During his Content2Conversion session yesterday, Joe Pulizzi packed a lot of good ideas into the space of 15 minutes. But one particular point stuck out, because it’s something almost every content marketer can relate to.
Here’s the relevant data point Joe cited: 85% of all corporate blogs have published five posts or less.
Think about that. These companies spend thousands of dollars on content strategies, development and management. They’re on board the content marketing train, and they expect great things from their investments. Yet they’re surprisingly quick to surrender one of their most visible — and potentially valuable — content channels to crickets and tumbleweeds.
We’ve all been there. Like Joe said, most of us are better at starting things than we are at staying with them. It’s an occupational hazard in a field where there’s so much to do and things move so quickly.
That’s why I think it’s worth repeating a fairly obvious point: You’re better off executing a basic corporate blogging plan consistently than you are running a hit-or-miss plan with all of the bells and whistles. Posting to your corporate blog once a week, week in and week out, will build a much stronger online presence than a blog that publishes three times in one week and then goes dark for a month at a time.
If you can’t post consistently, think carefully about whether you want to publish a blog at all. A neglected site makes a statement about your business, and it’s not the kind you want to make.
There’s a corollary to this rule. A simple, 200 word blog post that hits one or two major points can be just as effective as a 900 word post that takes hours to research and write. Honestly, in a content environment where busy people are looking for a quick payoff, that short but sweet post might be a lot more effective.
Here’s the best news of all: Consistency can be your company’s secret content marketing weapon. It will make your content stand out, it will build your reputation and it will bring your readers back for more. Those are big benefits for such a modest investment.
-Matthew McKenzie
