Content marketing is a method of attracting and retaining loyal customers by delivering valuable information that helps them solve real-world problems. Most marketers today utilize content marketing to some degree. At Texas McCombs, we developed several channels of content distribution and engagement.
Big Ideas is a newsletter and website that translates new research findings into easily digested articles that help executives lead and manage with better results. Subscribers receive practical advice that is tied to current research knowledge, and the school’s reputation for innovation and discovery is enhanced.
Effective content marketing is written without sales-speak or blatant self-promotion. It must deliver true value and help solve problems or illuminate better ways to accomplish goals shared by your audience. The right content gets the audience involved in spreading the message, especially when shared via social media.
Great content can take many forms, including magazines and other print media. Sponsored publications do not have to be boring, and they needn’t sound like a sales pitch. In fact, today’s audiences won’t spend a second being “sold.” People want to hear a story that is relevant and captivating.
Even organization brochures and other literature can be written to create engagement with the reader. In place of a traditional annual report in 2016, we created a McCombs Leadership Guide, You & UT, designed to help our key donors and advisors make important decisions about where and why to make their contributions to the school.
Each section was designed to detail the school’s successes in areas of academics, student services, and specialized programs, with specific suggestions for how “You & UT” could combine forces to make a difference in the world.
The engagement suggestions in the guide were carefully coordinated with the individual program areas so that the suggestions were practical and represented real needs at the school. The guide became a valuable one-on-one presentation tool as development officers made visits to key constituents throughout the year.
