Why Batman is the Best Halloween Costume for a Content Marketer

It’s Halloween. Have a costume yet? Unlikely. You’re a content marketer. You’re busy planning, writing, distributing, recruiting volunteers, repurposing, measuring… you don’t have time for finding costumes. Not to worry. I have your solution.

No one has ever gone wrong with a good superhero costume. And from what my research has told me (conducted very unscientifically), the obvious best choice for a superhero costume for any content marketer is Batman. (My colleague, Alecia Farley, will be happy about my choice, as I’m fairly certain that she is the unofficial president of the Batman fan club.)

So if you are the type who really wants some solid justification for why you chose your costume, here are five reasons why Batman is the ideal costume for a content marketer. (Although, you might want to think twice about making your costume choice Halloween party conversation, just a content-nerd warning.)

He’s a strategist — Batman is the thinking man’s (or woman’s) superhero. He, like any good content marketer, is always pondering his next move — he has to be because he doesn’t actually have any natural superpowers. He is a man of strategy. Other superheroes, like Superman or the Incredible Hulk, go with brute strength to get things done, but Batman formulates a strategy to foil his foes, much like a content marketer creates a strategy before jumping into the execution of all those content marketing activities. Planning before execution. Just like Batman.

Great multi-tasker — Everyone should have a utility belt. Think how useful it would be if, during your day, you could reach in and pull some content tool out of your belt — sometimes, different things out of the same pocket. Batman does it. The utility belt is super handy — it’s the ultimate multi-tasking tool. As a content marketer, you might not have the belt, but you have lots of tools at your disposal. There is a whole list of content tactics available to aid your effort. In fact, in its most recent study, B2B Content Marketing Benchmarks, Budget and Trends — North America, the Content Marketing Institute says that B2B marketers use an average of 13 content tactics. No one is using just one at a time. You have to be able to do several things at once, because content marketing calls for a multi-pronged approach.

Available Sidekick(s) — Batman can’t do his job alone. He has that famous (although questionably useful) sidekick, Robin, and Alfred the butler, that guy who always seems to have the right advice at the right time. You need sidekicks, too, since a serious content marketing effort takes a whole team of people to pull off. These folks have more combined skills than Batman has gadgets, and might include an executive strategist (maybe that’s you), project manager, editor(s), writer(s), optimization/distribution specialist, data analyst, and/or social media manager.

Willing to Battle Nemeses — Batman has had lots of nemeses over the years: Catwoman, Joker, Mr. Freeze, Two-Face, Riddler, Bane — the list goes on and on. That masked man never shied away from a good fight and always outsmarted the bad guys. Like your favorite superhero, you need to stand your ground in the face of naysayers, because there will be some. Yes, you need to have buy-in from the top before you even start your content marketing effort, but there will always be some people who say, “Why are we doing this?” and you have to be ready with the superhero answer. You know why educating and engaging your audience is a better way to build your brand, establish thought leadership in your industry, and nurture and even generate leads. Be ready with the speech. Stand your ground and keep battling any bad guy who stands in your way.

Brilliant businessman — Batman is really Bruce Wayne, multi-millionaire businessman and philanthropist. He is a smart guy, runs a successful business. (Ok, maybe in the last movie it doesn’t really do so well, but we’ll attribute that to Bruce Wayne’s moral integrity and unwillingness to be involved in anything related to mass destruction.) You, as content marketer, also have to be a good businessperson. This is not just about content, my friends. It’s about understanding marketing goals and business objectives. If you can’t get your arms around that, you will have a hard time keeping up. To do this job, you have to be good at a lot of things, like Batman.

Show off your inner Batman this Halloween — it will suit you perfectly, content marketer. For more tips on becoming a content marketing superhero, download our eBook, “How to Grow your Business With Content Marketing.”

About Yvonne Lyons:

Yvonne Lyons is Right Source’s vice president of creative services, overseeing content and design for all of our clients. She ensures that all creative produced at Right Source is of the highest quality and is aligned with our clients’ business strategy and goals. Yvonne received a bachelor’s degree from the Johns Hopkins University in writing and literature and has more than 20 years of experience in marketing, branding, and communications.