The main difference.

Strategy and tactics are linked to answering two specific questions. Here’s a metaphor.

When you’re setting up camp, how to set it up is a question for tactics. And a checklist of all the things you need to do to achieve this is a working plan.

However, strategy is answering the question: why should we set up camp here, exactly? So, strategy is a higher order of thinking.

The problem with trust.

So many businesses want to get their future (potential) clients’ trust from the get-go. And that’s a logical problem, right there.

You cannot get their trust before offering something in return, for an extended period of time. And by “something”, I mean – value. A lot of value.

This is especially noticeable in b2b; sales cycles are so long and complicated that expecting to gain trust right away is almost impossible. Trust is developed, strengthened and nurtured.

And all three take time.

Why be limiting?

If content does not expand the thinking of prospects, it probably limits the opportunity to make business.

A business should maintain a dialogue with its audience. Therefore, content that only confirms what is already known – without pushing forward – is redundant.

Good content doesn’t limit prospects’ thinking. It enhances it.

The lesson from evolution.

As we evolved over thousands of years, the human mind developed by constantly asking one question.

Will this help me make further or not? In other words, does it improve or diminish my chances? We simply don’t like to make mistakes and will try not to.

We’ve made it this far by making fewer mistakes than good choices. And that’s what good marketing should do: lower the chances of making a mistake.

And keep its word.

A crucial aspect.

When we say “brand” deep down, even unconsciously, we probably have a certain level of expectation. I think that’s non-negotiable.

When we buy from Fender, or Starbucks, or Apple, it’s more that just design, emotions, or storytelling. It’s always quality. A very specific level of quality below which reputation starts being affected.

Because if the quality isn’t there, then it’s smeared brand image at best and fake brand at worst.

Branding is tightly knit with quality.

Repeating can also mean retelling.

Before social media made “content repurposing” a buzzword, bands and stand-up comics mastered the art.

A comedian would spend years refining a set in clubs, then record a DVD special. Later, that same material would be repackaged into a “Best of” compilation, then resurface in a box set.

Bands did the same: live albums, “greatest hits”, remastered editions. The same songs, but different formats. And they weren’t being lazy. They were maximizing value, broadening their offer and reach.

If an idea resonates once, it can resonate again if you present it in the right way, at the right time, to the right people.

Don’t be afraid to repeat yourself. The right people won’t see it as repetition.

The purpose of content.

A good blog post should invite the reader to read another one. To explore and learn more.

Thinking that the only purpose of a blog is to turn each reader into a customer is, to say the least, misleading (pun intended). Because a great number of readers probably won’t become your customers.

However, they might know a potential customer and refer you to them. Or help your business through word of mouth. They can be invaluable connections.

Good content doesn’t force relationships. It allows them to develop.

Questions for strategy.

Content strategy is not e.g. whether to start a podcast or not. This is not enough. The strategy in this case is to answer:

▪︎ What will the podcast be about?
▪︎ Is there an audience for the topic we have in mind?
▪︎ Will there be guests or just one host, episode after episode?
▪︎ Will it be livestreamed or pre-recorded?
▪︎ Where will it be published?
▪︎ How will it be repurpused?
▪︎ How will it be promoted?
▪︎ What is the exact goal of having a podcast in the first place?
▪︎ When will episodes be published, and why then?
▪︎ What are the long-term and short-term benefits of having a podcast?
▪︎ Is there a better way of communicating our message aside from a podcast and, if yes, what is it?
▪︎ Are there enough people to produce and promote each episode?
▪︎ Is a competitor doing something similar and, if yes, what makes their content relevant/better?

Content strategy is much more than content formats, and the two shouldn’t be confused. They often are, and that’s one of the reasons why results could be lacking.

Once the right strategic questions are asked – and answered – picking out suitable formats will be so much easier.

Because they will become obvious choices.

The two prerequisites for marketing.

If we want to define marketing by its most basic elements, they are:

1️⃣ It must be honest
2️⃣ It must bring results

Everything else is flexible, negotiable and prone to change.
But these two remain.

What the audience hears, reads or learns must be 100% true, otherwise it is not marketing (we all know what it is).

And the results…well, they can be manifold:
▪︎ increased visibility
▪︎ strengthened brand
▪︎ better customer satisfaction
▪︎ improved sales and revenue
▪︎ better market positioning
▪︎ and so on.

Not all business results can or have to be present in each strategy, tactics or plan. And they can be measured in more ways than one. We can define them differently.

But…

Honesty + results = good marketing.

If any of the two is missing, then it needs tweaking.

There for the quality.

I have never unsubscribed from an email list or a newsletter that has great content.
Because that’s the reason I subscribed in the first place.

And I rarely dwell on the subject line; if I’m a subscriber, it’s because I want to consume the content, period. Otherwise I wouldn’t be there.

Sure, the copywriter in me analyzed all subject lines, stacking them up in a swipe file, but that’s a whole other story. As a consumer, I want useful, quality content.

Subject lines are important, and they can help a lot, for sure. But the most effective way to ensure people don’t unsubscribe is by giving value.

And giving value isn’t easy, but that’s a whole other story.

Stories remain.

Imagine a world where every business — from the smallest startup to the biggest enterprise — had at least 10 direct competitors offering identical products, features, and pricing. No pricing war. No tech edge. No secret sauce. Just a crowded marketplace of clones.

In that world, what would be the one thing that sets brands apart?

Only storytelling.

When everything else is equal, the only reason someone chooses you is how you make them feel, what you are about, and the story you tell about the value you bring and the connections you want to make.

In the future, my guess is that attention will become even more difficult to ensure.

Markets will saturate, innovations will spread faster, and AI will flatten technical advantages. But stories? They’ll remain. And people would want more of them.

So if your product or service disappeared now, would people miss it – or the story behind it?

Because in a sea of sameness, stories are our north stars.