Clean Out Your Content Closet with a Content Audit
Have you ever cleaned out your closet and found a top or a jacket tucked away that you forgot you had? Instead of donating it, maybe you figured out a way to reintegrate it into your wardrobe in a way that gave you a lot more options for what to wear. Turns out that top looks great with that new sweater you bought, or the jacket does double-duty as evening wear with a casual shirt.
A content audit can do the same thing for your marketing content. It's all too easy to do the same type of content over and over again instead of trying new things. Plus, as a business grows and employees move to new responsibilities (or leave the company), marketing teams can lose track of what type of content has already been published—not just things like blog posts and one-sheeters but also webinar recordings, podcasts, and LinkedIn articles by executives.
Smart marketing teams know it’s important to make the most out of existing resources. Some of that existing content might get new life from updated statistics or reserach, or there may be nuggets of information or insights that could be spun into a new blog post or article. Old content can be mined for useful statistics or quotes for social media. A blog post could become a topic for a podcast episode, or vice versa.
When I'm getting dressed or planning what I'm going to wear on a given day or throughout the week, sometimes I notice a gaping hole in my wardrobe. For exmample, I realize I could really use a long skirt or that a wide belt would help pull things together so that I look exceptionally stylish.
Similarly, a content audit can also help identify gaps in your content offerings. Maybe you’ve got tons of blog posts but you need some longer content for prospects who are further down the decision-making process. Perhaps you have a lot of webinar videos posted, but you need copy that explains the same concepts more succinctly. Or there’s a hot topic in your industry that you haven’t addressed.
I don’t know about you, but I tend to wear the things I love the most more often, which helps me figure out what kinds of clothes I like. Are there pieces of content that get a lot of views and comments? Maybe you need to do more content on that topic in different formats or with a different angle.
And sometimes, there are articles of clothing that just don't work with my style anymore or (gulp) don't fit. Letting go of them gives me more room to invest in new pieces that suit me better. Getting rid of old content that has few if no marketing benefit gives you more digital and mental space to fill with new content that is more aligned with your business needs.
If you’ve been finding your content marketing to be the same old boring look month after month but don’t know how to make it more exciting, it’s time for a refresh. Contact me and I’ll get you on the path to a rejuvenated content marketing strategy.