Universal Truths & Content Fails

Where digital meets travel + lifestyle … A collection of can’t-miss news from this week, including content marketing trends. Sign up to get the TURNER Weekly Download in your inbox every Friday.

Universal Truths

—— Search Engine Journal speaks the truth: there are no universal truths in content marketing. But the best idea is to always keep a brand’s goals in mind, front and center. “Behind every organization is a unique set of goals,” writes Kameron Jenkins. “Those unique goals will require unique strategies to get there, including content strategies.” Read more of her tips.

Content By Committee

We generally think of group collaboration as a positive thing. But it can have majorly counterproductive drawbacks when it comes to content. It’s better to keep the number of stakeholders to a minimum. “In the corporate world, content is a team sport involving more role players than you’d ever think practical,” writes Rusty Weston in Chief Content Officer. “And with that size you get compromise. In the agency world, successful content requires a great brief and then, behind the scenes, frictionless relationships among the account team, strategists, the editor, and writers.”

#Fails

Having too many cooks in the kitchen is one way for your content strategy to crash and burn. Search Content Management has five more reasons why it might not be working. One key takeaway? Don’t copy your competitors – even if what they’re doing seems to be successful. “Mirroring competitors without research to back up a strategy shift can be a reason why content marketing fails,” writes Jason T. Frost. Originality and authenticity counts!

Search Performance

A good content marketing strategy needs – you guessed it – good content. That means useful and entertaining information for your chosen audience. Once you’ve got that, however, you’ve got to figure out how to promote and enhance your content. Marketing Land has a bunch of tips on how you can do this. You don’t have to reinvent the wheel, says Andrew Dennis. “The best place to start when searching for content marketing opportunities is with your existing pages – these are the opportunities that will take the least upfront investment as the content already exists.”

Weekly Moment of Zen

Emoji house causes uproar in southern California! 😤