What my Great-Grandmother Taught me about Content Marketing
One of my earliest memories is crawling under a quilt frame, lying on my back on the swept floor, and looking up at the patchwork quilt being finished above me. The quilters were my mother, her mother (Granna), and her mother (Granny.) We were in a 2-room clapboard house in the backyard of my Granny’s current house. Four-year-old Jennifer knew this ramshackle structure as “Granny’s quilting house.” Only later would I realize that that same 2-room house, with no electricity or running water, was where my Granny and Granddaddy D. raised their five children in the long shadow of the Great Depression.
This little old house was also the scene of a murder… But that’s a story for another day and another blog.
So nice first memory and all, but what does this have to do with content marketing?
A Content Strategy is the Sum of its Parts
Content marketing is like that quilt. Each of my foremothers — you can think of them as stakeholders in the quilt if you want to — created her own quilt squares. It was painstaking work. I’m talking hand quilting here. No machines to help.
Each piece was vital to the quilt, but it also wasn’t much on it’s own. One quilt square might cover your big toe, but it isn’t going to keep you and the ones you love warm during the long winter. You see where I’m going here — the quilt squares are your landing pages, blog posts, microsites, videos and other individual pieces of digital content.
It was only when those three formidable ladies came together and pieced their individual patches of fabric into one whole, that the quilt became a beautiful, functional piece of art that kept their loved ones snug and cozy even deep into a biting North Georgia February.
What Quilting Can Teach You about Content Marketing
Every Piece of Content is Vital — One square that’s turned sideways or doesn’t quite fit can ruin the look of the entire quilt. Before you even begin, you’ll need to create a look and tone for your digital content. But remember…
Frayed Content Can be Mended — Don’t fret! The other good thing about a quilt is that it can be unstitched. Old content can be updated to fit a new strategy.
In other words, with winter bearing down, a funny-looking quilt is better than no quilt at all. The act of actually creating content can paralyze a business owner. Don’t be afraid! Start getting your voice and presence out there. It can be fitted into a larger strategy later. (And I can help.)
Consistency and Perseverance are Key — Think of a pioneer mother looking at a pile of old rags with the knowledge that while the sun may be shining right now, winter is coming.
While it might take time, if she chips away at this quilt squares consistently, she will in the end have a toasty warm quilt to wrap her family in.
The same holds true for your digital content strategy. Today, releasing a video or a blog post every once in awhile won’t cut it. The number one flaw in most content marketing strategies is that companies give up too soon. They don’t see instant results and think “Well, that didn’t work.”
You have to gain your audience’s trust by continually being there for them with quality content.
Consistency equals results.
Can’t Quilt (or Create a Content Strategy)? No Problem
I can help your company take all your content scraps — remember those blog posts, videos, landing pages and such? — and turn them into a content strategy. Contact me today and let’s talk about it.
And while I can’t make a quilt to save my life (sorry, Granny!), you can see other content strategies I’ve created here.
Are you working on a knotty problem with your quilt- er, digital content? Leave a comment here and let’s talk about it!
Want more content marketing tips and tricks that sell? Subscribe to my email list. (I’ll only send you the good stuff. I promise!)
