Yesterday one of our clients sent us the Elton John/The Who video today explaining that targeted content marketing is just like pinball.

Put simply the ball is content.  A piece of content once published can be used to hit many goals.  The point is that the content, like the ball, is no good if it just sits in the starting rack.  It needs to pinged in and moved about to reach the targets.  

What defines the success of the game is not just the ball but what it hits.  The paddles move the ball in much the same way as the entire team at a firm share the content.

Your Organiser (The Pinball Wizard)

Usually Marketing or Bus Dev - the person that makes sure this isn’t absolute chaos.  Their responsibility is to identify who should fall into the following groups in order to maximise success.

Ball Shooter and Balls 

Your creators and their content.  Without them the game simply cannot happen. It's over before it’s even begun.

The Flippers

The flippers' responsibility is keeping the ball alive.  Without the plan and targeted distribution, you will not score many (if any) points.  Each time they share (LinkedIn, Twitter, ISTATOY, WhatsApp) they have the potential to reach an exponentially higher score (ie one share to LinkedIn results in a key client including your content on their internal newsletter - target achieved!).  Essentially the share can accrue a multiplier effect, getting you and your experts in front of the right people.

The Bumpers

Bumpers react to the content and amplify the reach. Their involvement is not essential, but get it right, and collectively they will have a big impact.

The Targets 

These are the individuals you want to influence. In short, your clients, prospects, and anyone else who helps drive your business growth forward. 

So if you are in charge of targeted content marketing be a Pinball Wizard!  As the tweet alongside says where a casual pinball player sees random blinking lights, a pro sees a map and has a strategy to win.