Another great content marketing brain dump this week. As usual, we don’t just pick any story to highlight we only pick the best out there we come across.
The first story contains three really good reminders of what makes great content marketing, A Content Marketing Strategy That Goes Beyond Pushing Tons Of Copy
Are you a content marketer or pusher? Here’s the next evolution of content marketing.
As the flavor du jour, content marketing has been embraced by many marketers. But don’t be fooled. Many are just content pushers.
1. Create A Customer-centric Organization
2. Eliminate Silos
3. Always Be Creating
I’d say tip 3 is the one that is most important. The mentality of always shipping ensures that your in a constant state of improvement. The hard part of course is to be in a constant creative mode and not let it become stale or tedious. That’s actually one of the many reasons why I like content curation.
You might not think curation contains much creation but it really does. You have to first sift through the information to find relevant stuff your market will care about. Then you have to distill it down to something meaningful and finally you should try to do what I’m doing here. Add some commentary or insight.
So while the core of the idea came from another piece of content or someone else’s thought you’re still creating- all while giving credit and pointing to something relevant your audience would care about.
The next story comes Via setalks.com and provides some advice on how to create quality content. Well worth a read:
Thanks to the virulent updates of Google at every second day, 2014 is dedicated to the year of Content Marketing. Everyone is busy in creating his own Content Marketing strategies. According to a 2013 report of CMI (Content Marketing Institute), 86% of B2C companies have increased their content marketing expenditure. Companies have sensed the importance of this form of Digital Marketing and have been trying their best to create high quality content.
Every good story has a beginning, a middle and an end. This post Via blog.hellosoutherly.com dives in and shares how content should have a these same elements with one addition, a call to action:
I remember my first successful attempt at storytelling. It was way back in my junior school days as a snot-nosed nine-year-old, writing a short story for an English assignment.
My teacher, Mr Evans, called me up to the front of the class as he proudly read aloud Lock and Key to a very uninterested audience. It was a not-so-thrilling tale about intrigue, deception and a robber’s dog named Trouncer.
…But unlike my childhood tales, for your content marketing strategy to achieve its target and ultimately increase your company’s revenue your business storytelling technique needs a call-to-action that prompts your audience to take a step further along the sales path.
Next up is a Study: That Says 86% Of B2B Marketers Use Content Marketing, But Only 38% Believe They’re Good At It. The study is well worth a read but as with most studies the keys is trying to find some insight you can put into practice. If there’s one key thing I know we are working on it is what I just highlighted above- call to actions.
According to the Content Marketing Institutes latest survey to determine where B2B marketers stand when it comes to their content marketing efforts, 86 percent of respondents said they use content marketing, but only 38 percent believe they are effective at it. The report included more than 25 graphs, charting everything from the number of organizations that have a content marketing strategy in place, to what distribution channels are being used, and which metrics are being tracked. Of all the B2B Marketers polled, 86 percent said they use content marketing.
Next is a story that covers 3 Steps for Better Video CTAs but you can apply it to all forms of content marketing as well.
As more of you expand your foray in video content marketing, you undoubtedly know (and have been told) that a call to action (CTA) is an absolute must have. That all-important prompt encourages someone to actually do something and it offers an opportunity to evaluate your video’s effectiveness. Advice on how to weave an engaging and tightly integrated CTA into your video is much less decisive. Create a funny and personal or slick-motion graphic? Incorporate in video or description? The fact is that there is no single answer. The secrets to crafting a great CTA address your unique circumstances.
Finally, a mini case study and some advice on What Content Marketers Can Learn From the Water Business:
We also need to start our creative conversations in a totally different place. For instance, start with the question, “What would people want on this medium and is it right for the brand?” instead of, “Where do we want to stick this piece of creative?” It’s a change to the entire strategic and creative process. Great content (or, once again, clean water) is instantly recognizable and infinitely valuable. Once produced, people will consume it, share it, dream of it and always come back to the source for more. That is what a brand wants more than anything.
This post (as with all of our weekly round ups) are easily created with Curation Suite.
Images courtesy fastcompany.com, setalks.com, hellosoutherly.com, marketingland.com, contentmarketinginstitute.com, adage.com
