Brace yourselves, all ye humans. Valentine’s Day is coming.
Whether you’re happily married, single, or somewhere between, I’m guessing your attitude toward February 14th is a bit dark. Gentlemen, are you feeling the pressure? Ladies, it’s time to reevaluate your very high expectations for the evening. Single folk, get to the liquor store stat – the wine is running out.
Valentine’s Day is a day full of stress, calories, and impending doom. It’s a day we love to hate and we’ll never understand why we care so much about Cupid and his stupid arrows.
But can we just take a step back for a second? Can we set our spiteful feelings aside and consider that maybe, just maybe, Valentine’s Day is (dare I say it) valuable? I’m talking about content marketing and the way it relates to the basic principles of America’s most hated holiday. Open your mind and follow along as we explore Cupid’s top five rules for creating content that woos and satisfies your target audience.
1. Know Your Type
Cupid’s Rule: Do you prefer tall, dark, and handsome? Cool. I’m keen on the nerdy, tennis-playing, man-in-uniform type. But that’s just me. Regardless, we all need to know what we’re looking for when it comes to a lifelong mate.
Marketing Rule: Marketers need to know their type, too. Figure out who your buyer persona is – what are their interests? What are their challenges, objectives, and dreams? Are they married with kids or will they be spending Valentine’s Day alone with their dog? When you know whom your brand is trying to attract, you’ll end up snagging a multitude of long-term relationships in the form of leads and sales.
2. Plan Ahead
Cupid’s Rule: Don’t take the easy way out this Valentine’s Day. Swinging by Walmart to pick up a cheap bouquet of roses five minutes before your date doesn’t make a good first impression, and it tells your date that you’re a terrible planner. Which, maybe you are, but you can fake it better than cheap roses, man.
Marketing Rule: Likewise, don’t procrastinate with your marketing campaign and wing it at the last second. Your consumers won’t appreciate a sloppy, poorly-planned marketing strategy and they certainly won’t want to come back for more. The more thought you put in to your planning process, the more admiration and loyalty you’ll gain from your readers.
3. Spice It Up
Cupid’s Rule: Dinner and a movie is fun if you’re in to things that are bland, boring, and predictable. But most people aren’t. Dig a little deeper this year and surprise him with an incredible experience, rather than a belly full of greasy popcorn and a leftover movie stub.
Marketing Rule: The same applies to your content strategy. Predictable content is, well, predictable, and your readers aren’t going to invest in a brand that continues to deliver the same old information. With today’s vast supply of media outlets, there are so many unique ways to display content. From videos to how-tos, from infographics to whitepages, the opportunities are endless.
4. Don’t Be Creepy
Cupid’s Rule: Don’t sabotage your date with creepiness. This might seem obvious, but it needs to be said. Don’t text your new love interest every five seconds to tell her you’re lying in bed and can still smell her perfume on your collar. Just, ew.
Marketing Rule: As a marketer, make sure you’re not sending too many emails to your perspective clients. If they opened up your email but didn’t respond within minutes, that’s okay. Chill out. There’s no need to fill their inbox with needy questions about why they haven’t responded yet. It’ll happen. Or maybe it won’t, but there’s no need to be a creep about it. Consider the reasons why they might not have responded. Was it something you said? Was your content too long? Did you send the email at an inconvenient time? Learn from your mistakes and adjust your strategy accordingly.
5. Be Genuine
Cupid’s Rule: Nobody likes a fake smile, a fake laugh, or a fake profile full of lies on Spark Network. Don’t try to be something you’re not – she’ll find out who you are eventually, so you might as well keep it real from the get go.
Marketing Rule: A genuine content strategy that employs everything your brand believes in will result in sweet, sweet authenticity. And, in the world of marketing, developing brand authenticity is like hitting a home run, if you know what I mean…
