Consistency in Your Content Marketing and Beyond

This definition, from Dictionary.com, speaks to the process and power of applying consistency to your content marketing strategy as well as other processes in your organization.

When talking with small and mid-sized business owners and organization leaders, I frequently see one of two significant problems:

1. They have no content marketing strategy in place, worse, they are ignoring it as a useful tool,
   OR
2. They are making attempts with content marketing, but have no strategy or consistency.

A Short Story Demonstrating the Power of Consistency

I was fortunate to learn about and experience the power of consistency when I worked for a good-size nonprofit. The Executive Director and Development Director were very "forward-thinking" and long before other organizations "saw the light", they brought in fundraising consultants that changed the face of the organization.

What does fundraising have to do with content marketing?

A significant part of the program was direct mail, the tool used to build relationships and trust with donors, let them know how their gifts help the people being served by the organization and to acquire new donors interested in supporting the organization. Similarly, content marketing is a tool used to build relationships and trust with your clients, inform them about changes in your professional area, and inform clients and prospects about services you can provide to their business.

What transformed that organization was the consistency of delivering the message. An extensive calendar was created and the whole year was plotted out, with each person's responsibility for meeting deadlines to accomplish the delivery dates. The team made a commitment to consistency, and deadlines were just not missed. Like clockwork, appeal letters, newsletters, thank you letters and a myriad of other donor communications were written and sent. And, the organization was rewarded by the donors and community because this program helped build a relationship with them and assured the donors knew their role in helping the people served by the organization.

It wasn't easy, but it was effective. And, it was a whole lot easier to do with a plan than flying by the seat of our pants! Going back to the definition of consistency, we had a steadfast adherence to the process and the team members demonstrated agreement, harmony, and uniformity among the parts of a comple thing—and believe me, this was complex. And, applying these, we experienced success.

Stop the "Start, Stop, Start" approach!

Frequently, with small businesses, the energy and creativity waxes and wanes. There will be spurts of activity—email sent, some social media posts, a blog—and then nothing more for months—or even a year or more! I've witnessed this with small businesses I have a relationship with—and even some that I don't know, but their content was interesting and they had been consistent enough that I began following them. And then, BAM, they are gone. Why does this matter?

Back to my fundraising example, we were so consistent that when people didn't get a thank you letter within days of making a gift, they called us to make sure we received it (and there was one time those calls led us to find out about theft happening before the gifts got to us).  And, if they didn't receive a holiday appeal or newsletter, they called to find out why—again, clueing us into problems that needed to be addressed. But, the lesson here is, people DO pay attention and DO care! And, with consistency, you build valuable relationships with your audience.

Of course, consistency alone is not enough. You still need quality work, good content and need to execute other processes and requirements of your profession well. BUT, without consistency, with a "seat of your pants" approach to communicating your message, you ARE negatively impacting your results.

Last month, I talked about the importance of content creation and how it benefits your business or organization—and included some tips for effectively sharing your content. Consistency in delivering your content is equally important. Being consistent in your communications demonstrates to your audience that:

• You are a professional
• Your clients are important to you
• You are serious about your business and helping your clients
• You are dependable

If your audience senses that you are "winging it", they may feel you aren't very serious, or that you may approach other parts of your business this way—not really the message you want to communicate, right?

Here is another tip—too many people don't have the discipline to accomplish this. Can you take on the challenge and gain the advantage of building a good relationship with your audience? Get your calendar out now and come up with a plan. Don't be too tough on yourself to start. Remember that consistency is important.  And, if you slip up, don't give up!  Get back on the horse right away. Small adjustments won't be noticed, but BIG ones will!

Let us know if we can be of help as you implement your consistent content marketing strategy.