As a Content Strategist by trade, ironically content marketing is not my favorite topic to discuss. To me, the words “content marketing” are a mouthful of sand for something that’s supposed to be so captivating and delicious. “Content marketing in the nonprofit sector” are six even uglier words.
I have to admit, my qualm with content marketing comes from a stigma which I’ve carried with me from the private sector. It makes me think of half-baked click bait articles (fake news!) that clearly have the primary goal of making a sale, crowding an email inbox or getting a bunch of traffic to make money off advertisements. This stigma comes from what Robert Rose, Chief Strategy Officer for the Content Marketing Institute and a senior contributing consultant for Digital Clarity Group, explains as the “dictionary definition” of content marketing.
The heart of content marketing for any company or organization is to tell captivating stories and add value to the reader to relay the impact of your efforts.
The two keys to success in storytelling, content marketing or whatever else you want to call it, are posting consistently and constantly adding value to your readers. Instead of pumping out as much content as you feel like you can be successful with, push out content on a consistent schedule in which you’re constantly adding value to the reader.
For example, your efforts could be successful by writing a post once per month or once per week—so long as you never miss a beat (consistency) and your articles are always shedding light on something essential to its readers (added value).
Pushing out content on behalf of your organization helps to build awareness of your cause, displays the impact of your efforts and builds conversations around things your supporters are passionate about. Instead of thinking about content marketing by the dictionary definition—using a blog to drive an advertising goal—content marketing is about telling stories consistently that will ultimately turn into various forms of support and awareness.
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