For Unskippable Content, Focus on Quality Things

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And… that’s a wrap of the week ending Aug. 2, 2019

This week I’m thinking about how we (and our corporate websites) are simply extensions of all the things we own. I offer my take on the news about Staples introducing a new content “thing” to support its launch of a new brand identity. And I introduce an interview segment, in which my debut guest – marketer extraordinaire and recovering politician Jim Kukral – explains a few things you need to know to make your content unskippable. Finally, I share a must-have content checklist to help you create quality content reliably and repeatedly.

It’s Shark Week! So let’s sink our teeth into this week’s theme: The quality of things.

Listen to this week’s Weekly Wrap

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(2:00) This week’s deep thought: What’s the purpose of your brand’s website? Is it simply the place where everyone puts their content things (while they go out and create more things)? If your company’s identity is simply the sum of all the content its employees call their own, you risk missing out on the consumer trend of valuing experiences over things. I offer my deep thoughts on why you should, instead, build something that reflects the sum of all the experiences you can offer your audience.

(8:00) This week’s fresh take on the news: This news item is near and dear to my heart: It’s about owned media, and it’s a perfect example of content marketing. Staples has launched a print and digital magazine to support the refreshed branding (as the “The Worklife Fulfillment Company”) it introduced earlier this year. With an initial circulation of 250,000, Staples Worklife Magazine joins a podcast and digital community. Listen to my fresh take on how this kind of content can help with one of the toughest challenges in marketing, read more about the magazine in Marketing Dive, or check it out for yourself here:

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(11:30) This week’s person making a difference in content: I’ve known my guest, Jim Kukral, for nearly a decade. In fact, I met him at the very first Content Marketing World. He’s a recognized expert in online marketing and branding, the author of 10 books, an adjunct professor for the University of San Francisco’s Internet Marketing program, and he started and sold two online marketing agencies. Maybe most interestingly, he’s also a rehabilitated politician. Listen to our conversation to find out how winning a local election almost ruined his life, how he bounced back, and what he learned about making content “unskippable” (hint: It has nothing to do with the alleged attention span of goldfish). Then check out the book he wrote about it here.

(23:30) One content marketing idea you can use: This week’s idea comes from a wonderful writer and frequent speaker at Content Marketing World: Ahava Liebtag. We know content marketing depends on quality content. But how can you take the guesswork out of the process so you’re sure the content will work for your audience? Ahava shares a terrific checklist she created to do just that. Check out the Must-Have Checklist to Creating Valuable Content to try it for yourself.

Great #contentstrategy is taking guesswork out of execution so creative content can flourish. @ahaval. #WeeklyWrap Click To Tweet

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Love For This Week’s Sponsor: Content Marketing World

The largest content marketing event in the world will return to Cleveland Sept. 3-6, with closing headliner Mindy Kaling. If you want to learn from and rub elbows with the best of the best in the content marketing industry, this event is for you. Whether you’re a seasoned practitioner or a content marketing newbie, you’ll find your “tribe” at #CMWorld. Register today and use code ROSE100 to save an extra $100 off your registration.

That’s a wrap

Tune in next week for another deep thought, a fresh take on new news, an interview with a brilliant person making a difference in content, and a great content marketing idea you can use. And it’s all delivered in a little less time than it takes for Las Vegas to be completely overrun by grasshoppers.

Let us know what you think of the new format in the comments or on Twitter using the hashtag #WeeklyWrap.

To listen to past Weekly Wrap shows, go to the main Weekly Wrap page.

Cover image by Joseph Kalinowski/Content Marketing Institute

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Author: Robert Rose

Robert is the founder and chief strategy officer of The Content Advisory, the education and consulting group for The Content Marketing Institute. Robert has worked with more than 500 companies, including 15 of the Fortune 100. He’s provided content marketing and strategy advice for global brands such as Capital One, NASA, Dell, McCormick Spices, Hewlett Packard, Microsoft, and The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Robert’s third book – Killing Marketing, with co-author Joe Pulizzi has been called the “book that rewrites the rules of marketing”. His second book – Experiences: The Seventh Era of Marketing is a top seller and has been called a “treatise, and a call to arms for marketers to lead business innovation in the 21st century.” Robert’s first book, Managing Content Marketing, spent two weeks as a top ten marketing book on Amazon.com and is generally considered to be the “owners manual” of the Content Marketing process. You can catch up with Robert weekly on his popular podcast – The Weekly Wrap. Follow him on Twitter @Robert_Rose.