I’m relatively new here at Parthenon, and still working on my elevator pitch. Over the past two months there have been several opportunities to tell people what I’m doing now, but after trying several versions, I still stumble a bit.
So I went out in search of a simple approach to help me explain one of our most important services: content marketing. I noticed several articles that suggest using the “act like you’re explaining it to your mom” tactic. For example:
- How to Explain Twitter to Your Mom
- How to Explain IT Staffing to Your Mom
- How to Explain an Internet Meme to your Mom
How to explain content marketing to your dad
First, let’s define it:
What is content marketing?
Content marketing is the creation and sharing of content to gain customers. It generates interest by giving people information they find educational or inspiring.
How do you guys do it?
The short answer is: a lot of ways. We learn about your company’s goals and then we figure out what kind of content will get you where you want to go. For example:
- We create newsletters and magazines that people really want to read. Like when you wait at the mailbox for this month’s Golf Digest.
- We build websites. You know, those things The Kids These Days spend 99% of their waking hours staring at. Here’s the one we just finished over at LaunchTN.org.
- We create email campaigns, marketing copy, and website content. We also write blog posts, Op-Eds, white papers and case studies. We do this because we still believe good writing should be the foundation for everything else. Just like we did in The Good Old Days when you had to walk 10 miles to school. In the snow. With no shoes on.
- We create, promote and report on your social media content so you don’t have to. It’s like sending us to the store when you forget that one ingredient that makes your steak better than Uncle Jim’s.
- We create cool infographics to tell your story visually. Because sometimes a (pretty, informative) picture is worth 1,000 words.
- We ghost write for important, busy people who know what they want to say. People like Mom.
What if I want to do some of this myself?
If you want to do some of the marketing yourself, we can help by writing up a game plan like a coach would for a quarterback. We can help call the plays or we can just keep track of the score. Whatever amount of help you need, we can give it to you.
I still don’t get it.
Think of it this way, Dad: You know when you do the yard work, sometimes you use the mower but sometimes you use the weed whacker? You know what tools you need for each job. You know which plants to fertilize and which weeds to whack. And after you’re done, you stand back and secretly compare it to the neighbor’s yard, making sure yours is the best it can be. That’s what we do, too, with content marketing. We use the right tools to make sure your lawn company is the best on the block.
Now go have a beer and don’t bother Mom; she’s busy explaining Bitcoin to her IT department.