‘We Just Don’t Have Chemistry’: How the Periodic Table Taught Me about Audience Targeting

If I asked you what the symbol for the element hydrogen is on the periodic table, would you know the answer? You may be able to recall the letter “H,” along with an unwelcome flashback of uncomfortable blue stools that turned the heads of the whole class when they screeched on the laminate floors if you shifted in your seat ever so slightly.

Ah, chemistry, for some it was love at first covalent bond, but for me it was, to put it lightly, the bane of my existence. Recently however, I was introduced to a new kind of table of elements, one I can relate to: The Periodic Table of Content Marketing. Not only do I understand this new take on the periodic table, but I am excited about it – which let me tell you, is so not on brand. Suspicious of this revelation, I got to thinking and discovered through first-hand experience just how important content marketing is.

Chemistry and I were not a great pair, but marketing and me? Now that’s a match. I’ve always been observant, curious, and interested in why people do the things they do. My disdain for chemistry paired with my love for marketing has presented one of the most important principles of content marketing: know your audience.

Dmitri Mendeleev’s Periodic Table of Elements looks almost identical to EConsultancy content creator, Chris Lake’s Periodic Table of Content Marketing. They’re both images of multicolored boxes filled with letters and numbers. There’s just one major difference between the two: the content.

Periodic Table of Elements via Brittanica

The Periodic Table of Content Marketing via CMA

So why is it that upon looking at Chris Lake’s version, do I immediately understand, yet the original table has me stumped? I can assure you I paid attention in chemistry class years ago (yes even with the distracting squeaky stools), but if I’m being honest, the topic just didn’t interest me, I couldn’t see a use for it beyond getting a good grade, and I had other classes that I found much more engaging.

Is famed chemist Dmitri Mendeleev’s Periodic Table of Elements a great piece of content? Of course, his work was a huge contribution to science and further discovery in the field. However, it doesn’t mean it is a great piece of content for me. Good content must be interesting, of value, and engaging, but it won’t be all of these things to everyone. If we think of these two tables as being a social media platform such as Instagram, would I follow an account about chemistry or would I follow an account about marketing? If I choose not to follow the chemistry account it doesn’t mean I don’t like Instagram, it means I don’t like chemistry.

Upon first sight of Chris Lake’s table, I found myself piecing together as many formulas I could think of that made sense. Leave it to content marketers to create a stellar piece of content to help other marketers, well, create stellar pieces of content. I may not be able to tell you the chemical compound for dry ice, but I can tell you that Da (data) + Vi (visualization) + Pi (Pinterest) + Ig (Illuminating) + Fc (Fact Checking) = one compelling piece of content.

As a content marketer, I want my audience to feel chemistry with my content. I want them to feel the way I do when I look at Lake’s table, and not the way I feel when looking at Mendeleev’s. Delivering content chemistry is what makes content marketing so rewarding. Doing the research to thoroughly know your audience, who they are, what they need vs. what they want, and why they want it, is the foundation to good content marketing and overall, good business.