Skydive Into Content Marketing

Diving out of a flying airplane, breezing down towards the earth, feeling the thrill and the chill of the fall, scared and excited at the same time, an experience of a life time, but is it for all? I feel… it is what a content marketer experiences every day, of course subtracting the diving through the air part. The recent rare feat achieved by Felix Baumgartner or as he is now known as the “Fearless Felix” sets out a new record of the human endurance, but in addition it sets out a perfect example and inspiration to the Content Marketing executives.

Here are a few things that it teaches a Content Marketer to be cautious about:

Planning

Well… It’s as clear as water… To avoid plunging to death, you need to avoid ending up crash landing after the sky dive, and in order to achieve that, all you need is the carefully planned out strategy. Similarly, a content marketer must think of a release plan while planning for the creation aspect. Plan ahead for the processes and activities you might be organizing to promote the content, may it be small or large.

Commit to the Plan

There is still an unbroken record of skydiving, which Baumgartner planned “not”
to break, and that is his mentor’s record of the longest free-fall, by pulling the cord at 5000ft, and committing to what he planned. You may know how hard it is to resist achieving greatness, yet he stuck to the plan.

Thus, when trying something new, a marketer must estimate and gain full knowledge of what the client wants, what they are advertising and what results they are expecting and also how do they want it to be spread, i.e. using what channels. Plan accordingly and put it on a timeline to accomplish the tasks you have set and hold yourself to them.

Knowledge of your Audience

Analyse and know your audience, make them feel comfortable and friendly. You need them to believe in you and not just be with you. You needn’t remind them of something, sometimes just being ignorant of the fact that its work related thing, make it fun loving.

Just like while climbing up for sky diving, if you feel normal and comfortable, it would be easier for you to relate with the instructor instead of if you were freaking out, because then you’ll win his support, which could be more lasting than the short trip from ground to air and back. So… research your audience and use a tone, which they can best relate to.

Check your Checklists

A sky diving trip, adrenalin in your veins, anxiety in your head and you can’t expect yourself to remember what you need to carry, and that is when you draw out a list and just keep it to the point. This brief list of requirements teaches you to be to the point and not get carried away in elaborating your marketing schemes or content. So… just like a checklist, make your marketing campaigns stand on a few pillars that are essential for the content and thus make the best out of the least.

Detail only if required

A free fall is about 50-60 seconds experience, and yet it is something you can’t forget in your lifetime. You can’t think about the details while free falling. Nah! The brain doesn’t work that way, but what you can do is, just fall and take in the mesmerizing view of the ground below and of course breathe in the air rushing around you. That is just what a content marketing scheme must function like, be crisp, be gasping, and be momentous so that you take it all in at once and then think about it later. It is easier to succumb to daily practice of market tactics but it is always more fun in working to take the breath away.

Don’t be Afraid

Sky diving… if you’re going for it, you’re certainly not afraid of anything, and that is what a content marketer must be like. Don’t be afraid to do something new, take the example of Baumgartner, he achieved a supersonic skydive, he broke the sound barrier (even machines struggle to do that), and it has generated a buzz which spread worldwide instantly and that is just because he did what was never done before. A jump from as high as 24 miles up the earth and you would agree with me that it takes guts to do so.

So… don’t be afraid to explore new possibilities. You may feel some of the ideas are impossible, but how can you say it before trying, just step out of your niche and make every possibility count.

Measure your Results

It is always good to know where you’re heading, and thus it is never bad to research your own-self out. It is helpful to monitor your output, and analyse which part of your campaign is getting more hits and is connecting to the audience, and which is driving them away so you can improvise and know when you display your best.

If Baumgartner wasn’t being monitored for results, there was no way that he could have known or proved that he is the only person to break the sound barrier without using a jet or any kind of aircraft. And the result is that he had gone as 833miles per hour, which is the fastest a human has gone without a machine.

Make the Landing Right

You jump from a plane and you don’t land right… That means, you’re dead! It is the most essential part of the jump that you need to land right. Even the best of the plans may get awry. Even Baumgartner lost control for 35 long seconds of the fall, and the people down thought he might have lost consciousness, but he got himself together and landed on his feet.

What you need to learn from here is that even if you don’t get the desired results at the first time; don’t be afraid of adjusting and retrying. Sometimes, it isn’t the output that you were expecting, but then it may lead to a better idea!

Nov 07, 2012