Weekly Alert: The “Right” Time for Content Strategy

mlns='> Content Marketing World post-show video now available [View Message in Browser]( / [Add Us to Safe Sender List]( Weekly News 10.30.20 Connect with CMI How to Get in Your Customers' Heads for Invaluable Research When the Sierra Club of Colorado needed to raise awareness and raise money to support its efforts, the grassroots organization used voice-of-customer research to get inside the heads of its members. (And it worked beyond expectations.) [Read more]( By Clare McDermott [High-Level Strategy] Some more of this week's best stuff: - [How to Get Big Results From Small Content Marketing Teams]( Ann Gynn]( [Editorial Process and Teams] - [Audience Research Led to Tattoo-Worthy Content Marketing]( Daisy Quaker [High-Level Strategy] - [Charter a Content Council to Knock Down Silos]( Andi Robinson [Editorial Process and Teams] - [Benchmarks and Outliers, Endings and Beginnings [The Weekly Wrap]]( Content Marketing Institute Team [Trends and Research] Join Our Weekly Wrap News Crew Have you come across an exciting content idea, unique example, or puzzling trend this week? Help us share it with your fellow Content Marketing Institute readers by completing [this form](. If we include your submission in an upcoming Weekly Wrap, we’ll credit you as the source of the inspiration.  A Note From Robert Rose The “Right” Time for Content Strategy It’s easy to think now isn’t the time to stop and build a new strategy. I see this often with my clients. One marketing leader at a mid-sized consulting firm recently told me she’s had to hold off on her plans to launch a new content team in support of a rebranding. The new team was supposed to support a new purpose-driven mission and help scale the thought leadership content the firm creates for its website. My client shared that she’d put the content team strategy on hold because the rebranding strategy was in a “suspended state.” In other words, she thought the brand strategy should be set before they started the content team strategy. Because one was stalled, the other couldn’t begin. “We’re waiting for things to settle down,” she said. It’s easy to convince ourselves that change should happen only after a storm blows over. It’s tempting to wait for an imagined future, where things have calmed down and clarity has emerged. The thing is, the perfect time never arrives. There will always be new storms looming on the horizon. The rationale my consulting firm client gave was that they won’t know what kind of content to create until they figure out the brand’s new purpose. What they didn’t realize is that they could – and should – get to work on a content strategy anyway. I’ve realized that 80%-90% of content strategy has nothing to do with creating content. Content strategy is about how to create content at scale, manage it efficiently, activate it effectively, and measure it completely. The actual contents of the content can come later. Most businesses are insanely creative when it comes to figuring out ways to say what they want to say (that their audience is also interested in hearing). Their biggest challenge is figuring out how to consistently and effectively say it over time. That’s where the storm comes in. The difficulty in navigating storms isn’t about deciding what to say – it’s about how to get the message out. Too often, marketers picture themselves on a boat in the middle of a storm, shouting into the wind. They rationalize that no one will hear the message, so they should wait for calmer seas. In some ways, content marketers will always be shouting into a storm. But sorting out the size of the boat, the configuration of the crew, the best communication channels to use, the technology to deploy, and how you’ll scale it all means you won’t have to worry so much about storms. Content strategy will help you avoid some of the storms that head your way. And, for those you can’t avoid, it can give you a better chance of getting heard as they’re hitting. You might find this all means you won’t have to shout so much. It’s your story. Tell it well. Robert Rose Chief Strategy Advisor Content Marketing Institute This article from Robert is available only in this newsletter for you, the newsletter subscriber. If you have friends that would see value in Robert's weekly updates, please have them [subscribe](.  A Word from One of Our Partners: Successful marketing strategies start with effective content management. Organize, collaborate, and execute all while focusing on your number one priority: building your brand. Whether it be launching a new Facebook campaign, or posting a photo to Instagram, your content needs to be easily managed and aesthetically pleasing. monday.com is not only the easy-to-use platform that understands this, but puts this into practice. [Try it for free »](   Sponsored Content Strategic Guide to DAM Metadata There is great growth happening in the digital asset management space and there are important and practical applications of DAM metadata that any organization can make use of. There are also considerable problems that can occur if you don’t use your metadata correctly. [Download this guide to learn more about the use and benefit of DAM metadata. »](  More from CMI Content Marketing World may be over (already?) but that doesn't mean you still can't sign up. We learned so much and we know you will too. Receive on-demand access for sessions and breakouts from the best in the industry, and watch sessions as much as you'd like through April 30, 2021. Sign up today! [Use code COMMUNITY to save $150 off any virtual pass.]( [»]( [COVID-19 CONTENT MARKETING RESOURCES]( Events [Content Marketing World]( [ContentTECH Summit]( [Master Classes]( [Content Marketing Awards]( Resources [Research]( [White Paper/eBook Library]( [Content VIPs]( [CMI Business Directory]( Education [Content Marketing University]( [Chief Content Officer]( [Webinars]( [Career Center]( Interested in advertising with CMI? [Learn more]( [.]( To stop receiving future Content Marketing Institute update emails, please respond [here](. Copyright © 2020 Informa Connect, All rights reserved Content Marketing Institute, an Informa Connect brand 605 3rd Ave | New York | NY 10158 [Terms of Service]( | [Privacy Statement]( [informa tech]