Content Marketing - New Ways of Thinking in a Growing Medium

Whether you are marketing a product, idea, campaign, petition, or even a business strategy, your content has to be effective.

Simple concept to write down, more difficult to achieve. Since we are a kick-ass independent media company who focuses on political action, I will cater this discussion more in that direction.

The purpose of this post is to help you understand how to market a campaign that you feel passionately about. How do you get people interested initially? How do you convert them into supporters/activists? How do you keep them on your side and motivated? All things you should be thinking about in the long term, but in the short term, think about these things.

1. Capture the emotion. Human beings are behavioral species, believe it or not, we have feelings. It is your job when marketing an action to reach to the core of the emotion that drives them. Check out this article from Marketo about marketing philosophy!

2. Creating relationships one-by-one. Of course you cannot create an email or post for each person, but you have to create content that is relevant to a large body of people, but hits on a personal level to each of them. Think of the big picture, then make it personal.

3. Educate, don't sell. There has been a paradigm shift in content marketing in the business field, why wouldn't there be a change across the board? People are not just giving money away in these tough economic times. They need to be educated on the issue in order to support it. Teach them how to do something first, before asking them to do it. Simple, but this has not always been the case.

4. Nurturing. Continue to keep your supporters engaged, and do it with strong, educational content. Notifying your supporter base with news and updates about the cause, issue, or action, without any "ask" is important, and shows loyalty to them, and the action.

Content has to be generated often. It is tough with political actions to stay ahead of the curve and have content pre-produced, since most of the time you are acting 'in the now." If you can pre-produce, plan, and execute - a more proactive approach, you will be much more equipped and organized. If you are not lucky enough to have this luxury, then have a set plan, and stick to it. Stay focused, and remember to reach out to us at Firedoglake if you have ever need any help.