#30 The Content Marketing Essentials with Mark Schaefer
For this week’s episode of Getting Goosebumps, I chat to Mark Shaefer, the Founder and Executive Director of Schaefer Marketing Solutions. Mark holds over thirty years of marketing experience, and is the author of five best-selling marketing books, including one of my favourites, The Content Code.
Also one of the most popular keynote speakers in the world, Mark invests time in leading social media workshops and teaching graduate marketing classes. When it comes to captivating an audience, Mark has some invaluable insight to offer…
The content essentials
Mark delves into the business acronym BADASS from The Content Code. He gives us an in-depth run through of each essential element, from branding, audience, distribution, authority, social signals, and shareability.
Mark also shares another of his acronyms: RITE, which stands for relevant, interesting, timely and entertaining. It’s an awesome structure to guide your content strategy and ensure that your brand heads in the right direction.
Dispelling the myth
Mark explains why the assumption that people have developed shorter attention spans is a myth! So, stop worrying about the length of your content; Mark takes us through the path to creating the right content for your audience.
As Mark emphasises, people consume content in a variety of ways, so you shouldn’t limit your content to a specific number of words.
The power of entertainment
Mark emphasises the power of entertaining the audience. People are placing more and more value on feeling entertained…we’re competing with forces of the internet like Grumpy Cat and Justin Bieber!
So, if audiences are willing to spend more and more time scrolling through social media channels, it’s essential for brands to entice their audiences to “waste time” with their content instead…
Standing out
With the density of content out there, marketing has become tough. Sharing inspiration from publishing companies and the fast-paced, endlessly creative fashion industry, Mark reveals how to use these examples to influence our marketing.
Check out the next episode of Getting Goosebumps, "The Structure of Success", with executive speech coach, Patricia Fripp.