More than 86 million blog posts are published on WordPress every month.
86 million. Every month.
Even the most digital literate, attentive, and committed customer probably only has the bandwidth to scan about 10 headlines and read one to two articles a day – and that’s being generous.
Where does that leave the millions and millions of other “content opportunities”? Floating limply in random distribution channels and woven throughout thousands of lackluster company tweets?
Innovative marketers are embracing a solution – the slow content marketing movement. Much as the slow food movement argues less-but-better food will deliver improved health results, the slow content marketing movement insists less-but-better content will deliver improved marketing results.
“When I first came into content marketing, fast content marketing was the way to go,” says Margaret Magnarelli, senior director of marketing at Monster and Content Marketing World speaker. “But over time, it’s struck me that there’s more value in doing fewer things. A longer piece might get fewer finishes because of its length, but it might have a greater impact on someone who ends up spending more time with it and builds greater affinity with your brand.
“If you’re working in a B2B business where your aim is to drive leads, you don’t need to make more content – instead you need to make more effective content.”
The argument for slow content marketing isn’t just anecdotal. The concept of quality over quantity is a long-held business truth as proven with research:
- An American Marketing Association study found that brand marketers increased their publishing by 800% over five years only to find engagement per post declined by 89%.
- Orbit Media research revealed that content creators who spend longer on each post see stronger results. Publishing frequency was not a differentiator.
It’s only a matter of time before every content marketing strategy goes slow to ensure that the quality of its content going out in the world is high.
How to do slow content marketing
Slowing your content marketing doesn’t mean just pulling back on the publishing schedule. Invest the time and resources you otherwise would have put into high-frequency writing into making each article the best possible version. Though how you do that will vary depending on market conditions, here are five ways to do slow aka quality content marketing.
1. Hire better writers
Treat your audience like the humans they are – humans who want to read clear thinking. Push the upper limits of your budget to hire the best writer you can afford – one who specializes in your industry niche and speaks keenly to your target customer.
“The quality of your ideas gives you the right to produce less,” says Mary Ellen Slayter, CEO of Rep Cap Media and founder of ManagingEditor.com.
Talented writers can generate and execute quality ideas. But better writers don’t just make for better text, they also:
- Have the necessary industry context to avoid content that your competition is publishing, to feature the latest high-quality research, and to highlight your brand’s value proposition with minimal onboarding.
- Have influence…
