the 2020 content marketing imperative beyond the buzz & into reality

- than from the introduction

of the iPhone

- than from your first ever

possible tweet

- than from the creation

of a Facebook page

Henry Brothers Sale Barn – Russellville, AR

Where is content?Where is content marketing… at the heart!

Everyone is doing it…

But few feel good

about it…

Very few have a

documented

strategy

And fewer still

closely follow the

one they have

With no strategy is it

surprising that

there’s no process

And very little in the

way of tracking ROI

But it’s not like

we’re creating less

content….

And the number of

channels goes up

and up and up…

Here’s the

spaghetti…

Average of 11

tactics utilized

And we’re ready to

spend more money

Has A Documented CM Strategy

Has a CM Strategy, not documented

Strategy closely guides efforts

Dedicated content marketing group

Percentage of budget dedicated

54% 11%

41% 44%

62% 16%

69% 20%

37% 16%

MOST

EFFECTIVE

LEAST

EFFECTIVE

“Producing Content That Engages”

“Producing Enough Content”

These are Symptoms – Not The Disease

Consumers

have adapted.

We haven’t.

We shouldn’t wait for the train wreck…

Which we still use today…

“In the coming decade, marketing will be

re-engineered from A to Z. Marketers will

need to rethink fundamentally the processes

by which they identify, communicate and

deliver customer value.”

Philip Kotler, 1999

Kotler on Marketing

1.Evolution of

customer

relationship

2.Democratization

of content and

experiences

3.Marketing’s

evolution in the

business

• Disruption of digital more

broadly

• “Relationship” expectations

have changed

• Loyalty is to approach not

product or service

• Decline of “reach and

frequency” as focus

• Ease of publishing has

created “small marketing”

• Power AND risk of not

maintaining a brand

audience

• Beyond organizing around

technology or platforms

• Marketing must be

strategic differentiator

• Creating value, not just

describing it

“The purpose of business is

to create a customer. The

business enterprise has two

– and only two – basic

functions: marketing and

innovation.

Marketing and innovation

produce results; all the rest

are costs. Marketing is the

distinguishing, unique

function of the business.”- Peter Drucker, 1954

Marketing – and thus content – is the

distinguishing function of the business

We delight audiences as a means to, not just

create, but to evolve customers

We not only describe value, we create it.

Integration of content as a core

skill will be as critical as product

development.

For some it’s already happening…

“Ideally, you’re writing your first

line of content the same day as

you're writing your first line of

code.”Dharmesh Shah, CTO HubSpot

“Education is a key – a third of

all marketing investment goes

into content marketing

programs.”

For some it’s already happening…

“80% of our sales leads and

50% of our bookings are

generated from our educational

marketing program.”David Levin, VP Marketing - Clinipace

For some it’s already happening…

“Marketing makes us more

ambidextrous in terms of

innovation by connecting the

technology to needs.

We define marketing as a

combination of value and

innovation, and that means that we

had to look at marketers as

innovators.”Beth Comstock, CMO GE

So, what have we learned over 48 months…

Siloes are difficult – but

content can be a great unifier

B2C is much different than

B2B – both structurally and

strategically

Figuring out owned media is

the greatest challenge for

everyone

So – what’s the answer?

Let’s look at some who are working on it…

First, let’s just deal with the two elephants….

Finding A Home For Content

Food and Family Magazine

3.1 Million Opt-In Subscribers

Paid magazine

Found new home in Media

Data / Consumer Insight

Programmatic Ads

Personalized Ads

From Fuzzy Brand Awareness Builder To Hard ROI

For some it’s already happening..Cox Communications

Cox Blue – 25,000 small and

mid-sized business subscribers

to an online magazine dedicated

to educating business owners

Partnering with other publishers

to make mid-sized businesses

the hero.

For some it’s already happening..Ameritrade

thinkMoney Magazine – both

print and digital version of a

“trading lifestyle” magazine.

After customers subscribe to the

magazine they trade 5X more

than non-subscribers

“their best marketing investment”

Think About Your

Content Marketing Mission

OWNEDPAID

EARNED

We know this Why?

Our Attempt At

Content Marketing

Promoted

Social

Native

Ads

Huh?

PR

Content

If we’re lucky a

press release will

get coveredSocial Media

OWNED

PAID

EARNEDSocial

Native

Ads

Branded

Content

Low Risk High RiskKnown

Unknown

Advertising

Owned

Content

An owned media approach seems high risk, expensive and the result is unclear

PR

- Awareness Experiences(engage, entertain, inform)

- Nurturing Experiences(trust, differentiation)

- Loyalty Experiences(shared values)

- Content can be the byproduct of what

we do – or a differentiating strategic asset

- Marketing must create value both inside

the company and external to it.

“When the rate of change

on the outside exceeds

the rate of change on the

inside, the end is in

sight.”

- Jack Welch