The 6th edition of CMS Asia 2018 just got over. It was great to interact with so many delegates, exhibitors, and speakers from different fields. Pure nature of the event will leave you with so many new thoughts & ideas that it is only fair to share the same with more people.  So, I have tried to put my thoughts on how one can approach content marketing for their business. Here are some guidelines to help your content marketing efforts:

1. Brand Equity Through Content

The campaign-driven approach has always been at the heart brand efforts for marketers. In the wake of increasing competition & decreasing customer attention span, a content-driven approach can help marketers stand out in the hearts and minds of customers. While content is an always-on game, most of the content gets created just as part of a campaign. The focus has to shift from campaign-based content to continuous equity building content. Tip: Balance your content creation and distribution efforts. If your piece of content does not reach the critical mass, we are not doing justice to our efforts.

2. Abuse of Social Channels

This is a classic case where people just adapt one piece of content to all social platforms. Before you choose a platform, you must ask yourself why do you need that channel? What is this channel going to give me that other channel won’t give you? Is it worth the extra effort?

3. Curious Case of Social Content Calendars

Since you already have invested in maintaining your social channels, you have to put something on them. Social calendars are the result of a very carefully planned content strategy. If you churn out content calendars without having a content strategy, it would be of little help to your brand. Content calendars are a nice way of systematising your content marketing efforts if done properly.

4. The Terminology Gun

This is where I have seen most experienced (no. of years ) guys falter. Most of the digital guys have got what I call ‘The Terminology Gun’ which they use indiscriminately without understanding the metrics. It is imperative to know all metrics that are being reported. If you are a client, insist on asking the definition of each metric you are being shown.

5. What’s Our Hashtag?

Hashtags are good. They can convey the entire campaign in just a few words and can make easily searchable. But it is not mandatory that every campaign should have one. Always remember that you are not the only one who is coming out with a kick-ass hashtag. In the world of hashtags, if you wish to stand out, you need to plan and create content to sustain the hashtag.

6. Undying Love For Video Format

We all know what video format can do for your marketing efforts. There is no doubt on the power of the format. CMS Asia 2018 saw many brands using non-video formats to create some fantastic campaigns that drove their business. Roadster’s First Shoppable Graphic Novel is a great example of how to rock non-video format.

7. Brands As Storytellers

Storytelling is something that is not everyone’s cup of tea. Brands are still trying to master the art of storytelling. Storytelling has two parts: “Story & Telling”. One has to be very clear on what is one’s key story. One of our panellists in CMS Asia beautifully mentioned how Patanjali became so big even when Ayurvedic brands still existed and enjoyed favourable opinion of people. If you got no story, forget about the telling part. Telling part can be outsourced, but the ‘story’ part is you and only you. No one can do it for you.

8. ROI of Content Marketing

ROI struggles are not new to content marketing. Depending upon what kind of objectives your content is supposed to achieve, you can always monitor some metrics to give you some idea. It helps to break down metrics in micro (time spent, leads etc.) and macro (sales) metrics.

This can be done in online space by using simple tools like GA. Start documenting content efforts and performance to see what is working what is not. At CMS Asia 2018, we had 3 hours workshop on ROI of Content Marketing by the LinkedIn team that addressed the topic in great detail.

These guidelines can help you approach content marketing with a right frame of mind for your business. If you are content marketers at heart, we hope to discuss more content marketing topics in our ASEAN edition of CMS Asia in Singapore on August 15th, 2018. Hope to see you there.