…then it’s better to not create any at all.

I’ve been thinking about the time involved for content marketing a bit more often lately as I contemplate starting up a Product and Support blog on our UIU and UIUSD site. I’ve done plenty of research to try and determine the value, focus, and time requirements of adding another consistent content stream to my existing obligations. Even though we are a niche software developer, and the content focus is rather restricted, I’ve got a pretty clear game plan worked out in my head that I think will be fairly successful.

The problem with adding more quality content obligations really comes down to the time required to generate something potentially valuable to our readers. And the more I think about it, the more I think that if I don’t have an adequate amount of time each week for at least one quality post, then I am better off not adding that content to our site, and instead, focusing on the other content marketing projects that are still in the works.

Sure added knowledge base items, support topics, new product development, and discussion on current trends in our industry would all make for great topics to bring people to our site and increase SEO. But if people get a few sentences in and don’t have anything good to read, then not only will they leave immediately without taking the time to read more about our products, but will be unlikely to return.

In my estimation, it’s far better to focus on quality, relevant content, even if that means there is less of it, than to crank out a slew of sub-par posts or pages that could potentially to more harm than good.

I realize that as a topic, the time for good content marketing might seem fairly obvious. If you can’t create something good, don’t do it at all, duh.

But I think that particularly when it comes to a continuous content obligation like a blog, it is vital to determine if you are going to have enough time to continue to generate quality content. It might be great for the first half dozen posts, but somehow that blog deadline sneaks up on you every week, and before you know it, you are struggling to not only find something worthwhile to write about, but allocate less and less time to make sure it's actually worth reading.

That is why, at this time at least, I have decided not to try and get the Product blog off the ground.

Any other kinds of content that would be better off left on the drawing board?

Rarely do I ever incorporate pop culture references into my small business posts, but since I’m finishing this post while watching the end of Season 6 of How I Met Your Mother, I will disagree with Mr. Barney Stinson when he says, “New is always better.”

First let me begin by saying that for the most part, I really like Google. They do some great stuff, and it’s almost all for free. Except of course the Paid Advertising.  But there is a part of Google’s business model that really bugs me – using it’s clients as guinea pigs to test new products. We don’t have to rehash what has been over-articulated in regards to Google wave, Gmail privacy policy changes, Google buzz, and the list of changes and discontinued products goes on and on.

My issue, and the part that adds extra time to my work load, is the constant changes in core products like analytics and adwords in particular. It seems that the developers get tired of the current UI, and see how many times a year they can make changes that seldom actually add to the experience or the ability of the customer to do more work efficiently.

The latest analytics changes are a great example. Ok sure, some of the new features help to take a look at some of the visitor data a little easier, but not most of them. Where did content page navigation go? All the way up next to Explorer, which was overview under Traffic Sources before the tab changed – what is it doing up there?

Like any new product, there will be feature updates, UI changes and with those come a new learning curve. What irks me is that Google makes changes that might make sense from a developer or even (sometimes) a design perspective, but it very much seems that they don’t consider the user perspective.

The left hand navigation tree is another good example. Previously, subcategories were pretty easily visible and navigable, but now in order to see everything, you need to click each item, and scroll six times because the page height increased astronomically.

I think that even though some of the actionable items under each main category were formerly a touch confusing while in page, they still were all in one spot and after the initial learning curve, were workable. Now the left subcategories are disconnected from the pages on which they are actionable.

To be honest, I’m in the middle of a whole bunch of stuff so I really don’t want to be inconvenienced again to re-acclimate myself. So take the moaning with a grain of salt. It’s a free tool and complaining about it won’t ever do any good. And we'll all keep using it anyway.

Sometimes Google, new isn’t always better.

Yeah, yeah, social media is still trendy and we all wish people would stop singling it out as anything other than another tool in the customer relations and marketing toolbox. But utilizing this tool effectively is still crucial to quality customer interaction. And what better way for a business to make a royal, social media mess of things? By not having a social media policy.

I would like to make the argument that any company, however small or large, in whichever type of business it may be, needs to have a social media policy of some kind.

Now certainly a one-man business or small shop shouldn’t waste their time writing an elaborate 20 page document covering every single aspect of every possible social media platform available. But they do need to evaluate how their employees are going to conduct themselves across various platforms as representatives of the company. Even if that means a simple paragraph in the employee handbook.

What is important to understand is the scope and penetration of company related social media interaction. For example, as the marketing director, I try to weigh each item I post anywhere against how I might be perceived as a spokesman for Big Bang. Even on accounts that have no direct tie to the company, I still consciously conduct myself as if the person reading what I typed knew I worked for Big Bang and what it was all about. This is largely because I spread Big Bang information all over on a daily basis.

But what about the person who isn’t responsible for external media, like one of our software developers. Well Big Bang’s short little two-page social media policy breaks it down two ways. First, if the individual does not have their work email, work url or any other work related items tied to any of their social media accounts, then they may conduct themselves however they wish. If however, they do have information available for public consumption that indicates their affiliation with Big Bang, they need to conduct themselves accordingly.

The extent to which a company manages and enforces social media policy is typically based on the scale of effect that an individual's personal social media presence can have on the company's brand and image. For Big Bang, we simply want represent ourselves ethically and with common sense, to offer honest and transparent insight into our brand and protect its integrity. And if we make a mistake, to be honest about that as well.

For us, and what I think is the most effective way to institute social media policy, is to treat employees with the same level of respect and trust that you have in them to work hard for you every day. They already possess the level of pride in their company necessary to, with the subtle guide of a well-written social media policy, conduct themselves as brand ambassadors.

And if they don’t, then that is probably indicative of larger issues than errant tweets.

In Part 1, we left off with the question, “how can you make good use of such real-time information” from cyber stalking?

Ideally the prospect has been tagged and scored, so each new piece of information helps us steer them toward a tipping point, ours is a successful download of our Free Trial. For example, a prospect clicked on a Google PPC ad and from there completed a form on a specific landing page pertaining to product X. The next time the prospect visits your website, he looks at product X in more detail and exits on the video you have explaining how product X works in scenario Y. By this time, your prospect has established a pattern and the next time you see him/her visit the website in real-time, you can send off an introductory email containing the Case Study your company wrote specifically dealing with how product X works in scenario Y.

Talk about a content-driven, meaningful first impression!

Another situation in which stalking your prospect can pay off might be if sales has already established communication with a prospect, but they have expressed reluctance to speak with the salesperson. The prospect may have even told sales to take a hike-they aren’t interested. How interesting would it be if a week or two later sales notices this very prospect download a white paper or visit the website. It’s pretty obvious the prospect is still interested, but definitely prefers the hands off approach.

Yet another example might be relevant to the support team. If support is currently working on a case for a customer, but work is in progress, and the support person notices that the customer is visiting the knowledge base, he/she can touch base with the customer to see if there is an additional issue or more information is needed.

These are just a few ways that real-time cyber stalking can be beneficial. What it all boils down to is yet another great tool to determine what content your prospect and customers need to convert them or take good care of them.

Any practical examples from your web tracking that work for your organization?