The Harry Potter series is one that needs no introduction. With eight movie adaptations that brought in over $7.7 billion, countless video games, a spin-off series and innumerable fans, this series has had a major impact on the world. It’s no wonder, then, that muggles (non-magical folk) across the globe have flocked to resources like the Wizarding World of Harry Potter to see how they would fit into the structure of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.
One of the most popular ways to do this is by figuring out which house you belong to. At Hogwarts, there are four houses: Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw and Slytherin. Each house – yes, even Slytherin – has positive traits that help them succeed in the pursuit of their goals. The traits that each house possesses can apply to many aspects of life. In this article, I discuss the characteristics of each house and how they can apply to your content marketing.
Gryffindor: Bravery And Nerve In Content Marketing
Be brave when creating your content marketing strategy.
Gryffindor is perhaps the most popular of the Hogwarts houses. After all, the Golden Trio themselves were members of this house, as were many other fan-favorite characters, such as Neville Longbottom and the Weasleys. The defining qualities of this house are bravery and nerve.
If you’ve started your own business, you already know how much courage taking the first step takes, but how does it apply to content marketing?
Content Marketing Takes Time
While starting out takes a lot of gumption, it can be just as nerve-wracking to sustain your content marketing pursuits. People often have the misconception that social media marketing produces fast results, but this is not the case. According to Metric Marketing, it can easily take12 months or more to see results from your content marketing efforts.
When the seeds you sew take so long to bloom, the easy choice would be to give up or stop trying, but that is not the brave choice. In order to give you — and your business — the best chance of success, you need to push through the fear of failure and continue with creating marketing content until you begin to see the results you were hoping for.
The Courage To Try Something New In Your Marketing Content
While there is a time and place for learning from your competitors, which we will talk about later in relation to some of the other houses, it is imperative that you be willing to take risks with your content marketing.
Your business is not exactly like any other business. Your business has different people, goals, areas of interest and services than others in your field. Your content marketing strategy should reflect that. Stand out from your competitors by showing what makes your business different.
If you’re struggling to come up with some ideas, here are a few questions to ask yourself to get started:
- Why did I choose to start this business?
- Who is my dream customer? What are their interests?
- What is something I want customers to think or feel about my business?
These questions can help guide how you innovate with your business. Step outside of your comfort zone and trust that your audience will be receptive.
Hufflepuff: Loyalty And Perseverance In Your Content Marketing
Hufflepuff in the original series was often overlooked. They have seen recent representation in the form of the main character of “Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them,” Newt Scamander, and are unique for being the only house that has not produced a dark wizard or witch. In the realm of content marketing, the traits of Hufflepuffs truly shine. Their most notable characteristics are their patience and loyalty.
Customer Satisfaction Through Social Media Marketing
In addition to their previously mentioned traits, Hufflepuffs are often known for their congeniality. If you have met a cheerful person with a can-do attitude, chances are you’ve encountered a Hufflepuff in the wild.
That attitude is what draws people to Hufflepuffs, and it can also be how you draw in customers.
Show your customer loyalty by being consistent with your marketing content.
Customer service is often consigned to in-person interactions and phone calls, but this business value extends to the digital field as well. You can read more about the benefits of customer services here. According to Cision, 97 percent of customers conduct preliminary research online before deciding on a purchase. One of the factors that customers consider is how a business interacts with their customers. For this reason, customer service needs to be a central pillar in your content marketing strategy.
Whether it’s comments or direct responses to customer inquiries, it’s important to be consistent in showing loyalty to your customer. This will help build positive associations with your business.
Creating Consistent Marketing Content
The goal of every business is ultimately to create a sense of customer loyalty. Not only do you want to generate new customers, but you also want your old customers to come back. In order to do that, you need to show your business’s loyalty in return. One of the main ways you can do that is by being consistent.
Take a page from the Hufflepuff book and bring a strong work ethic to your social media marketing. If you want your customer to see you as a reliable resource, your social media can show that you are available and up to date. This includes the marketing content you create on your blog posts, if you have a blog.
If a potential customer goes to research your brand, the last thing you want them to think is that you are either outdated or no longer around, but that is exactly what they will think if they go to your website or social media and see that you have not posted for over a month.
