A silo stands alone and is used to deliver a specific task.
In business and marketing, “silo” usually has a negative connotation in that it suggests a lack of integration. Silos can create split personalities – which, goes the logic, no brand can afford.
However, neat and crisp as it may sound, one voice cannot represent that many verticals of a business, especially re content marketing. In fact, if you are serving more than one niche, vertical silos can lead to better content marketing strategies. You need different voices – and sometimes separation, via open silos, is a way to preserve these.
This is especially true when your goals are the following:
- Higher engagement
- Building thought leadership
- Leveraging data
How to implement vertical silos in content marketing:
Choose and segment silos: Analyze and separate different niches in your business. For instance, is there a growth area that needs more focus? Is there change in market trends for a particular product? What resources do you have? Once you have segregated business activities into different verticals, assign team members to each silo. While assigning team members, you may wish to consider whether the personalities of the team players match with the particular niche? Are they excited about the subject matter or would they rather work in a different niche?
Understand buyer personas: Your content marketing team should aim to gain a 360-degree view of your audience and then create buyer personas of the archetypal customers that highlight their problems, fears, personalities and needs. Next, create a persona for your brand which responds and connects to your end user’s persona for each vertical. As a final step, deliver a customized message for each business niche.
Engage with your audience through relevant content: Create engaging content that is brand-compliant and delivers the right message to the right audience and through the right channel, including in-person and social media.
Finally, meet, evaluate and periodically review your content marketing messages for all silos and make sure they speak in the right voice tailored to the particular vertical they are intended for.