Tag Archives: Content Marketing
The Three A’s of Content
- 22nd February 2013
We get a lot of questions about content – from organizational structure and workflow process all the way down to “Which should we do – a white paper or a webinar?” That’s because you can’t market without content, which makes the whole idea of “content marketing” as something new a little absurd, but I get it – we need more content than ever before, and that content needs to be better. Many organizations are in the process of mapping existing content assets to the buyer’s journey and developing strategies for filling gaps, but how do we ensure that the new content we’re creating is of high quality? Low-quality content often lacks one of the following “Three A’s” of content.
Continue Reading....What We Talk About When We Talk About Content
- 18th December 2012
Raymond Carver's 1981 book of short stories What We Talk About When We Talk About Love is a series of vignettes focusing on characters seeking to define and understand the true nature of love through conversation. The deeper the characters delve into attempts to articulate love, the more inarticulate they seem to become. The same seems to be happening for those of us in b-to-b marketing seeking to define (never mind solve!) the content conundrum. The deeper we get into the conversation, the more broad and complex the problem reveals itself to be. Often, we find clients trying to solve the “content problem” before coming to a shared understanding of the nature and scope of the problem in the organization.
Continue Reading....Buyers Don’t Want Your Content
- 13th November 2012
Something struck me the other night as I was creating some new content for an upcoming event I’m facilitating. So, I’m building content, and actually thinking about content itself as a topic area we have been thinking and talking about a lot lately as a research team. And here’s what struck me: Buyers don’t want content. Buyers want information.
Continue Reading....Content Marketing and the New B-to-B
- 16th October 2012
Content is to marketing as matter is to physics. How on earth can content marketing be a new concept? The truth of the matter (pun intended) is that it isn’t. Corporate and marketing communications functions have long engaged the market with high-value, high-interest content, unfettered by overt ties to the product price list or lead-generating registration forms. What has changed is the nature of b-to-b marketing and its escalating requirements for product and demand content, which has given rise to the “trend” of content marketing.
Continue Reading....Thought Leadership Content: How Much Should You Share?
- 19th June 2012
Determining how much to share requires balance. Consulting leaders who leverage thought leadership strategies most successfully know that contributing compelling insights on market trends and industry issues is a highly effective way to build brand awareness and credibility.
Continue Reading....Are You “Working Blue” With Your Marketing Copy?
- 16th May 2012
I see a clear “taking the easy way out” parallel between comedians who resort to profanity instead of carefully honed monologues, and b-to-b writers who use the crutch of profound-sounding “filler” words or phrases. These let us use complete sentences even if we haven’t mastered a topic enough to explain it clearly. They also lull us into thinking we sound reasonable because it’s no different than all the other copy out there.
Continue Reading....Email Marketing: The Evolution Continues
- 4th April 2012
In 1971 computer engineer Ray Tomlinson used the Advanced Research Projects Agency Network (ARPANET) and a file transfer program called CPYNET to send what may have been the first email. Since then, email has evolved considerably — or has it? Tomlinson’s email was highly targeted, his message succinct and his audience receptive. Over 40 years later, how many b-to-b marketers can make the same claim for their emails?
Continue Reading....The Value of Integrating Social Accounts
- 13th December 2011
Let’s face it, many organizations have multiple Twitter, Facebook and other social accounts that have very little connection with one another. Integrating these and other types of corporate social sites ...
Continue Reading....Get Innovative With B2B Direct Mail
- 16th November 2011
When someone mentions innovation we typically think of something brand new and, well, innovative. But innovation can also apply to using something old in a new, different and, hopefully, better ...
Continue Reading....Is Content the Elephant in the Analysis Room?
- 27th October 2011
It’s hard to avoid reading something about how “content is king” in B2B marketing right now, but what does that really mean and what are you supposed to do about ...
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