This month, we sat down with 5-Star Writer and Chief Strategist Myca A., a marketing professional with deep experience in nonprofits.
Myca A is a Chief Strategist and 5-Star Writer at WriterAccess
Q: When did you first realize you had an interest in content marketing?
A: I spent nearly eight years in Christian publishing, and my time in that market helped me see the true value that people place on relevant and engaging content. I was fortunate enough to be in a position where I was allowed to extensively test a variety of different marketing tactics, and I found that content marketing — where we actively shared tidbits of stories and personal information from authors — was where we saw spikes in audience interest. Focusing in that direction has come naturally since that time.
Q: Who are some of your professional role models?
A: I love Seth Godin. Whenever I am stuck in a corner on a project or fighting a bad case of lizard brain, a Seth Godin blog post shows up in my inbox and unsticks me.
Q: How do you see the landscape of content strategy changing over the next five years?
A: Hyper-localization is my new favorite word. Or hybrid word. Or marketing slang — take your pick. Content strategy will become ever more complex and allow for highly-detailed conversations that consumers will feel are targeted directly to their needs. The software being built today that will take advantage of deep dives into data is quite frightening from a personal liberties standpoint. However, as a marketer it’s a very exciting time to be working because we have near-limitless potential to reach audiences with a relevant and engaging message. Think a (marketer-written) review popping up for a restaurant as you drive by… or self-playing videos that take advantage of augmented reality via your mobile. Most of this is possible now on a limited scale, but in five years the potentials will explode.
Q: If there’s one piece of advice you’d give to an aspiring strategist, what would it be?
A: Study competitors! One of the first things I do with any new strategy assignment is identify competitors: see what they’re doing well and that seems to resonate with the audience. Check out the landscape and fast-follow what others are doing, while staying agile and being unafraid to adjust mid-stream.
Q: As a strategist, are there any marketing tools you can’t live without?
A: The Internet in general, probably. I do utilize a lot of scheduling tools for social such as HootSuite and a wide variety of CRM and marketing automation tools, but I do a lot of research for each project to be sure I’m offering the freshest and best recommendations for each client.
Q: What makes content “successful”?
A: It truly depends on the project. A specific type of content (Instagram posts) could be wildly successful if you’re selling hair care products, but not-so-much if you’re focused on high-end software. What makes content successful is finding a way to actively engage your audience with a message that resonates with their needs. Always think about benefits and not features. Features are boring (but necessary), while the benefit is found when you get inside the mind of your audience and see how the content or product meets a specific felt need.
Q: What blogs/influencers do you follow in the marketing world?
A: I’m embarrassed to admit that I mostly follow marketing vendors (plus Seth Godin), but few other influencers as my time is extremely limited. KISSMetrics, HubSpot, Adobe for Creative Suite news, Google, Redpoint for data enrichment, Direct Marketing Association (DMA), American Marketing Association (AMA). I’m in the midst of a Marketo implementation at my day job, so I’ve been doing a lot of reading on marketing automation platforms and CRM solutions as well. I’m definitely on the technology side of marketing!
About Myca A.
Myca has twelve years of director-level marketing, sales and communications experience. An award-winning marketing strategist comfortable with local and global communication; her sweet spots are engaging content that makes people take an action and technical writing.
