04/12/23 Marty Smithmartinsellingzoe@aol.com

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Content Marketing Network

04/12/23 Martin’s Marketing Blog http://scentTrail.blogspot.com

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Content Marketing Network

• Google

• Traffic Arbitrage

• Culture

• Information and Brands

• Reputation and Algorithms

• API’s

• Perfect Storm

• Idea: Create Content Marketing Network

• Content Marketing Network Network Benefits

04/12/23 Martin’s Marketing Blog http://scentTrail.blogspot.com

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Google

• Google’s dominance is reshaping online commerce and marketing:

– Google share of search traffic > 70%.

– Google’s stress on content flooding web with keyword dense content:

• Bruce Clay et al. teaching same lessons to anyone with tuition.

• Keyword density tools such as WordVision = sophisticated and ubiquitous.

– Google’s algorithm changes favor nimble, flexible platforms with regularly changing keyword dense content.

– Google looks for authority and measures it by:

• Inbound Links and reputation of those links.

• Keyword Content and “On Page” factors.

• Traffic and user metrics (how long, what do).

04/12/23 Martin’s Marketing Bloghttp://scentTrail.blogspot.com

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Traffic Arbitrage

• Traffic arbitrage sites such as About.com and AskMen.com add thousands of words of content from multiple authors every day.

– Site architecture and Content designed to gain search listings.

– Search traffic sold to advertisers.

• Traffic arbitrage is high margin after initial costs because:

– Platform is largest investment.

– Use of platform lowers investment cost per content created.

– Content becomes self fulfilling and beneficial

• More traffic truly leads to more traffic, more listings, more revenue and lower costs.

– Ability to create new “products” (articles or content) is infinite and inexpensive compared to manufacturing or distributing hard goods.

04/12/23 Martin’s Marketing Blog http://scentTrail.blogspot.com

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Culture

• Culture is also shifting (chicken or egg who knows):– DIY (do-it-yourself) = reality with “free” tools. – Word-of-mouth and social networks = key.– Consumers difficult to reach with traditional marketing (tv,

print). • DIY Trend super fueled by new tools:

– Free Social network sites such as Facebook.– Free Word Processor software (Google Docs).– Free Blogging software.

• Web’s ubiquity and morphing delivery systems (phones, tv) changing marketing:– CraigsList = destroys classified ads destroying newspapers. – Hulu’s free TV = one of web’s fastest growing sites.– SKYPE = free long distance using voice over internet. – Apple iPhone goes to 10MM units sold in months inspiring

other handheld manufacturers to emulate “always on” connection to web.

04/12/23 Martin’s Marketing Blog http://scentTrail.blogspot.com

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Information and Brands

• Steven Johhson’s book Everything Bad Is Good For You argues:

– Complexity is new baseline.

– New Tools (Google and video games) increase capacity to handle large amounts of information.

• Capacity to manage more information is greater, time is not.

– The Attention Economy = time is new currency:

– 3,000 to 5,000 commercial messages seen by every adult every day, millions of ad messages by 30.

– People must shut out advertising messages:

• Reviews more important than Feature / Benefit copy.

• Word-of-mouth = best and hardest to get advertising.

• All marketing battle for hearts and minds

• Ability to buy no longer special

• Able to buy anything at anytime from a number of sources.

04/12/23 Martin’s Marketing Blog http://scentTrail.blogspot.com

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Reputation and Algorithms

• Brands provide short hand to parse mountains of consumer information

• In some ways brands are weaker:

– Become vulnerable to price snipping thanks to free review, reputation and ranking tools.

– Easy to find (Amazon.com, BizRate, Epinions) reputation algorithms mean everyone knows everything simultaneously.

• One effect of DIY culture may be reduction in brand loyalty.

– Recent CMO Study shows consumers less loyal to many consumer packaged brands during recession.

• Reputation as expressed in algorithms = key to long term marketing success.

• Law of large numbers (more information, more reviews) creates a higher baseline (one negative review can’t sink the boat or brand).

04/12/23 Martin’s Marketing Blog http://scentTrail.blogspot.com

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API’s

• Software development too is changing:

– More “open source” applications.

– Application Program Interfaces (API’s) allow building with other people’s tools (OPT).

– New software provide API’s for survival:

• Can’t create enough variety fast enough on their own.

• More Applications = more scale = survival.

– Use of API transfers familiarity and legitimacy.

– Free and open source are move viable than ever before.

– Free = philosophical shift.

04/12/23 Martin’s Marketing Blog http://scentTrail.blogspot.com

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Perfect Storm

• Marketing is in a perfect storm:

– Traditional tools costing more, delivering less.

– New tools (Facebook) launched, but not scaled.

– Winners uncertain.

• Some marketing rules do not change:

– Do marketing first.

– Purple is important.

– Exclusive is a currency.

– Customer service = very important.

• Cash register for other marketing not sustainable (Google doesn’t care).

• Online marketing strategy must change.

04/12/23 Martin’s Marketing Blog http://scentTrail.blogspot.com

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Idea: Create A Content Marketing Network

• A Content Marketing Network is…

– Loose affiliation of content creators using flexible web-based tools to create and edit content.

– An emergent system with little centralized control over what content is created or how it is edited.

– A community ruled, for the most part, by social stigma and wisdom of crowds.

– Formed around a particular topic or issues shared by commercial (e-commerce web sites or companies) and noncommercial (nonprofits, colleges, university) stakeholders.

– A shared resource possibly created by a “sponsoring” agent or company but dedicated to advancement of human issues and ideas not a single company’s profits or standing.

– Not traditional marketing using some other means.

– Managed for greater good as judged by community leaders.

04/12/23 Martin’s Marketing Blog http://scentTrail.blogspot.com

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E-Commerce Content Marketing

Evolution of the Web

Time Now

Content Marketing Networks

04/12/23 Martin’s Marketing Blog http://scentTrail.blogspot.com

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Idea: Create Content Marketing Network

- Dictionary / Wiki

- Forum

- Professionals & Experts

- Magazines (monthly editorial feature)

STORE

- Other Sites

- Wholesale & Other Web sites (SI, RX)

- Buzz Team Profiles and Reviews

- Blogs

SUPER PARTNERS STORES

Colleges & Universities -

Seminars -

Mash Up Content -

Contests& Games -

Local Search (city & state) -

Lifestyle -

Social Networks -

Content Marketing Network

Personals -

04/12/23 Martin’s Marketing Blog http://scentTrail.blogspot.com

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Content Marketing Network Benefits

• Reduced content creation costs.

– Users create content in an emergent system.

– Costs distributed across a network.

• Increased organic listings and traffic they bring.

• Flexible, responsive, constantly changing “content world”.

• Hard for competitors to duplicate quickly.

• Important source of market intelligence.

• Increased brand awareness as “sponsoring agent” and Network backbone.