One of the biggest challenges that content marketers face is the need to scale their marketing efforts. For most of us, this means creating and distributing more content, to more people, in less time and with fewer resources. For smaller teams, this is getting harder to do for several reasons.
Limited time and resources: As a content marketer, you only have so much time and energy to devote to creating and distributing content. Even if you are highly efficient and organized, trying to do everything yourself will eventually lead to burnout, and the quality of your work will suffer as a result.
Lack of expertise: No single marketer can be an expert in everything. Content marketing requires a wide range of skills, including writing, editing, design, social media, and analytics. Trying to do everything yourself is risky. You will likely have to compromise on the quality of some of these tasks, which also positions you to become a single point of failure if things go wrong.
Most marketing teams do not maximize the use of the content they have: Creating and distributing high-quality content is only half the battle. To prove your content is effective, you need to have a solid plan for distribution and promotion. Understanding how to amplify your content is where many content marketers need help. With help, promoting your content and reaching the right audience can become more efficient and effective. One thing that resonates across marketing that content marketers should embrace is the concept of factory thinking. For some, this is a refresher. For others who, like most creatives, try to do everything on their own, this is a wake-up call on how to do things better.
What is factory thinking?
Factory thinking is a way of approaching content marketing that emphasizes efficiency, productivity, and scalability. It involves treating content creation like a factory production line, with each stage of the process carefully planned and optimized to maximize output. This approach is beneficial for companies that regularly produce a large amount of content, such as media outlets, e-commerce websites, and online publishers. By using factory thinking, companies can streamline their content production process, reduce costs, and increase the speed at which they can deliver high-quality content to their audience. Additionally, by using data and analytics to track the performance of their content, companies can continuously improve and refine their content marketing strategies to better engage and retain their customers.
What does this mean for the average marketing team?
This concept is difficult for smaller companies that don't have the budget to hire the resources needed at each step in the content creation and execution process. Technology that helps you do your job faster and more efficiently can help with scaling your work, but you'll also need a trusted team of skilled writers and designers to help you with your efforts. The most successful marketers are those who are great at what they do and have a strong network of contractors, freelance writers, and designers who they take with them if they leave a position at one company for another somewhere else. Too often, marketers need to remember that part of the value they bring to an organization is their network of marketing professionals that know how to get things done.
