This is a blog post that appeared in the Huffington Post.

1. Is Your Brand Super Bowl Ready?
7 Ways to Score with Content Marketing
Like the NFCChampionshipteamthe SeattleSeahawks,contentmarketingcanbe underestimatedin
business world.Withover40%of top brandsutilizingblogstoday,accordingto Forbes.com,larger
organizations have the winningadvantage. If youare a small businessowner,don’tthrow inthe towel
justyet.Take notesonthese topplays incontentmarketingasyou prepare towatch the NFL SuperBowl
XLIXgame.
1/ Join the Crowd
Before youkickoff yournextsetof blogsandarticlesmake sure that you have done your research.
Analyze yourcompetitorsandcurrenttrends.Considerkeydifferentiatorsandassertyourunique value
proposition. Althoughtimelyanddaunting,youmustalways be aware of trends,popularhashtags and
currentevents. Don’tjustaimfor the nose bleedview,getdownonthe 50 yard line.
2/ Play the Field
WriterDavidDuboisof INSTEADsays, “While havinggreatcontentisa keystepinthe designof a good
contentstrategy,perhapsmore importantistoensure thatthiscontentwill be sharedanddistributed.”
Don’tjust limityourcontenttoyourown businesssite orblog.Make yourcontentavailable through
differentsocial mediaoutletslike Twitter, LinkedIN, Google +andFacebook. Considerguestpostingon
a site relevanttoyourindustry.Reviewrelatedblogsandleave conversational commentsfilledwith
insight.
3/ Getto Know YourReferees
Efficientcontentmarketingmeansknowingthe rules.Take time tounderstandhow majorsearch
enginesindex yoursite. Don’tlimityourself toone searchengine.Research Google,Yahooand Bing.
Make yourcontentkeywordrich,butdon’tbreak the rulesby “stuffing.”
4/ Play the Whole Game
Winningmeansnotwaitinguntil the final quartertorun the ball. Withcontentmarketingyoushould
alwaysplanahead.Alignyourpostswith national holidays andevents.Create amediacalendartorun
parallel. Justasa flowershoppreparesforValentine’sDaywell inadvance,you’ll wanttoprepare your
contentto coincide withimportantdatesinyourindustry.
5/ Prepare YourDefense
Assume the role of a customer. Be a resource for potential customersbyanticipatingtheirneeds. Write
your ownlistof questionsandanswers.Use thistogauge your potential topics. Quoraisa question-
and-answerwebsite where questionsare created,answered,editedandorganizedbyitscommunityof
users,accordingto theirsite.Thisisa goodplace to findnew ideasandunderstandwhatinformation
inquisitivemindsare seeking.

2. 6/ Don’t Miss That FieldGoal
Once you have establishedafollowing,there isstillawayto score extrapoints.Be consistent.
Brafton.comsuggestsconsistentcontenttofuel longtermresults.Intheircase study,theyreport
weeklycontentupdatesby60% of brands. Keepyouraudience well fedwithrelevantanduseful
information.There isnothingworse thanlettingthe crowddownwithsporadicupdates.Once youhave
theirattention,closingthe deal isaneasyfeat.
7/ Don’t Forget Your Cheerleaders
Use customerreviewstoenhance yourmarketingtactics. Don’tsimplyblastcontent.Engage and
converse.You’ll be surprisedathowa few happycustomers can build rapportwitha large audience.
Whetheryourbusinessisasmall startupor a home basedbusiness,youcanmake a touchdownwith
winningcontent.Maybe youwon’tgetthe championshipring,butyoucan getthe phone ringing.
(And thecrowd roars…)