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Effective content marketing begins with the people and processes within your own organization. That’s because good content reflects the culture and values of the organization. So it stands to reason that internal content marketing can be a potent tool that reinforces objectives and motivates employees to care more deeply about products, customer service, and their fellow peers.

Internal content marketing is a function that is often overlooked. It’s not as sexy as its external counterpart, but engaging and educating employees and helping them feel like valued members of your organizational community is important work. It helps to make companies stronger from the inside out. Employing communications tools like intranets, Facebook groups, newsletters, and blogs with content that is compelling, informative, helpful, and motivational gives employees the tools, resources, and desire they need to do their jobs well. So, in the rush to gain the attention of customers, don’t overlook your employees. They are one of your most important audiences.

Goals of Internal Content Marketing

• Connecting your staff. Sharing information, stories, insights, and more is a great way to develop internal pride, break down silos, and help employees get to know and value one another and the work they do. When you make your company into a place where people want to work, productivity is raised and employees remain in their jobs longer.
• Reinforcing the brand and company values. In any enterprise, intangibles are hard to keep alive and top of mind when the daily tasks and pressures mount. Content that reaches not only your employees’ minds but also their hearts helps solidify the brand and its values into a company lifestyle.
• Providing relevant information. While it’s important to keep vital resources at your employees’ fingertips, go beyond the usual HR forms and company directory. Provide resources on the latest best practices. Connect them with writings from industry thought leaders. Encourage continual professional development and your employees will be better able to remain agile and grow with the organization. Educate and entertain.
• Spreading some workplace fun. Keeping your employee’s nose to the grindstone all the time just wears good people down.  Remember those studies that show people who watch pet videos during work hours are more productive? You don’t need to provide employees with ping pong and foosball, but when work is fast-paced and deadline-oriented, helping employees let off a tiny bit of steam is sound management.

Your bottom Line

In a Harvard Business Review article entitled Selling the Brand Inside, author Colin Mitchell wrote, “But it is a truth of business that if employees do not care about their company, they will in the end contribute to its demise. And it’s up to you to give them a reason to care.”

The long term positive effects of an internal content marketing program are significant. The improved work and morale of more engaged sales people, happier customer service representatives, and better-understood number crunchers will trickle down to your customers…and that has to be good for the bottom line.