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Why Effective Content Marketing Requires Full Team Buy-In

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Working at any organization requires a certain level of accepting rules and direction without fully understanding the reasoning behind them. It’s simply not possible for every individual to know the thought process and motivation behind every decision leadership makes. But for a new initiative like content marketing, taking the extra time to communicate its purpose isn’t just a luxury for employees; it’s imperative for maximizing the success of your strategy. Winning over your entire team with content can pay off big for your organization by helping you: 1. Harness Your Staff’s Knowledge Effective content marketing tells your company story, provides a glimpse into your culture, and showcases your industry expertise. You can’t write it off as a purely marketing-oriented vehicle. Instead, you need to capitalize on the collective knowledge of your team to thoroughly communicate these points. I talked to leaders at Centro, a client of ours, about their plan to involve engineers in the company’s content marketing efforts. They have some of the top engineers with superior industry knowledge, so giving these experts a megaphone through content can showcase their expertise and boost Centro’s credibility. People want to work with companies that are leaders in their field. When potential customers read these articles that they can learn from and engage with, they’ll feel more compelled to hire Centro. When you ask team members to contribute content, it also demonstrates that you value their expertise and want to share it with others. It’s great for business and team morale. 2. Unify Your Company Every department has smaller, more specific goals that ultimately contribute to the bigger mission. Developing content can draw attention to areas where department goals coincide and encourage widespread collaboration. For example, if engineers develop content showcasing their expertise, PR can also use it to draw positive attention to the company. PR can then work with the social media team or customer service to maximize its reach. Departments often work separately, but when reaching your goals becomes easier thanks to another department’s efforts, it fosters appreciation and unity. 3. Empower Employees Content is a powerful tool you can arm every employee with, regardless of position. We consistently send our employees content to share with their networks, and we’ve even had interns bring us potential clients as a result. Recently, one employee even brought in a lead after she stayed at his Airbnb rental. All employees will meet someone who could represent an opportunity at some point. It could be at a Thanksgiving dinner, soccer game, or karate tournament. However, you might not necessarily want them to sell for you, so make sure there’s content they can point to or surround themselves with so these potential opportunities are caught in your company’s net. The more articles you share with your staff, the easier you’ll make it for them to take advantage of opportunities for the company outside of their normal scope. 4. Attract Top Talent Just as potential clients want to work with the industry’s finest, prospective employees also look for companies that are leaders in their space. When your employees produce content, they’re also providing you with powerful recruiting ammo. These articles give potential employees an authentic taste of your company culture; in turn, you can attract more capable employees who align with your values and vision. Sharing articles with candidates before the interview stage can also establish a solid knowledge foundation that will expedite the hiring and onboarding processes. 5. Aid Communication Internally and Externally Customer service can distribute engaging content that educates customers on the best ways to use a product or service or provides in-depth industry evaluations. And as you continue educating your audience, you develop meaningful relationships. Through your outreach efforts, be careful not to overlook content’s role in communicating culture, expectations, and strategy to your employees. We’ve begun repurposing some of our articles and whitepapers into SlideShares to train new employees. Many of our department heads have developed this content, so it creates a direct line of communication from leadership to our newest team members. These company-wide benefits make it easy to understand why many businesses are motivated to start content marketing. But too many brands jump in, become overly infatuated with views and impressions, and lose sight of the true goals they’re trying to accomplish. Although focusing on the why behind your content strategy is important, you also need to emphasize how it will generate results. Here are a few steps for aligning your company goals and content strategy:

  • Determine each department’s goals.Start by asking department leaders about their goals. Listen carefully, and start thinking through ways content can contribute to them.
  • Discuss solutions with a content marketing company. Once you know the goals your company wants to achieve through content, take those to prospective content marketing companies. Discuss potential solutions, and pick a company that’s right for you.
  • Make expectations clear.Go back to the department leaders with potential solutions, and lay out specifics for how content marketing can help them achieve their goals. Be clear about their responsibilities and potential results.

There are many ways businesses can employ content. But without engaging employees in the decision-making process or strategy development, you might miss out on viable uses for your content. By nailing down your goals, creating a detailed plan of action, and involving your staff in the process, you can make this investment work much harder toward your company’s overall success. John Hall is the CEO of Influence & Co., a company that provides a turnkey thought leadership solution for companies.

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