One Content Marketing LinkedIn Group You Must Know About
You "get it". You know content marketing is here to stay and you are excited to apply it to your business strategy. Now you are out searching for forums, groups, and message boards to help you refine your approach. How's that going? A bit harder than you thought?
It's easy to find places online where people talk "at" you (rehashing old, out-dated advice while posting articles with little or no "meat"). But where can you go to find honest conversation from people in the business of making content marketing work for them?
Well here is one LinkedIn group you should really look into:
I interviewed Andrew J. Coate, owner of Content Marketing Academy powered by Kapost. This group is described as:
- The largest content marketing-focused community on LinkedIn.
- A place for marketers to discuss best practices and emerging trends, in a spam-free environment. Ask tough questions and get actionable answers, and learn how to use content to drive results and revenue.
- This group is focused on eliciting genuine dialogue and providing a safe place for questions related to content marketing.
Take a look at our conversation below, there is a specific question Andrew is going to ask you. Also, you can download this presentation to get access to his answer to the secret *bonus* question!
In a hurry? Download this post for note-taking and get a FREE bonus!
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Q: When did you start your LinkedIn group, and why did you create it?
A: We started the Content Marketing Academy in July 2013. The purpose of Content Marketing Academy was to provide a little bit of a different forum on LinkedIn. There were a lot of content marketing groups, but we noticed they tended to become just a place with link dumping and not as much conversation. So we wanted to put together a place where marketers of all kinds and all levels could come, discuss their challenges, and work them out together.
Q: What do you feel makes your community special?
A: The interaction. As I referenced in my first answer, far too many groups have little true discussion happening. People post articles to the discussions area and they just sit there, uncommented on. In the Content Marketing Academy we foster actual conversation by discouraging link dumping and forcing people to ask questions. As a result the average discussion in our group garners 13 comments on it. Plenty of lively interactions happening.
Q: If you could magically give all of your community members one thing in this world, what would it be, and why?
A: I'd give them a copy of my life changing debut solo album that doesn't really exist. 🙂
Q: If you could ask your group members one thing and get an answer from all of them, what would that question be?
A: We've surveyed the group in the past and while we get great responses they still only represent a small portion of the 15,000 members. So I'd love everyone to answer "What would make this group the most useful to you?" That way, having that large of a data set I could make sure we're keeping it on track.
Q: Feel free to give a shout-out to some of your power-users or most active members. Does anyone come to mind, and what do you like most about them?
A: I'd start will the early power-users who got the rest of the group excited about its growth. We immortalized them on an infographic here. Though, I have to give a shoutout to Jonathan Singer of Akamai. He was a very passionate contributor for quite a while. And also to Barry Feldman for evangelizing the group in his various guest posts across the internet.
Q: What are some of the hot topics that seem to always be discussed within the group?
A: We get a surprising amount of diversity the conversations that develop, but topics that always seem to come back are questions about people looking for top marketing technology tools to solve x problem or top resources about x topic.
Q: For someone new to this community, how do they get the most out of it?
A: 1. Read our group guidelines.
2. Ask short, direction questions.
3. Comment on others' questions, even if you don't feel like an "expert". It's a safe place.
4. Check back often.
Q: Has anything surprised you about owning a forum about content marketing?
A: Actually, no. I'm not surprised that a group focused on creating great content can spawn such great content!
*Bonus Question*
Q: For those who want to get the most out of their content marketing strategy what tools would you consider "must-haves"?
A: Wanna know what he said? Download the answer here --> Number 1 Marketing Tool
What did Andrew say is a "must have" content marketing tool? --> Get the PDF Plus #1 Marketing Tool
Special thanks to:
Andrew J. Coate | Senior Community & Content Manager | Kapost |@andrewjcoate
You can join the LinkedIn group, Content Marketing Academy powered by Kapost by clicking here.
Answer Andrew's question below, "What would make this group (Content Marketing Academy) the most useful to you?"