Content Marketing & Post and Beam Construction

Written by: Gary Horsman

Content Marketing & Post and Beam Construction

Looking Through a Content Marketing Lens

When you look at things using a certain lens you start to see things in terms of that lens. I often look at things from a content marketing perspective. This is a useful lens for me and when it seems I can view most anything through this lens and it has meaning to content marketing.

Here is an example.

A few weeks ago, a friend of mine asked me to help him assemble a post and beam barn. He said that I did not need to know anything about forming the pieces I just needed to show up and help him put it together. How was this stimulating activity like content marketing?

Let me explain . . .

First of all, Jack had a plan. He had thought out the process of the entire construction of his new post and beam barn. When you want to use the concepts of content marketing you also need a plan. You have to know what the goal is and then plan to reach that goal.

Jack also though out carefully the location of the barn and the locations of the footings. He made sure that the location was level and that the footings were properly in place before we started the assembly of the actual wooden structure. He made sure that we were on the level and had a secure foundation. This is analogous to having your center of content (your website or your blog for example) structured properly and that the architecture the look, feel and function of your website or blog  is proper. You would not want to put a big effort into creating content for a website when the website did not function properly.

Jack had thought out and had created the various components of the building. All the beams and posts had been measure and precut. They all had numbers so that we knew the order and the location of each and every piece. If Jack had not been there we could have followed his instructions and built the barn without him. This is good management.

Jack was present however, and he wanted to make sure that every piece was properly squared and level once in place but before pegging it (linking for you marketing readers). He did some checking to ensure that we (the workers) were on track and that the building would be “square to itself” (a phrase a heard often throughout the day).

Sometimes we had to nudge things into place as they did not quite fit. A little editing (or “persuasion” as Jack would say) was needed. We used a sledge hammer but you content marketers will of course use your editing program. Physically it is easier to edit a content piece than to persuade a post or beam to line up properly using a sledge hammer (take my word for it).

Jack had also assembled a good team. We all got along and we all contributed. There were no “observers” all made contributions and different contributions. I was not a heavy with the sledge hammer but drilled many holes, put in pegs (I am good a linking!) and ran the come-along.

The pegging held things together and made sure that connections between content pieces were strong and secure. The pegs are like the links you can create between your various content marketing pieces. One content marketing piece that links to another makes both more relevant, stronger and useful. Any single piece may be wonderful and beautiful but when all come together into a whole then you have something to be proud of like a new post and beam barn.

As you can see the assembly of a post and beam barn has a great deal in common with the creation and the linking together of your content. If you have a good plan and follow it then you cannot go wrong. This was a lesson learned that nice day in Woodstock when Jack asked me to help him construct his post and beam barn.

Thank you Jack!

If you would like to learn more about how content marketing can help you to gain more and better clients then I invite you to take our content marketing tutorial series.

Enjoy!