Is there anything we can learn about content marketing from the great, albeit fictional, unofficial consulting detective? Turns out there is.
The Sherlock Holmes stories were written by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, who tells us little about Sherlock Holmes’s financial situation. However, we are informed that his friend and colleague, Dr. John H. Watson, has a low salary as a half-pay Army surgeon and an even slimmer bank account.
That Holmes and Watson shared lodgings and had no servants suggests that they lived in what HG Wells called “pitiful gentility”.
With Holmes’ permission and editorial supervision, Dr. Watson chronicles the adventures of the great detective. It was considered vulgar for professional men in the late 19th century to discuss the payment of their fees, and advertising for most professions was prohibited.
Since both (fictitious) men needed income, how did they market their services? The answer is that they used content marketing.
Dr. Watson’s chronicles of the adventures of Sherlock Holmes were serialized and published in newspapers and magazines of the time for which he was paid and Holmes received much-needed publicity.
Dr. Watson did not arrange to have his stories published in any magazine or newspaper. They were published in the magazines that Holmes’s target market read. Watson was posting his content to the places his target audience went for information.
What was the target market for Sherlock Holmes?
Conan Doyle was very descriptive of his characters. From these descriptions, we know that the typical client who uses the services of the world’s first unofficial consulting detective:
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lived in or had a connection to London;
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they were from an upper-middle-class background; and
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they had the means to support themselves without having to resort to paid work or if they worked it was in an occupation considered suitable for a person of their class.
We also know that the target audience was educated to a higher level than usual at the time. We know this because Holmes quoted Goethe in German.
Wir sind gewohnt dass die Menschen verhohnen fue sie nicht verstehen.
Of The sign of the four
His audience would be familiar with Goether’s writings and would understand what he meant when he said “Goethe is always concise.”
Holmes was also in the habit of using French sayings, such as we will see (we will see). Again, his audience would have understood the meaning.
Holmes is also said to have referenced files from the Timeswhich was, of course, the newspaper of choice for their target market.
In terms of content marketing, what have Holmes and Watson done?
They have been quite clever:
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They have clearly identified their target market and it would not be an exaggeration to say that they created at least two personas, one for men and one for women. They created compelling content that helped build a trusting relationship with their prospects. His story was told as a series of adventures that resonated with the intended audience. The chronicles raised the problem and showed how Holmes was able to solve it;
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The chronicles entertained and informed the reader, but they also discouraged him from consulting Mr. Holmes; and
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They made sure their content was published everywhere their target audience turned for information.
Sherlock Holmes was not only an expert in the science of deduction, but he also knew a thing or two about content marketing.