3 Ways Content Marketing is Just Like Football

SUPER BOWL LVII IS ALMOST HERE.

Super Bowl LVII is almost here. As fans of the Kansas City Chiefs and Philadelphia Eagles get ready to root for their teams this weekend, we at Content Studio are rooting for your business team. When you think about it, many lessons learned from the football field can actually be applied to your content marketing strategy. Here’s how you can win big in the content game:

#1 SET GOALS

This weekend, both the Chiefs and the Eagles will be firmly focused on one goal: bringing home that Super Bowl trophy.

It’s the same thing with your content marketing plans. You need goals. According to bootsuite, some of the most common goals relate to performance – visitors, downloads, leads, users, customers – while others aim for engagement – social shares, comments.

#2 MAKE A STRATEGY

According to this blog on Virtastic.com, midway through the third quarter in Super Bowl LI in 2017, the New England Patriots trailed 28-3 against the Atlanta Falcons. The Falcon’s players could already feel championship rings on their fingers, but the game wasn’t over yet. Quarterback Tom Brady went on to lead his team to the largest comeback in Super Bowl history. A 28-28 tie pushed the game into overtime, where the Pats clinched the win with a final touchdown.

These comebacks and victories do not happen by chance. It’s not random, and it’s not luck. The Patriot’s success is a result of countless hours of training, reviewing films, practicing, and playing out these hypothetical scenarios, so they know what to do when it happens for real

Too many small business owners jump into blogging without first planning things out. According to this blog on Virtastic.com, to develop a winning strategy, you should consider:

  • Who is the target audience?
  • What topics will resonate with them and how can you present these topics in a helpful, engaging way?
  • How do you use an editorial calendar to plot things out in advance and remain consistent?
  • What social media channels should you use to promote your latest content?
  • How can you incorporate other forms of marketing into your strategy—paid advertisements, emails/newsletters, influencers, guest posting, etc?
  • Who are your biggest competitors? What are they currently doing in content marketing and how can you stand out as unique?
  • What tools can you use to enhance your efforts or save time?

#3 YOU DON'T NEED EVERYONE TO LOVE YOU. YOU JUST NEED A GROUP OF LOYAL FANS.

According to the Virtasktic blog, The Dallas Cowboys are fondly referred to as “America’s Team.” With 8.75 million Facebook fans, they have more followers than any other team. Other NFL teams are wildly popular across the country too, including the Green Bay Packers, Pittsburg Steelers, and New England Patriots.

 

But every team has fans, even the bad ones. Every year these fans start out September with an ‘it’s our year!’ attitude, and every week they cheer on their team even when the odds are stacked against them.

Every team has fans. When you approach content marketing, you must keep this in mind too—and use it to your advantage.

Coming to terms with the fact that you’re never going to please everyone is the best thing you can do for your small business.

  • It pushes you to think about who your target audience is and what your true fans look like.
  • It focuses your marketing messages because you’ve let go of trying to ‘reach everyone’ and instead create content that will resonate with your audience.
  • It allows you to identify true fans who are singing your praises so you can reward their loyalty and give them the VIP treatment

You may have a great in-house team, but there are many benefits to working with a content marketing company. Content Studio can help you define your company goals and help put you on a path to a winning content strategy. We identify a strategy, create engaging content, distribute your campaign and then circle back to evaluate the results. Sometimes scoring a touch down necessitates calling an audible and brining in outside professional.  Contact Content Studio today.