Content marketing – the new buzzword that everyone is apparently now doing, even if they’re not doing it all that well.

But according to DWA head of intent APAC Aryeh Sternberg, there’s a sure-fire method that will kickstart your strategy, a method he divulged to both B&T and the many Ad:Tech attendees at yesterday’s conference.

So what are Sternberg’s top 10 data driven nuggets of gold when it comes to content marketing?

1. Know your audience

Sternberg said it starts with listening to “what people are doing and why they are doing it”.

“You can’t just say your audience is men 34-40 living in Sydney and interested in technology. The more you know about people the more you can make an assumption about them and then get out there and test those assumptions.”

2. Stop
3. Look
4. Listen

The next three steps are fairly self-explanatory, and according to Sternberg, involve identifying what competitors are doing, what’s being said and what’s not being said in the market.

“From a content perspective, are there conversations we can have?” he asked.

5. Perception & Perspective

“The challenge is not just spitting out content. To get something out of it you have to let go of some control,” Sternberg added.

“On one end of the content marketing spectrum you’ve got advertorial and on the other end you’ve got editorial content that never mentions a brand, and then there’s everything in between.”

What needs to happen here involves keen observation and fresh perspectives that relate to your own audience.

6. Content Journey
7. Storytelling

“Every single person is an individual. What is your journey? Not everyone is going to consume content in the same way,” Sternberg said.

“One of the best content marketers was Barack Obama,” he added, citing his “yes we can” campaign and the exceptional story he told by getting out there.

8. Co-Creation

“There’s a place for comments and people love hearing what other people thing,” Sternberg said. “Brands should look back at other mediums and ask, can we optimise other media?”

9. Relevance
10. Meaning

“When you engage with content you’re giving permission in a way. There’s a push-pull, and when you engage with content, you’re pulling,” Sternberg explained.

“But then marketers can’t just take your interest and throw marketing and content at you, they need to listen and give people what they want. Are [consumers] pulling more after they first engage?”

“How to make an experience better for the audience – that’s where content marketing is headed.”