Chris Brogan is a genius. I can say this with complete confidence — even in the absence of an IQ test — because I have seen the evidence. And he's just not your ordinary garden variety genius like Albert Einstein or Stephen Hawkings. No, he comes from a higher plane. He is a marketing genius.
What is this miraculous piece of evidence of which I speak? It's a blog post entitled “An Author's Plan for Social Media Efforts“. Now, Brogan may not be Shakespeare, but his piece is a near-perfect example of how to do content driven marketing. If you are a professional services executive or marketer (and if you're not, why are you reading this blog?), this is a piece of content you can go to school on.
First, let's start with the title: clear, specific and easy to understand. If you are an author planning to release a book, this article is for you. Since I fall in that category myself, he had my attention immediately.
Next, Brogan has credibility. He is a best-selling author who uses social media to promote his work. He does this without seeming promotional about it.
The piece is very easy to understand and digest. Organized as 21 brief steps, it's a quick, compelling read.
Brogan's advice is practical and tactical. Even if some of the steps may be time consuming, they are easy to digest. This gives you the unmistakable feeling that this guy knows what he is talking about and has done it before. He is an expert.
He also includes useful links and recommendations. Brogan is not afraid to share his knowledge — a hallmark of a confident thought leader.
Then there is the personality that comes through. Humble, friendly and helpful, his personal brand is all about approachability.
So here are my two big takeaways. First, Chris Brogan's post provides a great model of content marketing. As you develop your own blog posts, newsletter articles, presentations, white papers, etc., keep his blog post handy as a reference and inspiration.
Second, be sure to take Brogan's advice when you promote your book, white paper, or article. He knows what he's talking about.
After all, he's a marketing genius.
