A Content Marketing Mission Statement is the Cornerstone of Online Marketing
Content marketing should be the foundation of your online marketing efforts, and the content mission statement is the cornerstone of that foundation. It’s essential to develop a strategy and focus for your content in order for it to successfully engage consumers.
According to Joe Pulizzi, Content Marketing Strategist at Content Marketing Institute, in an article he recently posted, Why You Need a Content Marketing Mission Statement, brands need to “get laser-focused on your customers’ desired outcomes. Instead of primarily writing about products or services you are trying to pitch, focus first on what the reader is looking to get out of the content you provide.”
Joe poses these core questions when determining a mission statement; “Who is the exact person I’m communicating with for this story? After they engage in this piece of content, what will they be able to do better or be better at? Would customers engaging in this content be crazy not to share it with others?” He also offers up this “helpful solution” for content marketing in another Content Marketing Institute article, 5 Major Content Marketing Problems (with 5 Helpful Solutions). He states,“Remember, content marketing is not about “what you sell” it’s about “what you stand for.” The informational needs of your customers and prospects come first.”
A content mission statement should be focused on building the Brand of the organization. What is brand or branding? A great definition of branding I read once is this: “A brand is a customer experience represented by a collection of images and ideas; often, it refers to a symbol such as a name, logo, slogan, and design scheme. Brand recognition and other reactions are created by the accumulation of experiences with the specific product or service, both directly relating to its use, and through the influence of advertising, design, and media commentary.” (Added definition) “A brand often includes an explicit logo, fonts, color schemes, symbols, sound which may be developed to represent implicit values, ideas, and even personality.” Source: SEMPO and Wikipedia”
A good friend of mine that runs a boutique design firm gives this example: “Think of Rolex. What does their brand stand for? Is it quality? Is it prestige? Yes, but it is more. Rolex’s logo has a crown… it symbolizes crowning achievements and everything they do with and through marketing efforts epitomizes ‘crowning achievements’. You know when their brand and marketing efforts are working…when people are willing to pay top dollar for the Rolex watch. Every brand should function this way-focused on a mission that delivers what a brand stands for and what customers want.
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So, start developing your content marketing mission statement – focusing on content that will engage customers and give them what they want and need, as well as your brand and what it stands for.