The Content Code – Book Interview

Interview With Mark W. Schaefer

What’s your best piece of advice for readers looking to improve their marketing and why is it so important?

I think the overwhelming challenge today is cutting through overwhelming information density. It is getting harder and harder to cut through the noise to become the signal. We need to think about new platforms, new channels, new niches to occupy. We need to focus on content ignition.

What was the inspiration for your book?

Every day I work with brands who are desperately working so hard to get their content viewed and shared. It seems like everything is working against us. Intense competition, higher marketing costs, lower organic reach.

We need alternatives and new ideas. What do we do about it? This is the question I have been obsessed with for the last year. I think I have found the answer in six simple strategies that are accessible to any person or business.

What is the key concept behind The Content Code?

I present a case that the real economic value of social media marketing or content marketing is not in the content, or even the audience. It’s in the transmission of the content. The content only creates value if it moves, if people engage with it, if it is seen.

So we must begin to understand – why is content shared? How is it shared? Who are these amazing people who share it? Content is not the finish line, it’s the starting line.

The book goes into detail on the psychology and sociology of igniting content and provides hundreds of ideas businesses can use today to succeed in this noisy market. 

What do you want readers to take away from your book or be different as a result of reading it?

I think this book is about hope. It’s about hope for any business of any size to learn how to be relevant in the face of a menacing wall of competition.

There are ideas on every single page about building shareability into your content, finding the elite Alpha Audience who will share content, and creating the emotional connections that lead to trust and loyalty.

How do you describe yourself professionally?

Mark Schaefer is a college educator, marketing consultant, and author of 4 social media marketing books including Social Media Explained.

What are 1-3 books that inspired your work/career?

I loved Entrepreneurship and Innovation by Peter Drucker, who was my teacher and mentor. It presents a method to really institutionalize innovation.

More recently, Youtility by Jay Baer and Ctrl Alt Delete by Mitch Joel were tremendous books.

What is the biggest challenge that you’ve had to overcome in your life or career?

I’ve had to overcome a lot. I went through some pretty black periods in my life. I didn’t know it at the time of course, but it was making me stronger. The tough emotions I felt made me a bigger emotional person, a better friend, a better leader … even a better writer.

What’s something unusual or fun that most people don’t know about you?  

I have 7 patents from my corporate days. [HC: W00t!!!]

Bragging rights

I work with many big brands like Johnson & Johnson, Dell, and the Air Force. I speak all over the world. I have written 5 books that I am proud of.

But the thing I am most proud of and the work that will last is the contributions I make to the charities in my community.

Contact information

• Name: Mark Schaefer
• Company: Schaefer Marketing Solutions
• Blog: Businesses Grow
• Book(s):   The Content Code, The Tao of Twitter, Social Media Explained, Born to Blog, Return On Influence
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mark.schaefer3
• Twitter: @MarkWSchaefer

Author photo: http://www.businessesgrow.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/twitter-4.jpg

Thanks, Mark.

Happy Marketing,
Heidi Cohen