One of the greatest challenges for marketers is to produce high-quality content to fuel both their social media and demand generation channels. But volume is not the answer. The solution lies in not producing more content but producing more relevant content.

This is a summary of what should you follow to create your first Big Rock piece of content, an asset that will serve as a cornerstone of your content marketing strategy.

Step 1: Find the Right Conversation to “Own”:
Choose a topic that you know a lot about and can offer a unique or interesting perspective on, do a bit of keyword research and social listening to find the topics and questions on the minds of your customers and prospects, then analyze these. The goal is to stand out, not add to the noise.

Step 2: Create the Framework:
Write the outline for your Big Rock and don’t skimp on the details. Next, socialize the outline with your product team and executive stakeholders for feedback. If you finished your plan, share it with your global marketing teams as well.

Step 3: Write the Big Rock:
Plan on writing 2-3 drafts. And think like a publisher, not a brand. That means that your content needs to answer questions, solve problems, provide inspiration and ultimately be helping instead of selling.

Step 4: Invite Influencers:
Add quotes from thought leaders and third-party stats. So, you’ll get a positive response when you ask the folks who contribute thought leadership to your Big Rock to collect these positive content and share with their friends.