Think of your content marketing strategy like a plate of nachos.

It’s Taco Tuesday, you’re hungry for some delicious Mexican food and you’ve got your friends seated, ready to go, order placed and waiting. Then, your friend Leslie looks over at you and goes:

“Content marketing is a big heaping plate of nachos.” Wait…wha?

“Oh, yes. While we’re waiting for our nachos to come out, I will teach you the Plate of Nachos Theory to Content Marketing.”

what is content marketing?

Content marketing is putting the narrative of your brand out there for your target audience to use and take action. Content marketing is growing in popularity, so much that 70% of marketers are already actively investing in content marketing. So, what does this mean for your brand? It means that just having awesome content for your brand isn’t enough. Knowing how to market that content in a way that connects with pinpoint accuracy to your target audience is key for getting the results you want online.

How you approach your content marketing strategy will determine the success of your marketing campaigns.

Thinking about your content marketing strategy can be overwhelming, but it doesn’t have to be.

Before you begin figuring out your long-tail and short-tail keyword terms, writing your ad copy, and constructing your calls-to-action, you should first learn about effective content strategy.

I created the The Plate of Nachos Theory to Content Marketing to teach my team about effective content marketing strategy. This easy-to-understand framework lets you see the bigger-picture— what a formulaic approach to getting your content out there actually looks like.

Though the psychology behind consumer spending behaviors is exhaustive, you’re in luck. Why? Because the Plate of Nachos Theory to Content Marketing presents an easily digestible and shockingly basic way to go from ZERO to EFFECTIVE CONTENT MARKETING STRATEGY in like, no time flat.

In this model, you will find everything related to long-tail and short-tail keyword terms, writing your ad copy, and constructing your calls-to-action…and even Search Engine Optimization.

In a few short minutes, you too will be able to benefit from the Plate of Nachos Theory to Content Marketing.

So, let’s get into it.

what is the plate of nachos theory to content marketing?

The Plate of Nachos Theory to Content Marketing compares an effective content marketing strategy with a plate of delicious nachos.

• Tortilla Chips = Content. Lay down a layer of chips that covers the entire base of your skillet. This is your actual content. Like the chips, your content isn’t everything but it is a solid foundation. What you do with that solid foundation will either turn your brand into something savory and delicious…or leaving no one wanting seconds.

• Salsa = Scarcity and Mystique. Humans want what we can’t have or has restricted access. From collector cars, to exclusive clubs and one-day only sales, we want scare things. Create an underlying interest in your brand by adding an element of mystique or scarcity to your content. Leveraging mindful obscurity creates organic buzz around your brand, and that buzz is a catalyst for organic word-of-mouth marketing. When you create content for your brand that gets people talking—whether ad copy or marketing slogans—the word-of-mouth marketing becomes an extension of your ad campaign. It exponentially stretches your advertising dollars with no extra work on your part. The salsa for nachos is like the mystique you add to your content to give it spice and interesting flavor. Spicy salsa, also like well-crafted content, creates a sensation that needs to be addressed. Spicy salsa demands you grab a glass of ice cold water to cool it down. Interesting content that creates curiosity demands dialogue.

• Cheese = Long-tail and short-tail keyword terms. Sprinkle on the cheese, and when it melts, it connects like tentacles to every chip and every topping. Seeing the stringy cheese when you pull apart nachos lures you in and makes your mouth water. Your keywords do the same: sprinkle them throughout your content to connect your brand with your target audience through SERPs (Search Engine Return Pages) via algorithms.

• Lettuce, Black Olives, jalapeños = photos, graphics and images. Like any great visual, the toppings on your nachos are the polishing finishing touch. They are like the professional photos, graphics and images you choose to accent your content. This helps affirm your brand image, so use ones that carry the message of what your brand is really about.

• Plating your nachos = platforms. Once they’ve come out of the oven, the cheese is gooey and the toppings make your nachos look ‘amazingly delicious’, it’s time to serve them up to your hungry patrons. How are you going to divide them up and serve them? You take out 5 plates:

  • One plate is for Social Media Posts. You will serve up some of your content here, but keep in mind, different platforms require you to craft the narrative of your brand in slightly different ways depending on their unique demands.

  • One plate is for Search Engine Ads. Search Advertising is its own genre, that factors in elements like click-through rates based on impressions and clicks. Ad copy must be written to compel readers to take certain actions—thus making your CTA (Call-to-Action) critically important.

  • One plate is for Social Media Ads. Ad Copy for social media combines the taste buds of the previous two plates. For example, well-written social media posts can be doubled as ads via Boosted Post options.

  • One plate is for Ad Opportunities in Other Places. Where else can you serve up your content nachos? Stretch your imagination! Consider the following:

    • Monetized blog opportunities

    • Mentions and sponsorships with social media influencers

    • Independently-managed ad content for professional blog pages and community sites

  the plate of nachos theory to content marketing- let’s eat!

  Now that you understand more about effective content marketing by approaching it with my Plate of Nachos Theory to Content Marketing, how will you apply these concepts to hone your content marketing strategy?