Eliminate content friction between product marketing and direct marketing with dandelions

1. Gather information live.

Always find a way to interview content sources (usually subject matter experts or SMEs) either in person or on the phone. Avoid using worksheets to gather content. They’re often perceived as onerous “homework” with “blanks” to be filled in, usually as quickly and with as little effort as possible. Worksheets lend themselves to cut-and-paste from existing material to expedite
the process, but this means no original content is captured.

2. Go to your SME with an open mind.

Yes, you’ll have a specific deliverable. But, while you’ve got a content source’s attention, see what else you can find. Mine every interaction with a content source to its fullest potential. Let them get off script. That is, ask the questions necessary to get the required content for the primary deliverable. However, if they go beyond that or hook to the left, see what you find. Often, an annoying digression uncovers valuable content, and sometimes cool features or differentiators. All of which provide source materials to create additional content beyond the original deliverable.

3. Wring every permutation out of your content.

Rare are the cases when one bit of content has only a single use. Use content from a datasheet to refresh a website, for an email blast, in a slide deck, on signage, and more. When producing the primary deliverable, review the interview notes to find bits and bobs that can be used on their own or to augment other content. Often, a briefing with SMEs yields far more content than could ever be used in a datasheet, and a customer interview uncovers multiple stories. Use this content to make derivative pieces or for social fodder.

4. Remember that “they” aren’t much different from you.

Marketers are notorious for thinking of their audiences as “them,” creatures far different from
themselves. Of course, the myriad audiences that marketers must reach with their communications do not necessarily share the same interests or have the same depth of technical understanding. However, just because a piece of content is produced for engineers, that does not mean that it can be dense and dry, or delivered as a white paper, for that matter. Measure all content against what looks good and reads well to you. Even if you don’t fully grasp the content of an arcane topic, the material should read well and be easily consumable. Think Mad Libs if you’re stumbling over the meaning of asymmetric cryptography or the difference between IPv4 and IPv6—substitute a noun. And consider providing the content as an eBook and a white paper.

5. Be sure that form follows function.

Content channels abound. There are the traditional datasheets and brochures, of course, but also eBooks, microsites, social sites, infographics, SMS, blogs, and more. When considering what to do with content, think about where it logically fits rather than trying to shoehorn it into a predetermined format. The efficacy of content is greatly improved when it is delivered in the optimal format—for both readers and the content itself.

Embrace the dandelion

Think it can’t work in your organization? I’ll be as stubborn as a dandelion on that point. My agency, NOLA Marketing, has worked with hundreds of companies in just about every sector you can imagine. I’ve used one or more of the above strategies for all types of products and services—from cybersecurity and AI to consultants and cranes.

I often act as an investigative reporter, seeking to interview experts and frontliners to gather the facts I need to build the content foundation our clients need. I have used this process to create every kind of derivative content you can think of, including a security breach risk calculator, battle cards, a video explaining an open-source solution while drawing on the back
of a napkin, and hundreds of AEO/SEO articles.

Know someone who needs dandelions? Let’s talk.