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The Valuable Content Marketing Strategies Of George Carlin And Sheldon Cooper – How It Has Helped Me

Posted By Guest Blogger 4th of February 2013 Blog Promotion 0 Comments

This guest post is by Frank Angelone of Social Tech Zone.

The same rehashed garbage! 

They were my feelings in 2012 about to bloggers implementing content marketing strategies.

They seem to believe that just because they’re in a potentially crowded niche that revisiting topics which have already been covered is going to be successful for them.

These types of bloggers are usually deluded by this misconception:

“The 300,000-subscriber blog wrote about this topic, so if I do it too, I’m sure to get people interested in my content.”

Let me tell you something: it’s not going to work.

When does content actually resonate with someone?

To be brutally honest, in most cases, it doesn’t.  We’re all looking for some type of answer, yet the majority of people online are either talking about the same thing or they really don’t teach anything.

They’re more interested in using their content to get you to buy something.  This is a failed marketing strategy waiting to happen.

In this post, I’m going to share with you how you can connect with your readers and not have to resort to rehashing what everyone else is doing!

Solving problems with selfish content

Aren’t you tired of hearing “good content” or “quality content is the key” every single day?  Yeah, me too.

Your job in content marketing is to be able to tell me why you’re experience is worth listening to.  You need to do something that will smack your readers in the face.

What one, two-punch combo can you deliver? and how do you execute it to perfection?

Simple.  Anything that fills the readers potentially selfish desires.  I mean, we all are online for answers and solutions, aren’t we?

We always say we’re here to help people and it’s true.  Well, you are here to do just that, but the person on the other end wants you to cater to them (and they’re not wrong to feel that way). 

That’s not going to happen unless you trigger a “selfish” emotion that you know they can relate to.

Sheldon Cooper: the A-list marketer?!

If you watch the Big Bang Theory, you’re familiar with Sheldon Cooper and his amusing yet obnoxious sense of humor.

While it is just a t.v. show, everyone loves the character.  Why?  He’s funny, but he’s selfish. 

You have to keep this in mind when writing for your audience.

Viewers of the show (you) are Sheldon’s audience.  We may not always agree with his methods of getting our attention, but we listen because, as viewers, we’re able to identify with a variety of his “selfish” scenarios.

Sheldon wants it his way—and the same holds true for whoever you’re marketing to. If you do something different and in a non-traditional manner, kind of like this post, people tend to pay attention.

Sometimes being a little over-the-top or over-zealous with your content marketing is the real secret sauce that people can relate to. You should definitely considering trying this out.

Derek Halpern of Social Triggers has the over-the-top personality when he markets to you, but you listen because you can relate to him.

So ask yourself this question: “How can I put my experience, plus a story, plus an edge into what I’m teaching?”

Point out the unexpected like George Carlin

Probably the greatest comedian of all time, George Carlin was probably also one of the greatest potential content marketers.

He smacked you in the face. He got you to think and maybe even gave you some insight on what we as a society can do to improve ourselves. (See? It’s all about you!)

His words live on to this day.  Why?  He didn’t rehash what the other big-name writers were pushing out there.  He took a different approach. His 7 Deadly Words You Can’t Say On TV was so off-color, and strayed so far from the norm that he found himself in major trouble with the FCC.  He revolutionized the industry and his content sold!

Now, I’m not saying you need to revolutionize your industry with what you’re creating, but stop getting sucked into the playing-it-close-to-your-chest mentality that so many people have become engulfed by. Do it your way and show people how things really are in your niche.

To put things in perspective, I recently wrote a post entitled How To Land A Job With One Of The Largest Social Media Agencies: What I Did.

Granted, a lot of people write about this topic, but if you notice, I included information about what I did in the title.  This assures my readers that I have a proven tip that works.

“But, Frank,” everyone always says. “Don’t make it about you! Make it about your reader.”  That’s wrong.  If you don’t make it about you and your experience, your content will not be relatable to your reader.  It all goes back to selfish Sheldon Cooper.

I shared a personal experience and here’s how one of my readers reacted to it…

“This blog post should be shared with every college age student looking to grab their dream job! So neat that you left such a prestigious place to perform in a position that supports your passion!”—Jim Traister

I created value by doing something that I’m teaching.

Being selfish isn’t always bad

I want to clear up any ambiguity and let you know that I’m not saying readers of your content are selfish, bad people.  They want answers backed up by experience, not just a rehashed answer that they’ve heard somewhere else.

