Is your content king? A checklist to ensure it is

Yes, content is still king. More so than ever. And you know you need to feed the content beast. But how holistically are you leveraging the content your organization produces? A thought leadership article, Q&A, media hit or video can be re-purposed in so many ways today, giving your target audience multiple opportunities to engage with your brand. The question is, are you smartly capitalizing on the whole ecosystem that is available to you? Compare what you are doing today with the following checklist:

• Social media: You are likely sharing your content "organically" through social media, but are you getting the engagement and results you desire? Like it or not, paid social media promotions are essential for any brand to reach the audience it wants to reach, both in volume and demographics. How confident are you in using the advertising tools within the various social media platforms? Do you have rationale in place for when you put money behind your posts and when you don't? You should.
• Web: Your website is your company's digital front door. It should be the home base for all of your content. Do you have a steady pipeline of content to feed your site? Is that content prominently presented and easy for visitors to find? Fresh and relevant content is critically important to your rankings in search engines and gives visitors a reason to come back to your site.
• Traditional media: Are you leveraging your thought leadership content in pitching traditional media? What you've developed likely reads a lot like a pitch already, so use it that way. Conversely, when you secure positive media coverage, how widely are you then sharing that coverage via the channels available to you? Give your hard-earned earned media the visibility it deserves by using them all.
• Email: Yes, whether we like it or not, email can still be effective in reaching your audiences. Are you using email simply to "sell" and update, or are you using it to educate and inspire? Do both, and let your thought leadership content equip your customers to make better, more enlightened decisions.
• Paid search: Are you using your content to help drive your paid search strategy? Are you using terms naturally that people type into search engines to find your product or service? If not, start exploring this strategy and test it.
• Internal comms: Have you shared your content with your team? Even if it's not "for" them, they are your most powerful brand ambassadors. Not only should you equip them with powerful, persuasive content, but you should actively encourage them to share it through their networks, social and personal.

You've put a lot of work into your content - or know you need to - so make sure it gets all the visibility it deserves. Please let me know if you could use a hand in building out your content strategy.