surprise, your response will likely be “How come it took you so long?”
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Here it comes: This year I became a fully formed Thanksgiving rule-breaker.
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After decades – yes, decades – of falling in line with everyone else’s cherished Thanksgiving traditions, I finally hit the wall.
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We were hosting a small gathering in honor of the holiday. On the menu there would be:
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What could I have been thinking? We were going way off the script.
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What I was thinking ... was that it was high time to do things a little differently. My self-described role as the Scrooge of Thanksgiving was beyond shopworn.
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Especially with all that inevitable kitchen time, for the first time ever, the table would be abundant with food I truly like!
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Fortunately, I’m blessed with an accommodating family. Although my husband likes a large bird and has become a master of the spatch-cocked turkey, he agreed that brisket would make a fine headliner.
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Son #2 is our go-to guy for mashed potatoes, but he was happy to prepare a much easier and much faster pecan pie. Son #1 likes stuffing, an easy ask to keep in the mix.
Our non-family guests had proven to be open-minded eaters when they dined with us. My Japanese friend, bless her, shares my extreme aversion to green bean casserole – she and her husband arrived with wine, homemade preserves, and coveted artisanal caramels.
Overall, this year’s Thanksgiving was a delightful gathering, broken rules and all. We enjoyed the excellent company, which is the heart of the holiday anyway. ?There were no issues with political alignment (!) and abundant leftovers preserved the tradition of sending food home with everyone.
Major bonus: there was no wretched turkey carcass to dismantle at the end of it all.
Sliding over to the content marketing world, the rules may not be as fixed as they are for Thanksgiving. Still, why not play around with bending them?
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You’re committed to offering high-value content and doing it consistently. How about exploring a different – and possibly unexpected – point of view?
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Perhaps a story or two directly from actual users or consumers. Or a case study that identifies and explores a specific, real-life problem your target market faces, lines out a few options to solve it, and closes with the how and why of your solution.
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Another angle is to showcase people from different roles in your organization, and their work. These voices can round out the picture for your audience and remind them that talented, committed humans are involved with every step of bringing your product to market.
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None of these ideas actually break or bend any rules of content marketing. Still, if they nudge you to consider a fresh angle or two, your audience might take notice.
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Would you like some help shifting your content marketing out of neutral? Let’s talk … you can message me here on LinkedIn, by email at [email protected], or by phone at (719) 428-5996.
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And if you'd like to know more about the fresh stars of our Thanksgiving table, feel free to let me know in the comments. Better yet, please tell us how you break the rules – for Thanksgiving OR content marketing!