When I go somewhere for content, I want an answer.  I’m being selfish in that respect because I need the answer to improve my life.  To stay in this mindset as a content marketer can be a very solid approach to grow your business.

I value anyone who reads my content and I talk with all of them.  If they’re enjoying what I provide,  I continue to find ways to do more of what they need.

When I interview well known entrepreneurs like Brian Clark, Gary Vaynerchuk, or Leo Babauta on my podcast, I do so knowing they can help my audience. 

We’re all trying to help the next person in line.  If you’re aware of that concept, it’s all you need to know moving forward.

Do you take this approach when you write your content?  Are you understanding the needs of who’s on the other side?  Do you have an actual experience that I can relate to?  Tell me in the comments.

Frank Angelone is the Founder of Social Tech Zone provide unique views on social media strategies and new technologies instead of the same rehashed grabage.  He couples his blog with the STZ Podcast talking with successful entrepreneurs like Brian Clark, Gary Vaynerchuk, and Leo Babauta. Subscribe to his newsletter and you can be sure he’ll develop an actual friendship with you.

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Comments
  1. Great way to compare to a character from the Big Bang Theory and the content to create.

    I always believed creating content for solutions of any problems in that respective niche was going to be a major success for you.

    If you look at some of the greatest products created, many of them are problem-solvers.

    That is why they are so popular.

    Always learn from the best. :)

    Samuel from Internet Dreams

    • Thanks for checking out the post, Samuel. I believe the biggest mistake people make is failing to solve problems. That’s the key. I think adding personalization to it is important also because it makes it easier for people to identify with others who have achieved the success that they may be looking for.

  2. One of my college professors once said something that has stuck with me a long time. He was talking about how a lot of small quirky shops that sell bizarre combinations of things only succeed because they sell things that they like. When you’re only showing things that you like then you aren’t trying to sell something to make money. You’re trying to sell something you honestly believe in and will better them. So although I don’t like the idea of pursuing selfishness, I rather think it’s more being honest about who you are that makes people want to know more about you.

    • Honesty goes a long way, Joel. Those that are reluctant to be honest will loose out and will be exposed for it. Especially online, you need to let others know that what you’re selling you can prove works instead of just looking to make a quick buck.

  3. Just don’t be as rude and condescending as Sheldon!

  4. Excellent way of communication. You have related the theory of Bing Bang very well. I am agree with your point that every day we have been listening that just real content or unique content will get rewarded or Content is king but how Google comes to know which one is good content ?
    Today, I got a answer from your post. :)
    Thank you

    Saif

    • I’m glad the post helped you out. Thanks for the feedback back. I believe that relating any type of teaching back to something that readers can relate to is the best way to make something stick :)

  5. Content is very important because people want to know how businesses think. Business is becoming more personable which means hiding in the background and staying silent equates to being lost amongst the competitors who speak up. Content marketing basically illustrates the knowledge and insight you have in a specific market and helps consumers form a picture as to how you can help satisfy their particular needs.

    • As Gary Vaynerchuk says, it’s all about brands being able to humanize business. It goes right back to your point about businesses being more personable. They can no longer hide behind their logo. If they show their insight and help others and prove that their “stuff” works, then customers will be happy.

      • It is no secret that marketing and branding departments compete ferociously to rise above the noise generated by their peers. Regardless of size, this success comes from those companies who are able to connect with consumers both on and offline.

        • Ultimately, the business who puts more effort in to help the end user / consumer wins, while the competitors are running around looking for answers. We live in a different marketing world today.

  6. Great stuff Frank! I too am becoming annoyed with the rehashed/repurposing of content in this industry.

    I had not taken this approach previously with my content marketing efforts, but I intend to try it out soon. Maybe I don’t know my readers as much as I though I did. :)

    Bazinga!

    • Thanks, Ryan. I think the more things are rehashed, the more we tend to feel that “all the good ideas” are gone. When people share these overused strategies, it isn’t very helpful because while it was successful for someone else, chances are tons of other people have implemented the strategy already. Teaching that same concept to your audience is going to become pretty much useless at that point, which is why thinking outside the box and against the norm is the way to go!

  7. this is an example of out-of-the-box thinking!
    I just looked at the comments and found out how successful this blog post has become… if thats not an example of good content, I’m not sure what is…
    great tips!!

    • I appreciate the support, Ahmed. Glad you were able to get some value out of it. Is there anything in particular from this post that you’re going to implement yourself?

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