May the Fourth Be with You: Lessons on Content Marketing from Star Wars

Happy Star Wars Day! 

When Star Wars blasted into the pop culture consciousness from a galaxy far, far away in 1977, it didn’t just usher in a new era of mythic sci-fi storytelling bolstered by cutting-edge CGI and special effects. It also marked a sea change in how movies are packaged and marketed. Today’s content agencies and marketers can glean a thing or two from Star Wars, and they won’t have to travel through hyperspace to learn it. 

As we celebrate May the Fourth, let’s revisit some content marketing basics seen through the prism of Star Wars.

Give Your Audience Excellent Content

“Do. Or do not. There is no try.” – Yoda

Yoda’s sage advice applies as much to effective content marketing as it does to Jedi training. Content marketers must provide their audience with content that’s relevant, informative, and entertaining; otherwise, why bother? 

For a variety of reasons, marketers sometimes forget this valuable lesson when under pressure to produce high-quality content consistently. Your content writing must provide value, or it’s not going to work. It’s better to publish one excellent post per week than five subpar posts per week. Your audience wants your very best content, so give it to them! There is no try.

Reuse or Repurpose Your Content

“Chewie, we’re home.” – Han Solo

One of the complaints of Star Wars VII: The Force Awakens is that the story hewed a little too closely to Star Wars IV: A New Hope. While that annoyed many a fanboy, this approach by director J.J. Abrams proved to be genius. He was able to introduce a new set of heroes and villains while giving fans valuable touchpoints to past Star Wars films. Who wasn’t thrilled when Han and Chewie stepped into the Millennium Falcon for the first time in years? 

You can do the same with your content. Repurposing content doesn’t mean publishing the same things over and over. The key is to bring something new to something old. Past content repurposed or spun in shiny new ways will delight and engage your audience, so like Han and Chewie, they’ll keep coming back for more.

Know Your Competitors

“There’s always a bigger fish.” – Qui Gon Jinn

The Rebel Alliance faced some tough competition as it went up against the Empire and the First Order, but by knowing their enemy’s weaknesses they were eventually able to emerge victorious. Intimately knowing your competition and their content marketing strategies is essential for all brands, as it will help direct your own content marketing efforts. 

Become involved with your competitors by analyzing their top content, attending their webinars, tracking their social media campaigns, signing up for email updates (using a personal email address rather than a business email, of course), and monitoring changes to their website. This gives you insight into where there are gaps you can engage customers.

 Stay Focused on Your Customers

Gold Leader: “We’re too close!”

Gold Five: “Stay on target!”

While the Rebel Alliance may have taken a few hits during its assault on the Death Star, unrelenting focus kept them on target and ultimately led them to victory. To be successful, today’s content marketing agencies must focus their strategic content development efforts squarely on the customer. In fact, research by Deloitte and Touche says that customer-centric companies are 60 percent more profitable than those that take a different approach. It’s in your best interest to build on those precious customer relationships. 

Take a thought leadership approach to your content that shows customers you are a leading authority in your industry and someone they can put their trust (and money) in. Focus on creating and maintaining better overall customer experiences and the Force will truly be with you, always.

Never Stop Learning

“You have learned much, young one.” – Darth Vader

Luke Skywalker did not have to travel to swampy Dagobah to train under Master Yoda. He could have been content with the Force that he had and left it at that. But by learning, growing, and improving, he was able to earn his place as a powerful Jedi Master. Similarly, smart content marketers know that if you’re not learning, you’re just standing still. 

To stay competitive, you must take every opportunity to learn more about your customers, your competition, the latest trends and technologies, ways to improve your skills, and how to produce the best content. Ever evolving, content marketing is, and those who evolve with it stand the greatest chances of success.

Is the Force with your content marketing plans? The full-service team of Jedi masters at Comma Copywriters can help with your strategy, content writing, and editing needs. To learn how, schedule a free 15-minute consultation with us today.