If you have a content marketing strategy in place for your business — congratulations; you’re off to a great start in promoting your message to current and potential customers.
But sometimes content marketing strategies become too rigid, and then fall flat when the messaging is delivered via different media and social media outlets. A good content marketing campaign has to be flexible, and have the ability to adjust to different mediums so that the messaging – no matter what form it’s delivered in to a customer or client – is received and embraced.
This means paying attention to the format of the outlets you’re using to distribute the information. You’re using these outlets – social media, newspapers, press releases, videos and advertisements – because they’re unique and help deliver your messaging to specific end users. But because they’re unique, it also means you need to work harder on making your messaging fit for each one.
Mat releases and press releases
They both are targeted to newspaper editors, but beyond that, these two products are very different. Use a press release to announce something. Put your company name, the product name, and a quote from someone in the company prominently in the release. A newspaper editor will often rewrite a press release and the information will appear in a small sidebar featuring business or industry news. Sometimes a newspaper editor will assign a reporter to cover the event highlighted in the press release.
A mat release is a completely different ball game. Subtle branding is key to making mat releases work. When writing a successful mat release, you’ll have more success using a how-to or informative angle featuring content readers can use and apply to their lives. Gently weave in your company’s messaging, but keep in mind, you might not be able to include everything. For example, announcing several new product releases and promoting a contest all in one campaign could be too much for one release. Instead, consider featuring only one or two elements so your messaging is much simpler and more appealing to editors. Remember, editors and your clients are not anticipating that this mat release is an ad, so keep the branding to a minimum.
Facebook allows you to use photos, video and text to make your announcement and it provides a forum for engaging with your customers through comments and “Likes.”
Messages on this platform have to be brief, although you can use photos and link to further information. For best results, consider dividing your messaging into small bites, and include links to websites where you’ve posted more in-depth information.
Television and radio advertising
They are the most familiar types of marketing content, can be the most overtly branded, since readers expect a lot of product information from these sources.
Give your marketing plan a boost by clearly defining and learning how each medium works, so you can effectively deliver your message with no wasted effort.
