How Jack climbed the beanstalk and defeated the giant: of course, he had a content strategy

In the spirit of this year’s theme for Content Marketing World – a World of Stories – we’re making a connection between some of the tracks you can follow when attending the show and some of the greatest stories of all time. Not surprisingly, the connection is strong.

Most of us know how the story of Jack and the Beanstalk goes. The story’s main character, a boy named Jack, is sent to the market by his mother to sell the family’s cow. On his way, though, our boy Jack encounters a man willing to trade some magic beans for the cow and poor Jack just can’t resist.

Thinking his mother will be excited, Jack returns home to share the good news. Jack’s mother, certain that the boy was duped, throws the seeds out the window and sends Jack to bed without dinner.

The next morning, a giant beanstalk appears where the seeds were thrown. Jack climbs the huge beanstalk and finds an unknown land in the sky where a giant lives in a suitably large castle.

It’s at this point in the story where the sessions in the Content Strategy track come into play:

• By attending Structuring content for dynamic storytelling, you can learn from Carrie Hane how to break down your stories into small bits of content that can be reused and repurposed. Frankly, I’m surprised this hasn’t happened to Jack’s story yet…imagine the sequels about Jack and the Harp in a musically-complex relationship, or the prequel where Jack realizes the man who gave him the magic beans was actually, you guessed it, his father.

• By joining Laura Creekmore for her presentation on Conducting and executing a content audit, you can learn how to evaluate what you have today and build a plan to make it better. And wouldn’t Jack have loved to do this? If he could have taken stock (pun intended) of his whole story beforehand, Jack might have been able to reorganize it to his advantage. For example, he could have made off with the goose that lays golden eggs first, so he could buy a chainsaw and take some of the drama out of the final scene.

• By attending Building a strategy with insight into your buyer persona’s decision mindset, you can learn from Adele Revella how to create a plan that answers your buyer’s desire for useful, inspiring information. Ah, Jack would have almost died for this one. Imagine Jack having a plan that includes putting the giant at the center and creating a persona around him. Jack shows the giant how to leverage his assets to meet all of the giant’s needs, including booking the harp for exclusive concerts and lucrative merchandising deals, like ‘I caught the golden goose’ t-shirts. Jack, the marketer, and the giant would become fast friends.

• By joining Shira Abel in her presentation about Content & motivation: understanding your user, you can learn how the chemicals in our bodies (like dopamine and endorphins) can be triggered to activate certain behaviors. This is Jack’s favorite. Imagine the opportunities here to understand how to motivate and influence a whole society of giants and how it could change Jack’s life forever. No more hiding behind the salt and pepper shakers for him, no sir. Pound-for-pound, Jack would be the most powerful man in all of giant land.

• By attending Beyond traffic reports: using data, organizational messaging and passion to reinvigorate your content strategy,  with Anna McHugh, you can learn how to use data and analytics to make the most of your existing content. And if anyone needs to make the most of their current situation, it’s Jack. Having this knowledge, he could hone his message and understand how giants search so he would never have to worry about being found.

• By joining Melissa Eggelston for her presentation on how Zombies All Look the Same: Using Identity-Based Content Strategy to Standout, you can better understand how to help your brand stand out in a crowded marketplace. Jack could have used this knowledge to help his cow stand out at the market, fetching top dollar and never having to go up that beanstalk in the first place.

The moral of our story is clear. Jack, a poor boy who made some questionable decisions with his family’s future on the line, would have been much better off with a content strategy. And you’ll be much better off by attending these great sessions at Content Marketing World 2017.

But don’t wait, the Content Strategy track will fill up faster than you can say, “Fee-fi-fo-fum!”

If you want to learn more about how you can help your brand tell A World of Stories your customers will appreciate, come to Content Marketing World 2017, September 5-8 in Cleveland. Code BLOG100 saves $100! Register today