Have You Done a Content Audit Lately?

One of the things we like to do with our clients is to help them “realize their inner content.”

Many organizations are awash in solid, compelling content and they don’t even know it.

For example, one potential client with which we’re working, at first glance, doesn’t seem to have a steady flow of content to support an online communications plan. But first glances can be deceiving.

We’re in the middle of what we call our “content audit” phase — a series of meetings and questionnaires designed to identify and target every piece of content that will serve as the foundation of their online effort.

And guess what: there is a lot of content there.

Probably the best way to show you what we mean is by giving you a number of examples of content (some of it non-traditional) that we’ve used successful during the past few years:

• The CEO of one of our clients took a vacation in which he hiked across the Grand Canyon.  We did a simple post (with photos) and asked others to send in their stories of “adventure vacations.” In addition to attracting numerous comments and stories, it was one of this clients’ all-time most-visited posts.  And it had nothing to do with the client’s operations, marketing plan or financials … but it added an authentic, human face to the company and got customers and employees interacting.

• We’re working with one elected official who gives many presentations to civic and political groups and has strong opinions on relevant news of the day.  So we provided his staffer with a miniature Creative Vado HD video camera to carry — and he films short 30/60-second snippets of our client providing quick recaps of his speeches (on location) and brief commentary on key headlines.

• Does your organization do any charity or team building events?  One of our clients had great success in posting video, photos and recaps of their regular charity functions, which included a Hot Dog Eating Contest to benefit an employee in need; a park cleanup day; and, an employee event to benefit a local summer camp for children affected by Spina Bifida.  Again — this content helped add a human face and a “halo effect” to the company.

• We worked with a client who used a “Friday Twitter Trivia Contest” to keep their Twitter followers engaged, have some fun, market the organization, gain new followers and create brand loyalty through giveaways of what we liked to call “free shwag.”  It worked.  Each week, the number of contest participants increased, our followers skyrocketed, and we were able to create a weekly event of loyal and new participants.

• Does your company or organization have satisfied customers or loyal supporters who can provide testimonials to your products or services?  Put ‘em on camera!  One thing we love to do is grab video testimonials (either by setting up formal video shoots, grabbing quick video at events or soliciting user-generated video) and push them out far and wide.  Third-party credibility is a tried-and-true marketing technique that has become all the more powerful and effective with the dawn of new online tools like Twitter, Facebook and YouTube.  Let your supporters be your best marketers.

• Finally — our Web site is an example of how we are producing regular unique, original content to help market our company and keep our online presence fresh.  We’re not relying on boring company news and updates to fill our Web site (although we do share that now and then).  We’re using our site to share our thoughts, expertise and experience to help new and existing clients better manage their communications efforts (and hopefully hire us to help them maximize those efforts).

The content audit should be the foundation upon which your online communications program is based.  Without content, all you have is pretty artwork on a computer screen.

Determine what content you have (or can produce easily), create a plan to produce and collect the content, and then map out an editorial calendar to strategically deliver that content to your audience.

And — as always — if you need help putting your content audit and communications plan together, don’t hesitate to email us to learn how Merc Strategy Group, LLC can help you.