Savvy content marketing tips from the "old-school" media

Over the past few weeks, I've been talking to some of those "old school" traditional media folks-- niche magazine editors. If you read the headlines, you might think these people are a dying breed, but in fact, they're alive, well and talking regularly to your customers and clients. If you're starting out with a new content marketing plan, or working content marketing principles into your existing plan, you can learn a lot from how these folks (and those who get paid to build relationships with them) operate.

It's not rocket science here, folks. Customers and clients-- like media gatekeepers-- want useful, interesting information. They want to know what's in it for them, how your expertise connects to their needs, whether your business is a good "fit".

How do you convey this? Consider these 4 tips.

Connect the dots for them. Your customers and clients are busy people. Their biggest concern is not figuring out how what you do benefits them (or in case of an editor, finding a way to work a mention of your business into their publication). When you can make a clear connection between the editorial calendar of a media outlet and your information, experts or resources, well, that's when ears perk up. Likewise, if there is a direct connection between your expertise and offerings and the immediate or ongoing needs of your clients, then you'll need to show them exactly where it is. And that's when they'll start paying attention.

Respect their time. You might call my conversations with these editors on behalf of my clients "pitching." But really, it's about finding out what their interests and needs are and whether my clients have something valuable to offer them. That creates what the corporate-speak people call a "win-win" (not to mention some great PR results). Across the board, every editor I speak with tells me what I also experienced when I worked in that field: that they don't get enough of these calls. Instead, their time gets wasted with the equivalent of thoughtless sales calls. Would your clients say the same of your business communications?

Take the "content" part seriously. It's not called "content marketing" for nothing. One editor put it this way: "What I need to know is what trends are developing and what's driving that. I know what my readers are interested in accomplishing, but I don't get enough of the advice, examples and research that will help them get there." As a service-based business, you've got the expertise, the case studies, the inside look. This is the kind of content your clients will want to read.

Show some genuine interest. Often, your clients and customers have valuable insight of their own to offer. Yet too few businesses see their clients as the resources they are. Ask them about their  experiences, opinions and ideas. Survey them. Schedule interviews. Engage them in what you're doing, talk to them when you're not trying to sell them something and you will build those client relationships. Use their input not just to drive your own promotional materials, but to create educational content that will interest their peers and your market as a whole. And those editors I've been talking to-- they'll be interested, too.

What else can media relations teach you about savvy content marketing? I'd love to hear about your experiences.