CHAPTER 5
Content Marketing: Blogging and Beyond
Much like “thought leadership,” the term “content marketing” gets thrown around a lot these days, yet its definition is not always clear. We know it’s important to incorporate this tactic into our marketing plans and that it’s somewhat different than what is considered more traditional marketing, but what is it really?
In this chapter, we’ll discuss the differences between outbound and inbound marketing tactics, define content marketing, and dig into the most common methods of delivering content to your audience.
FIRST, A BIT OF HISTORY
Until relatively recently, nearly all marketing was what is now known as “one-way,” “outbound,” or “push” marketing. This means that you broadcast a message about your services to your audience and try to grab their attention with your efforts. Outbound marketing tactics include things like ads, direct mail, and telemarketing. The idea is to deliver your message to prospects repeatedly so they are aware of your firm and contact you if and when they need the services you offer.
Now, we have added a new layer called “two-way,” “inbound,” or “pull” marketing. This strategy attempts to deliver a message to a smaller, targeted audience at the time when they need to hear it most. It involves creating content that people will seek out so they can participate in conversations (two-way) rather than simply being bombarded by multiple messages that they may or may not care about. Common pull tactics include things like blogging, search engine optimization (SEO), and social media. Content marketing encompasses the various strategies that attempt to provide valuable information to the right audience when they need it most.
One of the best definitions I’ve seen for content marketing comes from a firm in the United Kingdom called Velocity: “Content marketing exploits your unique position in your markets to generate valuable insight and advice on issues your customers and prospects care about most.”1
I can hear you saying, “That’s an awful lot of ‘marketing-y’ words there. What does that really mean?” Let’s break it down, and then we can go into greater detail so you can create a content marketing strategy for your own firm.
First, content marketing exploits your unique position... Remember all that talk about differentiators and how you need to find a narrow niche in which to become a thought leader? Here it is again. Basically, this means that you should communicate your differentiators and showcase your unique knowledge when sharing information.
...in your markets to generate valuable insight... Seems pretty clear cut, right? If the information you provide doesn’t have value, what’s the point? But the challenge is to keep in mind that value must be gauged by the reader or recipient of the information, not you as the content creator. You may feel something is particularly important to share, but if your audience doesn’t care, it’s not going to be considered valuable insight.
... and advice... This is key, and really good news too. By sheer definition, someone who offers valuable advice is an expert on that topic. If the audience considers what you write to be beneficial, or better yet, indispensable, you are well on your way to thought leader status and that much closer to nailing the concept of content marketing.
... on issues ... Notice there is no mention of the services you provide or your firm’s practice areas? People care about how you are going to solve their problems and address their issues. Frame your advice in a way that demonstrates how a challenge can be resolved or by sharing a story of how you were able to do this with a particular client. Whenever you can tell a story rather than talk in dry, technical terms, it is much more powerful and compelling. It also gives readers or viewers an easier path to seeing themselves in the same shoes as the company or person you are describing, which is one step closer to contacting you for help.
... your customers and prospects care about most. Again, this just reinforces that it is all about the audience and not about you, the services you provide, or the firm where you work. Stay focused on their priorities, not yours. Talk about their anxieties and address their pain points. If you are trying to grow a particular service offering at your firm, for example, but your audience doesn’t care or need it, your words will fall on deaf ears. If you aren’t sure what they care about, ask them. Most people are more than happy to give you their opinions and share their concerns.
WHAT IS CONTENT MARKETING?
Now that we know exactly what content marketing should do, let’s talk about what exactly it is. There are a plethora of delivery methods for good content, including
blogs,
articles,
podcasts,
videos,
seminars,
testimonials,
executive roundtables,
discussion forums,
e-books,
checklists,
white papers,
social media,
how-to guides,
case studies,
infographics,
webinars,
e-newsletters,
slide presentations, and
FAQ and resources web pages.
As you can see, the options are nearly endless. More than anything, your choice depends on the way your audience prefers to receive information and how you can best deliver it. There is no reason to pick just one delivery method; I encourage you to try a handful of these options. I will focus on blogging here, but keep in mind that most of the tips and advice provided apply to nearly all of the delivery methods.
DON’T JUMP IN JUST YET!
