Content marketing: up close and personal

Father of the web, Tim Berners-Lee, has some advice for the 'young people' that are recklessly posting personal information on social networking sites in a new BBC interview.

'Imagine that everything you are typing is being read by the person you are applying to for your first job. Imagine that it's all going to be seen by your parents and your grandparents and your grandchildren as well.'

It's a sobering thought that what you spontaneously tell the world about yourself today could haunt you for eternity, though supposedly Berners-Lee's advice will not be heeded by many in the Facebook generation, many of whom don't seem to have grasped the not-so fine lines between private personal preferences and public image.  Stephanie Rosenbloom, writing in the New York Times back in January, commented how 'impression management' is critical in a world where the first time you 'meet' someone (whether a prospective partner or a potential employee) is often in an online environment.  The challenge is how  you want others to perceive you when there are several groups to whom you want to position 'brand you' in very different ways.  The problem, as Rosenbloom sees it, is that people are 'grappling with how to craft an e-version of themselves that appeals to multiple audiences — co-workers, fraternity brothers, Mom and Dad.'

In this blog, I've talked about how companies can create personas to represent their target audiences in order to craft content that appeals to each in a way that motivates profitable action.  So a company may have to appeal to investors, consumers, business customers, new recruits etc through one online presence. But usually it's easy to allow your website visitors to select the path they want to take and point them directly to the relevant content that will meet their needs. It may be tougher when you're writing copy to influence different personas at the same time, but it's a lot trickier when the conflict is between your career history and what you got up to last Saturday night!

Yet the content marketing lesson for companies and individuals is similar: identify who you're trying to appeal to, understand your chosen niche, focus as narrowly as possible, decide what you want your customers to do and create content that appeals to them. What information are prospects in this market looking for and how can you provide it in a way that leads to profitable outcomes? Be consistent, write often, test what happens and learn from it.  But remember that what you want to achieve today may not be what you want to be remembered for tomorrow and rebranding (or changing your name) is most definitely an expensive and time consuming business.