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A Spotify playlist just isn’t the same as a mixtape, right? There’s something about hitting ‘record’ at just the right moment and then listening back to your masterpiece until you’ve pretty much memorised the sequence of songs.

Growing up, I used to love making a mixtape during the long summer holidays. These were the soundtracks to my youth, in a South Africa where a bad summer meant we had a day or two of rain or it was too windy to go to the beach when it was 35 degrees. And even though the great British summer is not quite like that, this week’s lovely weather put me in the mood to make a mixtape. And what better theme than content marketing, right?! Nothing says P-A-R-T-Y quite like it (ok, tenuous, but bear with me). So here you go, content marketing lovers, get ready for some TUNES.

I want you to want me – Cheap Trick

This is the approach you need to have when planning a content marketing strategy. It’s not about YOU; it’s about your target audience and what they want. So figure out what information they are after and how they prefer to consume that – both in terms of content and format/platform. It’s the only way you can make them want you enough to convert or at least come back for more.

Summer is magic – Corona

My sources inform me this was not as big in the UK as it was in SA in the early 90s, so it’s my pleasure to introduce you to what in all likelihood was a Eurovision reject.

The summer may be magic, but content marketing is not. It’s science, really, and good, old-fashioned hard work. You won’t have content marketing success overnight, as the best content marketing strategy is a multi-layered one that gains momentum over time.

I’m so excited – The Pointer Sisters

Your content marketing efforts should convey the excitement you feel about your brand/products/services. How else will you get others to be enthusiastic and become brand ambassadors?

Fascination – Alphabeat

Don’t be boring. Fascinate your visitors – with each piece of content, attempt to educate or entertain them. This is the type of content that not only keeps them coming back for more, but also compels them to share, which increases your brand reach. So go on, WOW them.

More than a feeling – Boston

Content is not just about letting people feel warm and fuzzy; they need to take action too. This means using language that encourages people to do something – share an article, fill in a form, sign up for a newsletter, buy a product – as well as making it easy for them to do so via great calls to action.

4 minutes – Madonna

“I’m outta time and all I got is four minutes…” Actually, no. You only have a few seconds to grab the attention of people online, so make sure your headlines, design and calls to action all work together to pull people in. Mobile users don’t hang around waiting for a site to load – if your site is too slow, they’ll simply click back and go somewhere else for the info they’re after.

Can’t get you out of my head – Kylie Minogue

Stay at the forefront of your audience’s minds by having an integrated, multichannel strategy in place. Don’t simply rely on one format of content delivery or one platform for promotion. Make sure you utilise everything at your disposal (resources permitting) and that the same tone and approach are taken regardless of the channel.

Human – Killers

Small business SEO is all about writing for humans in a way that Google’s robots like what you do. But beyond that, social media has to do with real relationships with other humans. So it’s imperative to be human and have a bit of personality in your content marketing. The days of faceless and nameless corporate accounts are numbered and the best news of all for small businesses is that the personal touch comes relatively natural – after all, it’s what has always set SMEs apart from large corporates.

Don’t stop – Fleetwood Mac

You know all those abandoned corporate blogs? They don’t do a lot for engendering trust or for giving target audiences the information they are after, do they? The safest way of ensuring you don’t stop your content marketing efforts mid-stream is to plan ahead properly. This means taking proper stock of available resources and planning activities in line with these. Consider your options, as it may be more efficient to outsource content creation, for example, than to rely on in-house resources.

I don’t feel like dancing – Scissor Sisters

Still asking “what is content marketing” or just not convinced content marketing is the right way to go for your small business? Whether you feel like joining the party or not, it’s going ahead without you – and if your competitors are cutting some shapes on the dancefloor and you’re playing the wallflower, they’ll reap the benefits.

I’m sure there are many other songs out there that are relevant to content marketing – share your top tunes below!

Get the Content+ Content Marketing Summer 2012 Spotify playlist here!

Karen Webber
Head of Marketing & Creative
@webber_karen

Cassette image from here.