We spent all of chapter 2 talking about creating a strategic marketing plan. Well, your content marketing efforts need a plan too if you are going to succeed. Far too many people create a blog or initiate a video series without any idea of how they are going to really do it. Here are a few things to think about before you get in too deep:
Objective and purpose. Why are you doing this in the first place? Are you trying to reach new clients, establish your thought leader status, create fodder for other marketing delivery methods, or all of the above? There are really no wrong answers here, but be clear about why you are going through the effort and what you hope to achieve from it so you can get the best results.
Integration with other tactics. The best content marketing strategies don’t live in a vacuum; they integrate seamlessly with all the other marketing efforts of your firm. Everything you do should support the overall firm goals, communicate a common message, and position the firm consistently.
Audience. Who are you trying to reach with your content, and what do you want them to do when they find it?
Focus. What will your blog, video series, or webinars be about? Are you going to talk about a variety of topics or stick to just one?
Creation. Who is going to be responsible for creating the content? Will there be multiple contributors, or is one person responsible? Does it make sense to hire a ghostwriter to do the hard work while you come up with the ideas?
Frequency. How often are you going to add new content? Be realistic, yet a little aggressive, with your goals. Once you decide on frequency, stick to it. Create a calendar and assign tasks far in advance so contributors have plenty of time to work it into their schedules.
Promotion. Content marketing is not a case of “if you build it, they will come.” You have to let your audience know it’s there. So how are you going to promote your new content marketing efforts? Are you going to send out a newsletter with links to the content? Add a line to your email signature that points people to your new blog? Add a link on your site to your exciting new video series on YouTube? The methods are myriad; you just need to decide which ones you will use and get the word out. The more chances you give your contacts to find your new content, the better.
Management. Regardless of how the content is created, make sure you assign someone the responsibility of “owning” the process. This “curator” can stay on top of the editorial calendar and keep the content fresh, reminding contributors of their deadlines and lighting a fire under those who need extra motivation to get started.
Measurement. How will you know if it’s reaching anyone if you don’t have some sort of measurement in place? At a minimum, you will want to set up Google Analytics (see chapter 9 for more information) and monitor it frequently. You should also set up some sort of system to record how new clients find your firm so you can reward those who bring them in. This also helps you learn where efforts are successful and which are less effective and can therefore be cut, which will create a more efficient implementation system.
Definition of success. Why are you doing all of this in the first place? When you are defining your goals, make sure you define what success looks like in measurable terms. Be realistic here, too. If you expect to create a blog and have prospects knocking down your door two days later, you are going to be sorely disappointed.
See exhibit 5-1 for a worksheet version of these questions about your firm for you to complete.
BLOGGING
According to Technopedia, “A business blog is a blog of published, informal online articles that are either included in a company’s internal communications system (intranet) or posted on the Internet for the public to read.”2 The articles posted on blogs tend to be shorter and more casual than what you would traditionally read in a magazine or on a news site. Most of the time, blog pages are incorporated into a traditional website so visitors can view information about a firm while at the same time peruse its blog content. However, it isn’t rare to find stand-alone blogs as well that point back to the company site.
Why are so many accounting firms adding a blog to their sites all of a sudden? There are a number of reasons, the first of which is that blogging is an incredibly effective way of sharing short bursts of information. It’s a great way to stay abreast of the topics that interest you when you don’t have time to read scholarly articles or work-related books anymore. We are bombarded by information all day, and it’s hard to carve out any time to research a topic or learn about a subject that isn’t absolutely critical to our jobs, particularly near filing deadlines. However, you probably can carve out five minutes to read a blog post, or even less if you skim it for the key points. Because blogs are typically written in casual, accessible language, you can easily walk away with some actionable information in a very short time.
Secondly, a blog is great for SEO. We will go into much greater detail on SEO in chapter 9, but basically it’s about how well your site is ranked by search engines when someone searches for a particular set of keywords or phrases. The better your content ranks, the higher it will appear on the list of search results. It’s a complicated, algorithm-driven process, much of which is kept secret by Google and the other search engines. But what we do know is that one of the things the Google “spiders” (software that locates and indexes websites)3 look for first is new content. Therefore, sites that regularly add new information are more likely to get a higher rank than those that don’t make any changes, which brings us back to blog pages. Because blogs are (or should be) updated regularly, the simple addition of one can make your firm’s site rise above the competition when someone enters keywords related to what you do. Because web searches are one of the key ways that people find service providers, you really want your site to be one of the first that they see when looking for information online. And if visitors come to your site and find valuable, up-to-date information on your blog, the chances of them reaching out to you increase even more.
