Recently, I’ve been thinking a lot about the late Marvin Hamlisch.
For those who don’t know, Hamlisch was one of the most prolific and successful conductors and composers of the last century, winning multiple Emmy, Golden Globe, Oscar and Tony awards (the prestigious “EGOT”) and a Pulitzer Prize. And I, a wet-behind-the-ears college student, once scored the chance to see him for free.
Hamlisch was in rare form on that night in 2011. He turned to the audience between sets and conversed with us like old friends, regaling us with stories about his life in the entertainment industry. And one of the stories he told really stuck with me.
He hadn’t always been on top; when he was young, he was just another grinder, scraping out a living on accompaniment gigs and playing where he could. His big break came when producer Sam Spiegel hired him to play piano for parties, which led to scoring music for one of his films. “Luck played a role,” he said. “But I would never have been in the room for luck to find me if I hadn’t been working hard the whole time.”
Hard Work: The Foundation of Success
Hamlisch’s success — though it might have hinged on a big break — was built on a foundation of hard, consistent work. Networking. Building relationships. Putting himself in places where he could be noticed.
Content marketing works the same way.
Plenty of people know the basic tenets of content marketing: understand your audience, know the topic, be part of the community, prove your authority. They still fail. Why?
They’re missing one major key: consistency.
In content marketing, a lot of people try to short-circuit the process. They look at the success of random viral memes and try to replicate it. But most people who go viral only do it once; the ones who do it consistently are the ones who work consistently.
This isn’t just for famous musicians; you can apply consistency to your brand, too. Here’s how.
Have a Consistent Voice
Consistency starts with your voice — which comes from knowing your audience.
If you’re a casual brand like Corona beer, you should sound casual; if you’re a big corporation like Halliburton, you should sound corporate; if you’re a formal brand like shirt manufacturer Turnbull & Asser, you should sound formal.
Here’s an example from Turnbull & Asser’s About page:
Sounds fancy. It fits their brand — and their audience.
To be authentic, you need to sound the same all the time, across all the platforms you use. Notice the language in this Instagram post from Turnbull & Asser. It is very similar to what they have on their About page:
You should also know what people expect you to talk about. Stay within those limits; don’t extend out of them, or people will tune out. There are topics Ed and I are passionate about that we don’t talk about in the Dispatch — not because we couldn’t give an informed opinion, but because they stretch too far beyond the limits of what people expect from our brand. Consistency in voice means being choosy with your subjects.
Keep your voice consistent across platforms and subjects. Talk the way your audience expects and they’ll listen.
Create Consistently
You must create long-form content on a regular basis.
That starts with one of the classic content pillars: a blog, vlog or podcast.
- Blog: The old standby. Blogs were the backbone of early content marketing, and they still have their place today. This is written content you host on your own site.
- Vlog: We’re using this as a catch-all term; I follow a lot of video creators that publish regularly, and few use the classic “vlog” format popularized by channels like Casey Neistat. Video essays, guides, reviews and walkthroughs all fall under this category. It’s long-form video that keeps people engaged with your channel.
- Podcast: One of the most popular content pillars. Podcasts are audio-first (though some include video too). Many rely on interviews (for example, the Joe Rogan Experience); some live off the charisma of one person (like Bill Burr’s Monday Morning Podcast).
Choose a pillar and create your long-form content at regular intervals. Most channels publish weekly; a few publish monthly; several publish daily. Some combine all three. Gary Vaynerchuk only occasionally posts on his blog, but he puts out a podcast every day and publishes long-form videos a couple of times a week.
Most brands don’t have the resources to do this, and quite frankly, it would be overkill for many. But you need at least one pillar that publishes regularly.
Content can’t just be “well, we need something, so here’s something.” Give yourself enough runway to create something your audience is actually interested in. Whatever that means for your frequency, do it right over doing it more.
In a world where AI makes it easy to create quantity, there’s no way to compete on volume anymore. You can blog five times a week, but if the content isn’t worth reading, no one’s going to care. Choose a lane and devote the effort to creating something great, not just filling a slot.
Broadcast Regularly
In today’s saturated media landscape, you can’t copy Field of Dreams. If you build it, they’ll never know it’s there — unless you tell them.
Yes, your pillar content exists somewhere your audience might see it — through an RSS feed for the blog, a YouTube notification for the vlog or a Spotify home page tile for your podcast. Don’t bet on that. You need to broadcast.
There are two major avenues you should use to let your audience know that you have new content available: social media and your mailing list.
On social media, you should be posting and engaging regularly. Engage on platforms where your audience is active; you need to engage daily at the very least — and in some cases much more than that. Make sure you’re replying to comments and liking and sharing posts that talk about you and your brand. For more details, see our article “The Right Social Media Platform for You.”
Permission is powerful — remember that. Having a mailing list you own allows you to build relationships directly and engage and shape the conversation with your audience. Send newsletters regularly based on your content frequency, bring unexpected delight when appropriate, and drive consistent interaction so your audience knows you’re there.. For more information, see our article “Bring the Human Back to Marketing.”
Consistency Creates Success
As Marvin Hamlisch said, success is built on a foundation of hard work. You don’t get the lucky breaks, the viral posts, the big audience, without consistent effort.
Be consistent in your voice, create content regularly, and publish often. There’s no magic bullet. Do the work — because it’s only when you do the work that you succeed. Need a hand? We help companies like yours with their marketing all the time. Just drop us a line, anytime.
Best Regards,
David Brandon
Copywriter
Rainmaker Digital Services