{"id":65462,"date":"2023-09-11T19:03:53","date_gmt":"2023-09-11T23:03:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ronellsmith.com\/?p=65462"},"modified":"2023-09-11T19:03:55","modified_gmt":"2023-09-11T23:03:55","slug":"align-your-content-marketing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ronellsmith.com\/blog\/align-your-content-marketing\/","title":{"rendered":"What do jogging and content marketing have in common?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><strong>Brands who don&#8217;t find success in content marketing have at least one thing in common: They either expect results too quickly or they have goals misaligned with their overall strategy. To avoid these results, align your content marketing to your brand&#8217;s goals.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Hang around me long enough and you\u2019ll hear me rant about jogging.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I hate it\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul>\n<li>For myself, as I much prefer the quick pain of sprints<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>For those who aren\u2019t yet ready\/conditioned to run but who take it up as the de facto means of getting into shape<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>You see, running, per se, isn\u2019t the problem. <a href=\"https:\/\/ronellsmith.com\/blog\/make-content-strategy-a-through-line-for-your-brand\/\">The problem<\/a> is in the way we too often use running: You shouldn\u2019t run to get in shape; you get into shape to earn the right to run. The average person commits <a href=\"http:\/\/tonygentilcore.com\/2009\/11\/you-cant-run-to-get-fit-you-need-to-be-fit-to-run\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">1,500 foot strikes<\/a> in the course of running a mile, which is far too risky for untrained, often de-conditioned bodies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It would be much better for these newbies to start off slow, <a href=\"https:\/\/ronellsmith.com\/blog\/content-marketing-fails\/\">lose weight through diet and moderate exercise,<\/a> THEN\u200a\u2014\u200aif all checks out with their doctor or a certified strength coach\u2014they can work up to jogging.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If you\u2019re wondering \u201cWhat the hell does this have to do with <a href=\"https:\/\/ronellsmith.com\/blog\/content-marketing-is-a-force-multiplier\/\">content marketing<\/a>?\u201d the answer is everything. Too often I see marketers unwilling to say \u201cYou\u2019re not ready for jogging\u201d to brands as they begin the long and arduous content marketing journey.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"640\" height=\"346\" src=\"https:\/\/ronellsmith.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/Feet-of-joggers-at-the-start-of-a-race2-640x346.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-65469\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ronellsmith.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/Feet-of-joggers-at-the-start-of-a-race2-640x346.jpg 640w, https:\/\/ronellsmith.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/Feet-of-joggers-at-the-start-of-a-race2-300x162.jpg 300w, https:\/\/ronellsmith.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/Feet-of-joggers-at-the-start-of-a-race2-768x416.jpg 768w, https:\/\/ronellsmith.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/Feet-of-joggers-at-the-start-of-a-race2-1536x831.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/ronellsmith.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/Feet-of-joggers-at-the-start-of-a-race2-2048x1109.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Tough conversations will ensue, but we\u2019ll all be better for having them. Also, if we aren\u2019t willing to have these conversations, ugly things will (continue to) happen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul>\n<li>We must be willing to be honest with brands, sharing with them that doing too soon what you don\u2019t yet do well is a recipe for disaster.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul>\n<li>We must accept the fact that while we know one size does not fit all, many brands take what they read at face value, thinking they can simply dive in and find success.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>I\u2019ve beat the first drum numerous times in the past, so I\u2019m not going back down that road. (If you care to read more on the topic, this is one of my favorite posts: <a href=\"https:\/\/ronellsmith.com\/blog\/the-production-mindset-is-ruining-content-marketing\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">How The Production Mindset Threatens To Ruin Content Marketing<\/a> )<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But the second point is one I\u2019d like to explore a bit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\">What content marketing alignment looks like: b<strong>eyond links, engagement and conversions<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p>I wrote a post for Moz [<a href=\"https:\/\/moz.com\/blog\/3-tactics-thatll-make-writing-tighter-as-easy-as-123\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">3 Tactics That\u2019ll Make Writing Tighter as Easy as 1\u20132\u20133<\/a>] that shared with the <a href=\"https:\/\/ronellsmith.com\/blog\/brand-community-building\/\">community<\/a> three ideas for writing shorter, punchier content and the rationale for doing so. The post is based on my years of experience as an editor and writer, where I\u2019ve seen what most commonly derails what would otherwise be good content: verbosity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I\u2019m well aware of the studies showing that long-form <a href=\"https:\/\/ronellsmith.com\/blog\/creating-10x-content\/\">content<\/a> is better for links and long-term traffic. But I\u2019m even more aware of three all-important facts:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ol>\n<li>Very few brands can\/will\/do execute long-form content well.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>There is LOTS more poorly performing long-form content.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>People are better served with content that helps them reach their goals, and that often means fewer, NOT MORE, words.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<p>If your brand has the team\/talent in place to write longer pieces of content, by all means do so. But if you don\u2019t have such a team, writing long-form pieces of content isn\u2019t going to help you. In fact, it might even hurt you. Too often I see brands that create e-books, 1,500-word blogs and expensive infographics that lack the quality to warrant links and significant engagement. But during the evaluation of the performance of the content never is quality a part of the discussion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It\u2019s simply, \u201cThis didn\u2019t work. <a href=\"https:\/\/ronellsmith.com\/services\/content-marketing\/\">Content marketing<\/a> sucks.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I\u2019d like to see more of <a href=\"https:\/\/ronellsmith.com\/about-ronell\/\">strategists and marketers<\/a> move away from being so prescriptive and open the door toward being more descriptive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Let\u2019s focus on value, not benefits.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>What\u2019s good isn&#8217;t necessarily good for you. <\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p>Instead of leading the discussion with \u201clong-form content is likely to get more links,\u201d begin by considering the value the audience can derive from the content we create, and length is simply one small part of a much larger pie. Why not look for ways to deliver real, powerful impact with content, period?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If it\u2019s shorter, all the better. But let\u2019s move the discussion away from being first and foremost about the brand, placing more emphasis on what people want, need and might ultimately benefit from.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>And even if these brands are never able to create short posts that perform as well as long-form pieces, well, that\u2019s when we deliver our \u201cYou\u2019re not ready to run yet\u201d advice. Yeah, sure, many will ignore or advice, preferring to find out the hard way that doing often what you don\u2019t yet do well is a bad, and potentially painful, idea.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>In the end, however, these people will follow one of three paths:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul>\n<li>Become part of the content marketing rubble we see everyday online,<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Discern and define a workable solution they can live with, even if it\u2019s not ideal,<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Seek our help.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>To my mind\u2014as harsh as it might sound\u2014those marketers who are committed to sticking to their guns and delivering the best information without regard for who chooses to listen win anyway:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul>\n<li>There will be less competition<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>We\u2019re likely to get work from people who appreciate what we offer and, most important, recognize the value of that work for their brand.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>My motto for 2023 is simple: I\u2019m most interested in helping brands who, first, want to help themselves.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Brands who don&#8217;t find success in content marketing have at least one thing in common: They either expect results too quickly or they have goals misaligned with their overall strategy. To avoid these results, align your content marketing to your brand&#8217;s goals. Hang around me long enough and you\u2019ll hear me rant about jogging. I&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":65469,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"cybocfi_hide_featured_image":"yes","footnotes":""},"categories":[95],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v21.8.1 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>What do jogging and content marketing have in common? - RonellSmith.com<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"When you align your content marketing with your brand&#039;s goals your content works to grow your audience and your revenue.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/ronellsmith.com\/blog\/align-your-content-marketing\/\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:title\" content=\"What do jogging and content marketing have in common? 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