How to create must-read content: top ten tips...and add a cheetah

As the Content Marketing World Conference wrapped up with a cheetah (more on that in a minute) I wanted to share my top ten take home points.

It was a jam-packed two and a half days. And as often happens it's hard to put it all in context - some of what I've learned is going to take time to sink in.

But clear themes emerged. All are relevant to those (many) financial services firms and institutions who lag their consumer marketing peers in terms of online marketing and integrated campaign management.

Here are the "top ten" tips I think are most relevant for financial services players

1. Know your audience...really know your buyer's persona(s)
2. Plan well, carefully and in detail - beyond the content editorial calendar to speak to a number of buyer pain points and needs
3. Measure. Define metrics, run measurable campaigns and use measurement to refine
4. Commit to continuous improvement - content marketing doesn't stand still because the audience's context, the technology and your expertise are ever-evolving
5. Create GREAT content. Stuff people would crawl over cut glass to get to...
6. Be consistent. If you have a good story that is interesting to your audience keep telling it. Just because you're sick of the story doesn't mean your time-poor multi-tasking audience is
7. Create a path to the content - there's no point building a "castle in the desert" (thanks Fergus!) where no-one will see it
8. Integrated content and campaigns are the only way to go...standalone doesn't give your content the best chance of being found
9. Content marketing is easier than ever - tools are now evolved, cost effective and accessible to average users
10. Content must work on many, not one, platform/s

Finally, I think we can almost forget traditional marketing KPIs based on impressions and reach - instead how about we focus on the most important metric? Sales.

And the cheetah? Jack Hannah of the famed Columbus Zoo had a live one on stage. Now if that doesn't grab attention I'm not sure anything will.

Thanks to Joe Pulizzi and team for a very worthwhile conference. Can't wait to welcome you to Sydney in March 2013.