Unlike previous posts, I am not suggesting a new acronym (CaaP – Content as a Product), this Tuesday 2¢ is probably more of a reminder than any big revelation; spoiler: treat your content like a product.
I was chatting with a chum about a podcast they’d launched for a B2B technology brand. As someone who’s been around the podcast block, our conversation was mainly about all the technical things, microphones, podcast platforms, editing, guest sound quality, platforms and tools.
I enjoyed the chat, it’s nice to share what I’ve learned over three years of having a podcast, but coming away from that conversation, I realised we dived down the rabbit hole of “how”.
Like a lot of marketing, the “how” is fun to chat about; it’s usually about the creative, and in this case, the technical stuff and the emotional labour of creating something.
On my podcast, my regular guest, Robert Rose, has often said that if you wander around an office with the new layouts of the website, or some brand creative, you’ll be popular. Everyone will want to see what you are working on and would love to join the meeting, but when it comes to discussing a process; not so much.
As you probably know, I work in B2B tech, and if the development of this content were treated the same as the development of a product, the first question would be “why”not “how”.
A product solves a problem; it has some utility and a clear idea of who would find it useful. It would emerge from its gestation in the womb of Eclipse (or whatever dev tool the cool kids use these days) as something of value to someone.
And that’s how we need to think of our new content initiatives, what problem does it solve, and who would find it useful?
Then, if this was a product, emerging from Eclipse, blinking into the world, we in marketing are thinking about how we take this to market, how we promote it, who the audience is and all of that.
And it’s the same with something like a podcast, yes we need to put some effort into its quality (the “how”) we also need to put an equal, or maybe 2 or 3 times the effort and budget into how we take this to market, how we market it, how we find those folks that wil find it useful,
We can build it, sure, and it will sound amazing, but it’s quite likely they won’t come.
As a reader of this blog, that’s probably not a revelation, but hopefully, a reminder, as I realised that at no point as I geeked into the “how” of this B2B podcast did I ask “why” or enquire into the next steps on bringing this to market.
Remember – treat your content like a product.
The image was created using A.I. through NightCafe Creator
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I’m a 3xCMO, now a marketing strategy advisor and podcast host at Rockstar CMO. Although, I’m not a rock star, but a marketing leader, strategist, content marketer, columnist, speaker, industry watcher, and creator of ART (Awareness, Revenue, and Trust) for the companies I work with. But most of all, I am an enthusiastic tea drinker.
You can find me on LinkedIn, Twitter, or now Threads! – or listen to my weekly podcast at Rockstarcmo.com
The half-baked thoughts shared on this blog may not reflect those of my employer or clients, and if the topic of this article is interesting or you just want to say hello please get in touch.