Many marketers aren’t convinced they’re getting returns from content marketing. To yield results, they need to understand the constraints that are preventing them from meeting goals and accordingly optimize their strategy. Randy Wootton, chief strategy officer and president at Percolate, a Seismic Company, explains the top three areas that B2B marketers are still struggling with, and how to fix them.
According to WorldcatOpens a new window , the phrase “content is kingOpens a new window †dates back to the magazine publishing industry slightly more than 40 years ago. And while the phrase didn’t really take off until the boom of the internet in the 1990s, it’s still applicable in many ways today and has been widely adopted by marketers and content writers alike.
But, while most marketers know the importance of a good content marketing strategyOpens a new window , many are still not convinced they are getting enough returns on their investment. On top of that, it has become increasingly challenging to tell compelling stories that resonate with potential buyers. Content production volumes are just so massive that subpar articles won’t breakthrough, and oftentimes, the content being published just doesn’t provide new information to capture readers’ interest. This is especially true right now as all marketers wrestle with re-thinking their marketing investments and programs. Instead of focusing on events and conferences, everyone is trying to create compelling content and activate them through digital channels.
Learn More: 5 Tips to Quickly Shift from Traditional Sales to D2COpens a new window
Marketers aren’t oblivious to these challenges, either – in fact, recent research from the Content Marketing Institute indicates that onlyOpens a new window rel=”nofollow noopener” title=”Opens a new window” target=”_blank”> 34% of B2B marketersOpens a new window would rate their organization as “very effective†at content marketing, which is surprisingly low. Companies must correct this problem by identifying the constraints of their own bottleneck and thinking about the quality, quantity, and coordination of creation and delivery. Otherwise, they’re wasting time, money, and resources producing content that’s not serving the business in meeting its goals. But identifying problems is only half the battle. Marketing teams need to then optimize their programs once these constraints are recognized to truly drive business value and offer today’s educated buyers something new to consider.
When looking at hundreds of companies across many verticals, there are very few companies that are actually content marketing exemplars. Unfortunately, many companies are still struggling with three critical areas.
1. Adopting a Publisher Mindset
Truly impactful content is developed with a purpose and delivered with intent. The biggest change in B2B marketing and sales over the past 15 years, is that mostOpens a new window rel=”nofollow noopener” title=”Opens a new window” target=”_blank”> buyers do their own researchOpens a new window before ever coming into contact with a sales representative, so businesses have to meet these folks where they are on their journey. It’s simply not enough to publish a steady stream of content; each piece must be carefully crafted to answer specific questions and provide tangible insights or solutions that speak to multiple buyers who are consuming your content for various reasons and at different stages in a purchase process.
One way B2B businesses have started to do this is by adopting a publisher’s mindset. That means going beyond blogs to take on more robust forms of content, including white papers, eBooks, videos, and more. Look at cybersecurity company, Sophos, for example – they run Naked Security, which is now a well-respected security blog. The challenge is that many companies have not hired people who are skilled at telling linked stories in a compelling way across touchpoints. To become more like a publisher, businesses should consider hiring writers that have ‘author-like’ experience and credentials – these are individuals who have already spent a good portion of their career following the business’ respective industry. Employing these writers can help ensure content is coming from a level of expertise that is different from that of a product marketer.
There are several options businesses can potentially investigate to do this, including hiring an industry influencer, analyst, or perhaps even a former journalist or editor of a well-known and credible trade publication. They can also seek out candidates who have already overhauled a company’s blog and content strategy and have demonstrated measurable results.
These kinds of individuals will also have had direct experience in telling a story that is consistent and resonates with the intended audience, as they’ve already had to track trends, changes, and challenges within a given industry. They’ll also have the editorial expertise to develop a consistent tone of voice, brainstorm interesting concepts for different content series, and know when to add visuals, videos, or user-generated content into the mix.
Not only does hiring these types of people add an extra layer of credibility and professionalism to content operations, there is also an added benefit of authentic amplification. While the research continues to show influencer marketing works, with a recent survey finding thatOpens a new window rel=”nofollow noopener” title=”Opens a new window” target=”_blank”> 80% of marketers believe their influencer strategiesOpens a new window are effective, you just have to ask yourself the question: “what sources of information/references did you use when buying a product or service?†When I have asked CMOs over the years, the response is always the same. They use analysts and their reports, go to conferences primarily to interact with colleagues, and, most importantly, follow specific industry leaders’ blogs, podcasts, etc. Industry experts and influencers matter, and working with them will help you evolve from a content farm to a publisher with a valued point of view. If your business isn’t at a point where it can hire one, at least keep up with their perspective and prioritize engaging with these folks regularly.
2. Executing Multi-Channel Content Experiences
One thing that all marketers agree on is that there is no linear buyer’s journey. In today’s B2B go-to- market, it is much more of a fragmented experience with multiple buyers engaging a company’s brand, content, and solution across myriad touchpoints in infinite variations. Thus, it becomes nearly impossible to talk about managing a buyer’s experience. And, if buyers are met with content that’s not relevant to them, they’reOpens a new window rel=”nofollow noopener” title=”Opens a new window” target=”_blank”> more likely to dismiss a brand altogether.
Thus, even if marketers create content with a purpose, the impact is nullified if they’re not activating the right distribution channels in the right sequence for that specific buyer. Compounding the problem is that marketing leaders at large companies often have separate teams focused on optimizing the specific channels (paid social media, programmatic advertisements, organic social media, email marketing, field, PR, etc.) without a way to orchestrate the multiple stories they want to tell in the various markets.
Learn More: B2B Programmatic Marketing Lessons in the COVID-19 EraOpens a new window
3. Bridging Data Lakes
To tell those stories across different channels, businesses must build a metadata taxonomy and break down data silos across the different teams so that they can properly tag content and measure the performance of each type – whether by topic, type of content, etc. In addition to being creative thinkers, content marketers must also bridge the gap between raw data and actionable insights by applying methodologies that will allow them to identify patterns. They can also tap digital communication tools that can help sellers and marketers align around delivering the right content and stories to buyers. These tools often allow them to also track and measure engagement to create a feedback loop to inform their content strategies going forward.
The future of good content marketing will merge data, measurement, and creative expertise to yield the results the business is looking for. While the mass volumes of content being produced make it harder than ever to break through the noise, marketers can come out on top if they plan carefully, present tangible solutions, and continue to tell the right stories.