Content Rules by Ann Handley and C.C. Chapman. – Book Notes

As you might imagine, this book is all about content. How to make it remarkable and how to give it wings.

Start with the why. Why are you putting content?
•To foster a community and give them a reason to talk about you.
•Make good content get better google ranking.

1. Whom are are trying to reach? Who is your ideal customer? How old are they? What is the kinds of content that suits them? Are they mobile? How are they engaging with your content?
What do you want your audience to do? Buy from affiliates, donate, or just join your mailing list.
How will we measure success? What are your metrics? Subscribers
Inbound links
Comments
Retweets and likes and favorites
Number of Views
Downloads

Who are you?
Do you watch a lot of TV?
People on reality TV know who they who they are. They have a brand that the producers picked out to show off.
You too have a brand. So what is it? What makes you not sound like everyone else? What makes you stand out? Know your voice. Know your tone. Don’t be a bland corporate voice. Be engaged and excited. This is your passion, care, show your passion.

This is a how-to book for businesses and individuals figuring out how to do a blog, podcast, case study, webinar, or Ebook.

This is the book you give to your friend who needs to understand that as businesses or organizations we have an imperative to create content. Handley and Chapman bring deep practical experience in a way that’s easy and readable.

8 key points on content:

No one cares about your products or services. View yourself as a source of information or an expert, not a salesperson.

Frequent and regular content builds a relationship. The content you create will position you not just as a seller but as a reliable source of information. And content doesn’t expire. Jay Baer calls content an ‘information annuity’.

Content drives conversations. And conversation engages your customers. Any questions?

Content is a social object. Each piece of content should be viewed as a social object that exists beyond its original platform. Content should be given wings so that it can be shared across the web.

Play to your strengths (Content Rule #11). You don’t have to create everything and publish everywhere. You just have to do a couple of things really, really well. I’ve found this to be a critical piece of advice for busy physicians.

Reimagine; don’t recycle your content (Content Rule #5). How content is going to live in different channels needs to be an intentional, up-front part of content strategy. Too often this is an afterthought.

Do something unexpected (Content Rule #8). Occasionally adding an element of surprise to your content drives viral sharing and enhances your company’s personality.

Voice is critical in the development of great content. Voice is the way your writing sounds when its read. And a unique voice is critical to success in social media. You have to stop sounding like everyone else. While most organizations spend their time thinking about design, logo, graphics, few spend as much time on the particulars of their content like voice. Amen.

This book is important because all of us have become de facto publishers. This includes hospitals, medical groups, individual physicians and providers of all types. And by publisher we’re referring to the creation and delivery of relevant, valuable information to those we serve. Content Rules is a great starting spot but also offers depth to someone already in the game. You can preview Content Rules here.

Content Rules is part of the David Meerman Scott New Rules of Social Media Series from Wiley.