Business owners wear a lot of hats, some of them more glamorous than others. From being Content Marketing Strategist to Chief Sweeper Upper, when you’re the CEO, you often do it all.
If you’re a 6, 7, or 8-figure income CEO, we’re guessing you’re pretty dang talented. You’ve probably got a skillset range that dwarfs that of the average person. No doubt you have spent hours upon hours perfecting the art of being you, specifically if your business is rooted in a personal brand. You’ve passed up camping trips, luxury vacays, and nights out with the gang because you’re committed to your business, and there’s always SO.MUCH.TO.DO.
How do we know this? Because we are you. Or, rather, we’ve been you. It can be overwhelming.
But here’s the deal: You can’t let yourself be paralyzed by overwhelm. If you’re going to stand out as the innovator you are, then you need to be putting out exceptional content. And if that content is going to serve your business, then you need to have a plan for it that works towards a pre-set purpose. Besides, the more quality content you put out there, the more your audience is going to understand your platform. {And the more your conversions, sales, and income will increase. Cha-ching!}
Yes, we just said “cha-ching,” which may not be something you hear from us very often, but if we’re all honest, while we love what we do, it’s important that your business be financially viable, too. We get that! Our goal is to help you maximize your impact… AND your income!
The role of content
Yes, content is king. We are probably all tired of hearing this, especially when we feel like King Content’s demand is kicking our butts. {And the worst part is that he’s never satisfied.} The churn is real, and after awhile it might feel like you’re serving up mediocre articles and blog posts just to have something to publish.
But if you are serving your content {instead of your content serving your business}, then something needs to change.
What’s going to change it? {Wait for it…}
A content marketing strategy… planned by a content marketing strategist! {Hint: That’s YOU.}
You’re a natural-born marketer
When you think of analyzing metrics, tweaking Facebook ads, and running A/B tests, your first thought about being a marketing strategist may be, “No, thank you.” And, true, certain personality types lend themselves more to this kind of work. However, before excusing yourself from all marketing labels, think about your favorite tacos. Or your favorite brand of running shoes. Or that last show you binged on Netflix. Or your favorite whatever-it-is-that-makes-you-happy-in-life.
If someone asked you your opinion on any of those things, it’s doubtful that you would just refuse to talk about it. Quite the contrary: You would most likely find yourself going on and on about how great this product/food/experience is, how it has changed your life, how the person asking you about it needs it, too.
And voila – you’ve become a content marketer.
So what does that have to do with content strategy?
When you’re looking at your content strategy for marketing your business, it helps to start with a bird’s eye view: What do you want to say? What’s your innovation, that specific solution that you are bringing to your field? Why should your audience care about what you have to say? And {oh, by the way} who are you as a person?
Remember the Man vs Wild show? One of the most important things the guide, Bear Grylls, did when he was lost was to find some high ground and climb up so that he could see the layout of the land. Rather than following rabbit trails through the dense jungle {or the weeds of content messaging}, when you see things from a higher perspective, you are able to map out a plan for what you want to communicate, the outcomes you’d like to see, and the path to get there.
This blog post does a great job at breaking down the content strategy process, so go check that out for additional help, but as you mull over your messaging strategy, remember that you can always start with stories. If your content is going to connect with your audience in an authentic way, you’ll need plenty of those. {No, not just made up anecdotes, but rather real life stories that resonate with your audience and remind them that you’re human.} You can learn more about how to incorporate storytelling in your marketing for maximum impact here.
So, who’s the content marketing strategist now?
It’s you. Or rather, it starts with you. As the CEO, you’re probably going to be the one who decides what you’d like to talk about. Again, read more here on HOW to create a content strategy. {Hint: It has to do with your company’s vision, mission, and pillars.}
As you look at everything from your origin story to your North Star {the vision that everything in your business aligns with}, you can evaluate your goals for the upcoming quarter and then share your expertise, weaving in the stories that make you credible, loveable, and YOU.
The nuts & bolts of content marketing
Once you figure out what you want to say, you’ll need to look at the ways you want to say it. Whether that be through nurturing sequences, Instagram ads, blog posts, or Facebook live videos, this is where you dig in and take those little snippets of things you say and repurpose them to use in other content forms. (Quick video on that here.)
BTW, whether you write out the content plan or you have someone on your team do it, you’ll want to make sure you’ve got a Brand Voice Guide to help keep you on track voice-wise. You don’t want your message getting muddled by using expressions and phrases that just don’t sound like YOU.
When you’d rather just hire a content marketing strategist {instead of being one}
We talk a lot about how easy it is for CEOs to get so caught up in all the details involved in running an established, successful business that they are no longer able to stay in their genius zone because they’re spending so much time on everything else. Add to that the market’s constant demand for content, and it’s enough to make anyone want to go crawl in a hole. {SO not the goal!}
Meanwhile, the competition is cranking out new social media posts, sales sequences, and eCourses daily, while you’re still trying to craft the perfect message for your email list sign-up confirmation. {Sound familiar?}
Hand it over
The good news? You don’t HAVE to be the content marketing strategist. {Shh…} You can always outsource that to someone else. However, if you’re going to outsource your content, you need to make sure that your copywriter, VA, or other team member has a good grasp on your vision, values, and voice.
After all, if someone is going to be talking as you, you’ll want to make sure they, well, sound like you. {You wouldn’t want someone claiming to be you but using a different logo, would you? It’s the same with brand voice. You don’t want your marketing copy to suddenly start sounding like someone else.}
If you’re interested in outsourcing, start by nailing down your brand voice with our Copywriting Character Quiz. This is a first step in figuring out who you are as a brand and understanding the “personality” behind all your content, capturing your voice so you can outsource with confidence.
Remember, defining your brand voice allows you to eventually hand off your voice… without losing it. The way we see it, that’s a win-win!