When most people think of content marketing, they think of Facebook posts, blog posts, videos, etc. without any real idea of why they are doing it. This starts an obsession with the number of impressions and likes and traffic from these efforts. I know because I have been guilty of this.
Let’s set aside for a moment all interest in the stats (impressions, reach, likes, shares, comments, clicks, etc.). Instead, let’s focus on the audience.
What, exactly, do we want this piece of content to do for the audience?
Looking at the most successful content that I and others have created, it falls into three categories:
- Interest: People learn about your ideas, try them out, and share them with others.
- Motivation: People set aside time and attention to think about your ideas and why they need to make changes to their lives to implement what they learned.
- Investment & Action: People invest money to take action based on your ideas and direction.
Call it the IMEA Framework if you want. Here are the kinds of content you can create in these three categories:
Interest
- Blog Post
- Social Media Post
- Videos
- Email Newsletter
Motivation
- Webinar
- Email Launch Sequence
- Email Autoresponder Sequence
Investment & Action
- Online Course
- Membership Website
- Published Book
If you really want to make an impact with your content marketing, then think beyond just interest.
How can you motivate your audience to take action? Invite them to invest their time and attention in a webinar or email list. This kind of content won’t give them all the answers, but it will motivate them to want to take action.
Then, give them the tools to apply what they learned and take action through an online course, membership website, or book.
