Teak Furniture + Content Marketing = Great Example for Associations

The local paper ran a story Saturday called “Design Trends: the beauty of teak furniture.”

What caught my attention was not the headline but the photo and caption which showed that the author was with a furniture story we have visited.

As I read the article, I realized it was a great example of content marketing. And, a tactic associations could employ for their profession or industry.

What makes this work?

• The store offered one of their interior decorators as an “expert” and she writes a customer-focused story about teak furniture.
• The designer’s story is not self serving ... and doesn’t even mention her store until the last paragraph.
• The store (or it’s PR staff/agency) recognized that the newspaper seeks good content that offers readers ideas.
• This story shows that content marketing is not just focused internally at your members or prospects. 

Depending on your association’s mission, using content as an outreach strategy to promote your industry or professional image might just work for you.

Monica Busolati has written several great articles about content strategy. Here are three worth your read:

• Content Strategy  Content is a business asset. To content market, you need a strategy, analysis and governance of your content.
• How to Create a Content Strategy in 9 Steps
• Top 10 List: Barriers To Creating An Association Content Strategy