How do to great marketing in 2024 1. Publish micro content regularly on platforms you rent (like social) or own (like your email list) 2. Watch for feedback and patterns (replies, comments, engagement) 3. Use those signals to inform what you go and do next and where you invest. I don't think there's another way of doing marketing today - if you know how to use social media and content as the core of your marketing strategy. You don't need a 20 chapter book about the "Content Flywheel" to understand this concept. It can be this simple. Use the tools you have available to you - you can reach pockets of your customers online for zero dollars, every day. The marketers of generations past would have paid millions for access to these signals. Writing here on LinkedIn can do it too. See someone else's post about a topic that's relevant to you? Leave a comment there. Watch the response. Use that as a signal to write for your next newsletter. That's the Content Flywheel too..
You’re good at making things other people make complicated simple.
I’d add one level up to this. If the micro content you’re putting together can have a central narrative that is connected (and even unique) to your business you’ll be pouring gasoline on something that’s already lit 🔥!!
It’s like improv. Intentional spontaneity.
I think so many marketers get stuck in the rinse and repeat cycle, and forget to take a step back to look at patterns. Stop doing things just because its the way its always been done. Focus on what actually is driving engagement. Great reminders Dave!
Marc ✌️ Thomas was talking about content briefs in Slack today, and between that + this post, I'm thinking that lots of folks get stuck on having what ultimately becomes too rigid of a strategy and too planned of a content calendar. This worked better a few years ago, but content is faster and conversations more instantaneous. Plus, if you're at an org where your content brief takes a long time to fill out, you're going to struggle with the creativity and flexibility needed.
Dave Gerhardt the best analogy I've heard recently on this is to think about your content like a product. If your content were a product, you would test and optimize like crazy to make sure it was valuable. And if your content is valuable then you will see the performance in the channels where you promote it. I think often times marketers look at channel performance and try to optimize the channel without realizing that what they're promoting probably sucks. It's not the channel, it's the content.
Amen. When I started blogging for business, LinkedIn was like the club or bar where I “picked up” readers. And then we’d “talk” in the blog comments. Today, LinkedIn posts and comments IS that blog. I’ve been reluctant about acknowledging this fact. But here I am. Thanks for reminding—these reminders help.
Number 2 is crucial: "Watch for feedback and patterns (replies, comments, engagement)". Many organizations are fixated on measuring everything in GA, but they are stuck. In B2B marketing, it's the long game that counts. Understanding the bigger picture and having faith that your activities will generate revenue, even though you can't measure it directly.
I've found a good source of my own content/marketing inspiration comes from real client conversations. The idea is that if my current clients might care about topics XYZ, future ones might too. By sharing my thoughts and approach to these scenarios, people can get a sense of what it's like to work with me. It's an incredibly simple way to help me stay fresh with ideas.
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3wIt's almost like a live concert for musicians - they perform and get instant feedback on which songs their fans love the most and which parts are their favorite. Social can accomplish the same for marketers, yeah?