Being consistent with the timing of your content marketing is also helpful for search engine optimization (SEO). When algorithms organize content to propagate the search field, one of the major factors of consideration is how active a resource, social media page or website appears. But how often and when should you schedule your marketing content?
Ravenclaw: Synthesizing Information To Create Optimal Content Marketing
To help you make the best possible decisions for your content marketing strategy, you are going to need relevant information. That is where this next house comes in handy. Ravenclaw is seen as the house of wit and intelligence. This is the Hogwarts house for bookworms and lifelong scholars.
Creating an effective content marketing strategy takes time and research.
Research For An Effective Content Marketing Strategy
Regardless of which social media platform you choose to make your primary place to interact with existing and potential customers, there are a couple of things you will want to learn more about. They are:
- Posting Times – Lookup what times people are most active on your platform. Most social media pages can provide you access to these metrics. In the early stages of your marketing content creation, you can experiment with what times you receive the most interaction. Be wary of doing this too much, as it can get in the way of showing your customer the consistency that will keep them coming back.
- Hashtags – Hashtags are an effective way to help algorithms categorize your content and put it in front of the people who want to read it. Be mindful, however, that each platform handles hashtags a little differently, and more is not always better. Take some time to research hashtags that are relevant to your content. You can use resources like Hashtagfox to see what hashtags perform well for content related to your business. You can also check out our article about how to use hashtags on each platform.
- Types of Posts – Sometimes it can be difficult to know what to post about. One helpful rule to follow is the 80/20 rule. In other words, you only want 20 percent of your content to be self-promotional. So, for the rest of the content, you will want to look up other types of posts to create. Some examples include polls, questions of the day, article reposts and introducing members of your team to your audience. Creating a good variety with your marketing content will keep your platform fresh and have your audience returning for more.
If you’re feeling a little overwhelmed by the amount of information you’re being asked to digest, don’t be discouraged. The best way to figure out what works is to give it a try yourself. You can also check out our previous blog posts to learn more.
Utilizing Content Marketing Analytics
Whether you use WordPress, Squarespace, Twitter, Facebook or Instagram, your best friend for gathering information as you grow your audience is your analytics. Most platforms have this data readily available when you create a personal or business page.
The information you gain from your research into content marketing will be valuable, but nothing compares to the data you gather from real-world applications. The data you gather from your resources applies to the average business in your field, but your business is not exactly like every other business, so why would your marketing content perform the same way?
See what works for you. What does the data say?
Slytherin: A Cunning Approach To Content Marketing
Unfortunately, this last house doesn’t have the best of reputations. In the Harry Potter series, some of the most reprehensible characters come from this last house, but Slytherin traits are not all bad. In fact, they are also applicable to the content marketing field. While I may be biased as a member of the Slytherin house, I believe this house’s traits are just as valuable as those of the other houses. This last house is most known for its cleverness and ambition.
Learn From Your Competitor’s Marketing Content
One of the best ways to learn what will bring in more customers is by observing what works for others. It is true that your business is different than your competitors,but noticing what trends your competition follows can help you stay current and relevant.
Here are a few questions to ask yourself when viewing their marketing content:
- What topics are they exploring?
- Which of their posts receives the most engagement?
- How is their audience responding to their content?
Exploring those questions can help you brainstorm effective marketing content for your brand.
Your competitors can be a helpful resource for crafting your content marketing. Just make sure to avoid plagiarism.
To take this a step further, referencing your competitors can also be a way to improve your visibility. We explore more of those benefits here, but to summarize, linking to your competitors shows that you care about your customer more than you care about credit and that you are aware of the most recent findings in your field. If you choose to go this route, make sure to accurately attribute posts to avoid plagiarism and make sure to do it only in moderation. What you don’t want is your audience to view you as a reposting bot.
Setting Goals For Your Content Marketing
While members of the Slytherin house often end up in trouble because of their ambitions, there is something to learn here. Setting goals is a useful way to motivate yourself and give you something to strive for. In order to make the most of your goals, make sure they are SMART, or Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic and Timely. For more insight into creating your goals, check out this article.
Not all goals need to be kept to yourself, however. This can also be a way to humanize your brand and get your audience involved. This approach is especially helpful for causes that people already care about, like charities or nonprofits.
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