Who lives in a pineapple under the sea?
SpongeBob Squarepants!
Yes, this is a blog post about the one that’s absorbent and yellow and porous. You see, I’m a Dad and SpongeBob is one of the shows that inhabit my TV and other devices at home. Although it’s not what you’d call a highly educational show, it’s still better than some of the other things on the boob tube.
So, why am I writing about the sponge? Other than the theme song I can’t get out of my head, it has some takeaways for those in the content marketing and business world.
What can SpongeBob teach us, other than his love for krabby patties?
3 Ways SpongeBob Helps Content Marketing
Have Passion
There are many folks putting out all kinds of content, from blogs to emails, but few have passion in their content. It isn’t just about throwing something up and making it stick; it’s about adding a voice to your content that your audience can relate to.
For SpongeBob, he has a lot of passion, but the most is where he works – the Krusty Krab. Yes, it’s just flipping burgers, but to him, it’s an art form and something he’s passionate about. You don’t see him with a bad attitude like Squidward, but he’s usually happy and ready to take the helm of the Krusty Krab fry cook.
This is what I think content marketing or any type of online marketing needs more of – passion. If you’re not passionate about what your talking, selling or marketing, do you think your audience will want to read about it?
Passion: Find your source and use it to create some awesomeness for your audience. If you don’t have passion, keep looking, it will come to you.
Create Quality
“I know a special ingredient that can make one krabby patty taste like a million.”
What’s the special ingredient to SpongeBob’s tasty patties? Love. He puts quality into every patty he creates and delivers it with the same attention to quality. Sure, it’s just a burger, but to SpongeBob, it’s a work of art.
That goes for your content marketing, too. If you don’t create quality content for your audience, it will just fall into the wastebasket of the Internet – the back or delete button.
Just look at some of the best blogs on this, like Copyblogger or the Content Marketing Institute (which I’m a contributor). They have quality content that starts with a strategy and ends with awesome content that speaks to their audience.
Don’t just throw crap out in your blog or email marketing; focus on quality content or just keep your mouth shut until you have something great to publish.
Be Prepared
In almost every episode, I hear SpongeBob say, “I’m ready.”
What the freak does this have to do with content marketing? Simple; be ready.
With any type of content, be ready with a plan. That means creating an editorial calendar with a targeted content plan for your audience. Know what they want and have it ready, piping hot; just like a krabby patty.
Some of things you should have in your plan could include:
- Topic
- Answer a question
- Headline
- A brief summary of the content
- Purpose of content
- Your targeted persona
- Date to publish
- Keywords
- Where you could repurpose this content (think white papers, slideshares, etc)
Learn From the Sponge
Yes, I know this is a post based on a cartoon sponge, but hey, it’s also a show with great takeaways for your content marketing campaigns. Learn from the sponge and focus your efforts with passion, creating quality and being prepared.
Once you add these ingredients into your marketing mix, you will have your own special recipe for success.
Photo credit: npobre
