The Periodic Tables Of Marketing – Part 1

I’ve always been in awe of people who are good at science, because quite honestly – it’s never been one of my strong points. Sure, I can just about remember the parts of a flower and know old adages such as ‘’E = mc2’’ and ‘’H2O = water’’, but ask me to explain how electrical circuits work, what nuclear fission is or to detail Newton’s Law and I’ll be asking to phone a friend. Having to learn the Periodic Table for GCSE chemistry was no fun either – between Hydrogen and Lawrencium I was lost. So when I recently discovered that there were Periodic Tables of Marketing, I thought that they might be Periodic Tables that I could not only get on board with, but actually understand! Therefore in this blog (and my next), I take a look at these tables, dissect them and show how they can be used for content, SEO and email marketing strategies, among others.

In this blog, I’ll be discussing the Periodic Table of Content Marketing.

The Periodic Table of Content Marketing 

Whereas Dmitri Mendeleev’s Periodic Table is divided into metals, nonmetals and metalloids, Chris Lake’s 2019 Periodic Table of Content Marketing is divided as such:

Content Strategy (Cs): The ultimate key to success, and comprises planning, focus, business aims and long term goals. If you don’t have a well thought out plan of action, then all other elements in the table will fall flat.

Format: The format of your content can vary greatly, depending on your content strategy, and what you’re trying to achieve. Examples of content formats include articles (Ar), videos (V), press releases (Pr), webinars (Wb) and games (Gm), as well as social media (So), email marketing (Em) and e-learning (El).

Content Type: When you’ve chosen your content format, you need to consider how your audience will best digest the content. Would a ‘How To’ guide (Ho), quiz (Qz) or case study (Cs) be most engaging, or could a survey (Sv), glossary (Gs) or demo (Dm) do the trick? The answer will tie into the results you are trying to achieve, and how best to visually represent the content.

Platform: These are content distribution platforms, including those that you own, such as your website (#59). Others include social media platforms such as Twitter (#60), Facebook (#64), Instagram (#88) and YouTube (#61), as well as offline media (#71), advertising (#83) and partner sites (#75).

Metrics: Metrics help you to measure the performance of your content, allowing you to see what is working well, and what content types may be hindering your content strategy, or could do with some improvement. Metrics include page views (Pv), unique visitors (Uv), cost per lead (Cl) and social metrics (Sm) such as likes, comments, shares and clicks.

Goals: The driving force behind your content strategy, all content should support your main business goals, whether that’s website traffic (Tf), leads (Le), sales (Sa) or engagement (En) among other goal elements.

Sharing Triggers: The emotional drivers behind your content, and is tied to your brand’s tone of voice. For example, if you’re known for being an ”out there brand”, then your content may include sharing triggers of being funny (#107), shocking (#109), controversial (#112) and cool (#113).

Checklist: Content checks you should make before it goes live and gets shared. Your content checklist should include search optimisation tactics such as keyword research and link building (Se), fact checking (Fc), crediting sources (Cd) and calls to action (Ct), as well as copy editing (Ce) and ensuring content matches brand guidelines (Gd) and your company’s tone of voice (Tv)

As Chris Lake also states on the table, there is a seven step guide to content success:

1)Take time to define your content strategy. Don’t just rush it and hope for the best. Think about who your audience is, how you can meet their needs with content that excites, informs and engages, and how this could tie into business goals.

2)Figure out the formats that you plan on using as part of your content strategy. An interactive webinar would certainly engage your audience, whereas an event could help boost your reputation within your industry.

3)Think about the content types that will appeal to your audience and how you can create them with brand assets, your team’s brilliance and your budget.

4)Consider which platforms are best suited for your content strategy. If your customers are more active on Instagram and Facebook rather than LinkedIn and YouTube, then the former will be much more effective in terms of interactions and meeting business goals.

5)Track key metrics and map these to business goals. Which type of content is bringing in the most leads/conversions/sales/sign ups? Is it worth investing further in other content avenues?

6)Ensure that emotional triggers flow throughout your content and work to the emotions of your brand and audience. Consider how your tone of voice plays into this, and how you’d like your audience to react.

7)Always double check your work – through proofreading, editing and checking it against brand guidelines. Never forget about the role that SEO plays too.

The Periodic Table of Content Marketing is certainly a handy tool for content marketers of all levels of expertise. If you’re looking for some additional expertise for your own content marketing, I recommend giving us a call here at Embryo. There’s a science and an art to our creativity, and we’re always happy to help. Call us today on 0161 327 2635 to find out more.