Frequency: Speak Often and Carry a Big Stick
“Speak softly and carry a big stick; you will go far.”
Theodore Roosevelt
In internet terms, high frequency with a credible, editorial message is “speaking often.” To paraphrase the great Teddy Roosevelt, “Speak often and carry a big stick.”
“The big stick” is consistent use of factual, organic content, carrying citations and references for credibility. In other words, editorial, newsy content that goes beyond the commercial messages of your core brands, and explores all of the interests of your audiences.
Blogs and their more sophisticated online counterpart, zines, are the number one tactic proven to acquire new leads and build and maintain ongoing relationships with potential and existing buyers. An eMarketer researc project, titled B2B Lead Generation: Using Content to Acquire Consumers, show the dominance of credible blogs and zines over all other content. All the identified contributing factors to B2B and B2C success are credible, knowledge-based content: blogs and zines, webinars and events, white papers, videos, research reports, user-peer created content and podcasts. Blog Posts and zines are ranked number one by 39% of respondents, versus white papers at 31%, video at 23% and Podcasts at 6%.
Why Regular and Frequent Content is Important
“Softly” means, through our zines, we speak often–normally every single day throughout the year—to build authority, credibility and relationships with audiences. “Why daily?” is the first question we are often asked.
Audiences expect it. If they are to be encouraged to return to your brand, they need to be exposed to it in a credible, “soft” way as often as possible. This doesn’t mean content should blatantly promote your brand. It means we write content of interest to audiences to build the relationship, and “softly” convert them to loyal followers of brand. Every media outlet has an agenda, from the New York Times to CNN to Blogertize Zines. Ultimately, our agenda is to build your brand in a positive way, and increase opportunities for your business. To do this, we deliver news of interest to your audiences.
Authority is Critical
Nearly everyone respects an authority on a subject. Publishing a Zine platform, and distributing or syndicating content widely, builds your authority. Ultimately, a simple Google search will carry your ranks to the top on many of your keywords, simply because you’ve been speaking, as an expert, every day, on those keyword topics.
Zines are the ultimate form of credible blog, carrying the authority persona of news magazines with the dynamism of a blog. They are less personal, and more topical and newsy than personal or corporate blogs. Blogertize’s core anchor is a client-published zine format, supported by syndicated content to social media, other blogs and mainstream media. By choosing a topic of interest to your audiences, rather than a zine focused exclusively on your product, you reach out to and capture more engaged audiences ready to buy your product or service. It’s a matter of authority. However, in Zine tactics, daily content is mandatory for success.
The Problem with Frequency
Two issues often arise from the proposition of daily content. Many clients ask “But what if there’s no news that day?” Our answer is, regardless of niche, “there is always news every day, hour, minute.”
Audiences also want expert features, how-tos, relevant interesting content, opinions — not just news. This is why daily content is not a struggle when you have a professional and large team of trained journalists, writers and editors working on your “speak often” campaign.
Search Engines Look for Frequency
The more often you post content, both on your own sites/ zines and in syndicated wide-distribution, the more often Google, Yahoo and other search engines will index your site, not only for relevancy, but for up-to-the-minute news. Search Engines value current information, and internet news tends to be more “up to date” than, for example, a Newspaper.
Daily content also increases quality and quantity of content on your site. This is what search engines look for. It takes time to earn status as a “trusted site” with Google and the others, but it’s an investment in time and content that is critical to online success.