8 trends in content marketing
TRANSCRIPT
8 Trends in Content Marketing
Chuck FreyDirector of Online Training
Content Marketing Institute@chuckfrey
DEFINITION“Content marketing is a strategic marketing approach focused on creating and distributing valuable, relevant, and consistent content to attract and retain a clearly-defined audience — and, ultimately, to drive profitable customer action.”
Focused on audience needs – NOT your brand or products!
Requires a strategic approach
Customer personas are essential
Understand their customer journey
Nurturing: map content to each step of it
The right content to to the right
audience at the right time
DELIVER:
GOAL: change or enhance audience
behavior
Teach, don’t sell(not like Ron Burgundy…)
CAMPAIGN
Longer-term play– a different mindset
Rewards commitmentand consistency
ROI hard to prove –at least initially
Make your audience more intelligent
Communicate consistently
Trend 1:Less Content, Greater Impact
Content requires a strategy
But 48% of B2B marketers still don’t have a documented content strategy
Source: CMI 2015 B2B Benchmark Survey
More content ≠
more success
Without a strategy…
Let’s turn the crank FASTER!
We’re getting pretty good at this…
“Produce the minimum amount of content you need to create the impact you require”
-Robert Rose, CMI
Trend 2:Focused content
distribution
Typical scenario: Be everywhere!
The social media numbers game
GROWOUR
FOLLOWERCOUNTS!
Better approach: Focus and own it!
MatPat = 5.7MM subscribers!
Trend 3:Dawn of the
Content Brand
Excellent content has value separate and distinct from the product itself.- Joe Pulizzi, Founder, CMI
A collection of content = valuable asset
Leading content brands
AMEX Open Forum Adobe CMO.com Red Bull Red Bulletin
P&G Everyday Williams-Sonoma Taste HubSpot
How can you move in this direction?
ExtraordinaryContent
ConsistentlyPublished
CustomerFocused
Treat your content program as a product
Trend 4:Deliver true
mobile experiences
Most mobile content is rearranged
desktop content
Goal: Unique mobile experiences
Trend 5:The rise of ad blockers
R.I.P.BANNER
ADS
Effects of ad blocking
ContentNative
advertising
Trend 6:Accelerating
changes in social media business
models
Don’t build your house on rented
land
Example: Facebook Pages
Seen by less than 2% of your followers
You must “pay to play”
Drive people to your owned media
You don’t
control these
channels
They can change the rules at any time
Trend 7:Audience building
becomes a big priority
Priority: Build your email list
You OWN this!
Drive the right people to your website
Offer gated and ungated resources
“Steal” audience via
paid distribution
Target ads to match your personas
Trend 8:Think like a publisher
The mindset of the publisher
The mindset of the publisherClearly defined editorial mission – who we serve and how
Well-honed processes to produce content efficiently
Focused on cultivating deep relationships with their audience
Editorial calendar and high content standards
Well-developed business model – multiple revenue streams
Content marketers can learn a LOT from publishers!
The publisher’s “product” is an asset that has
value $$$
Audience engagement via:• Web content• In-person events• Print publication
Builds trust
Customers as heroes
Builds brand equity
“House” ads for Deere equipment/services/
dealers
Apply this mindset to content strategy
How it’sfunded
How it’s nurtured
LONG-TERM THINKING
How it’s planned
Grow audience faster: Buy a publisher
Brands buying publishers: examples