On top of that, a blog gives you and others something quick and easy to share on social media. We’ll be discussing social media in depth in the next few chapters, and you’ll see why it’s vital to have good information to share on these platforms. If others find it compelling, they are likely to share it on their own pages, expanding your reach exponentially. If multiple sources share it, then suddenly a blog post that may have originally reached only a handful of people could be seen by hundreds if not thousands of people. You could even go viral, which for content, unlike bronchitis, is a good thing!
OVERCOMING OBSTACLES AND MAKING IT WORK FOR YOU
These are just a few of the reasons that content marketing is growing in popularity and why you should consider adding it to your marketing efforts. It’s not a quick and easy fix, though. It takes continual effort and a level of consistency that many find hard to maintain. With that in mind, let’s see if we can address some pretty common concerns and questions.
Generating New and Interesting Topics
“How do I come up with new and interesting topics all the time? I don’t have anything interesting to say!” I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard this from an accountant. But you’ll be surprised to find when you start putting together a list of potential topics that you really do have some great insight to share. To stoke the fire, here are a few places to start:
What are the top five questions your clients are asking? A great way to get started brainstorming blog topics is to look to your clients. If you find that your clients are routinely asking certain questions, consider writing a blog post on those topics. Odds are that if several of your clients are having this conundrum, there are probably others seeking answers on those same issues. Be the one who provides that answer and become their go-to expert on this and related topics.
Look to the latest laws and regulations that affect your clients. Anytime there are sweeping changes to rules, laws, and regulations, people run to the internet to see how the new guidelines may affect them. “How will sequestration impact me? What are the implications of the Affordable Care Act for my business?” Take a moment to help dispel rumors or clear up current miscommunications and educate your clients, as well as prospects and referral sources, in your target industries.
Summarize information you learned at a conference or presentation. If you’ve attended a presentation or conference and gleaned some interesting tidbits, write a summary post about it. Tread carefully: you don’t want to rehash everything from the presenters—they probably wouldn’t appreciate that. However, it’s okay to talk about a few key takeaways as long as you properly reference the presenters and link to them if possible.
Create a write-up about an interesting article you’ve read. Blog topics need not always be original ideas. If you’ve read an interesting article and think your clients and prospects would enjoy learning about this same subject, blog a summary of the article or expand on the premise. When you do this, be sure you provide proper attribution to the original article with a direct link to it and add in your own two cents on the subject.
Is there a lesson in one of the latest news stories? If there is a hot topic and you can relate it to the types of services you provide, blog about that hot topic. Not only will it show your ability to think strategically, but the fact that it is a hot topic can also do wonders for your SEO. If everyone is searching on that subject and your post comes up in those searches, the additional clicks and eyes on your content can only help your search engine ranking.
What do you currently disagree with? Are there certain standards or concepts to which some businesses adhere that don’t make sense to you? Are there current trends that you wish would just go away, and you have a valid argument to explain why? Not every blog post needs to agree with a topic or be just a basic update. Sometimes you can go against the grain when it comes to your stance on something. Create a blog post providing an intelligent, respectful disagreement on these sorts of topics. When done appropriately, these blog posts foster great discussion and show how you can think outside the box.
Write something just for fun. Not all blog posts need to be super serious, and often the ones that are simply entertaining make people want to come back for more. Blogging is a great way for you to show your personality and reinforce that you are a person as well as an accountant. Why not share an observation or write something funny about working for a CPA firm? We find that the posts we’ve written on our office dogs and other light-hearted topics tend to get the most comments and make people want to learn more about what we do.
This is only a start, of course. There are dozens of ways to come up with blog topics. Once you begin, you’ll most likely find that ideas come to you throughout your day.
We Are CPAs, not Writers!
Point taken. Even with a treasure trove of good ideas and a realistic schedule, you don’t always have the time to turn them into blog posts. I realize that this is not work for which you get paid, and client work should come first. But it’s important to recognize that these efforts will hopefully bring you more client work too, so they do need to rise at least to the middle of your to-do list. Some strategies to make it a bit easier follow:
Divide the labor and spread the love. You don’t have to do it alone, and some of the best blogs feature multiple voices on a variety of topics. It will also allow readers to get to know others at your firm and learn about all the services you provide. The more people who are contributing, the fewer posts each person has to write. Even the most reluctant contributor can’t argue with one or two posts a year, right?
Encourage managers and other staff to contribute. This need not be something that only partners do. In fact, this is a wonderful way to engage your reluctant rainmakers into getting involved in business development. Writing a blog post is a lot easier than attending a networking function—at least that is the case for many accountants—so give them a chance to contribute in this manner for now. You might uncover a budding author in the process as a bonus.
Have partners “throw up on paper” and assign someone to edit it. It is not uncommon to hear partners say they simply don’t have the time to contribute content... and they just might be telling the truth. I’d be willing to bet, though, that they do have five minutes to jot down some notes on a topic that can then be turned into an article by someone else on your staff. Or if they prefer, have a five-minute conversation or phone call with them to get the nuggets of information that can later be crafted into a great post.
Hire a knowledgeable ghostwriter. There is no shame in outsourcing some of this work to people who do it every day, either. Ghostwriters can be a wonderful alternative to having your staff do the writing. First, this is what they do for a living, so they typically know how to turn a phrase. Second, the rates they charge are most likely less than the rates that your CPAs charge, so the three hours your CPA spends on writing a post can now be spent doing client work, and the firm is better off from a revenue perspective. You do want to make sure you find someone who understands your industry and can find your “voice,” so ask around for references, ask for samples, and meet with her in person before making a decision.
Reward those who participate. Admittedly, this is not easy for most people at your firm, and it takes considerable effort to come up with a topic, carve out time to write, and then put together a great post. Recognize those who make the effort consistently and thank them publicly at your firm. Whether it’s a dinner voucher, gift certificate, or simply a public pat on the back, it will demonstrate your appreciation for their efforts and encourage others to rise to the occasion.
Finding an Audience for New Content
We touched on this earlier. Don’t be fooled into thinking that once you create the content you are done. You also need to promote it so that those who need it will find it! There are a variety of ways to do this effectively:
Put it on your website. At a minimum, add a link to your blog in your firm’s site navigation. Some firms actually feature the headlines from their latest posts on their home page or add links to the bio pages of the authors. Overall, just make it easy to get there when someone lands on your website.
Optimize the page. Make sure you tag your posts with keywords and phrases that potential clients are likely to use. This will increase the likelihood of your page showing up near the top of the list when people use those words in a search.
Ask people to comment and share. Regardless of whether you have 10, 100, or 1000 people at your firm, make sure you inform them when you add new posts and even ask them to share the posts on their own social media outlets if appropriate. The power of compound numbers works in your favor here, and your reach will expand greatly when more people share your content.
Post all over social media. This is one of the best ways for you to expand your audience. Add a link to the post on your social media profiles and invite others to share. Add your own thoughts or ask a question about the subject of the post to generate conversation. It is so easy to share and re-share via social media—you may be surprised how quickly your message will spread.
Feature in e-newsletter. Many firms spend a good deal of money purchasing canned newsletter content that is exactly the same content other firms are sending out. Once your blog is up and running, you can forego, or at a minimum supplement, the canned stuff for original, home-cooked content. Your blog posts can become the articles that you include in your newsletter, which will drive readers back to your site where they can read more. Now you are on your way to thought leadership!
Link in email signature. You probably send and receive hundreds of emails a day. A nice quiet way to let your colleagues know about your blog is to simply add a link to your current email signature. Not everyone will notice it, but some will, and it only takes a miniscule amount of effort to add it.
Guest post on other blogs. One of the best ways to increase your reach is to offer to guest post on your colleagues’ blogs. For example, if you often partner with a law firm in town, why not offer to provide a guest post for their blog on a relevant topic and offer them a spot on yours in return? You have now been exposed to all their readers and vice versa. Be careful with this tactic, though, and stick to people and firms you know. Once you grow in popularity, people will come out of the woodwork volunteering posts to glom on to your relative fame. Resist those SEO strumpets; stick to contributors you know.
ON YOUR MARK, GET SET, GO!
Content marketing is not going anywhere, and I expect it to become even more popular as technology continues to make sharing information easier and easier. In fact, as of 2014, a full 93 percent of business-to-business companies use some form of content marketing, up from 91 percent in 2013.4 Don’t let it overwhelm you; you don’t have to jump in with both feet immediately. Maybe you should dip your toe in the water by adding one blog post a month for starters and then grow from there. Do what you can, but I do encourage you to take advantage of this powerful marketing tactic and see the positive results it can bring to you and your firm.
In the next chapter, we will discuss social media and its expanding role and potential reach for accounting firms and their leadership.
1 www.slideshare.net/dougkessler/the-b2b-content-marketing-workbook-3042328
2 www.techopedia.com/definition/1421/business-blog-b-blog