It’s the season when lots of well-meaning people set resolutions for the new year. It’s a key trait of the 1% of content strategies that he describes as “mission driven, research anchored, influencer powered, and PR focused.” What makes a good research study? Andy has had great success with his annual Blogging Statistics and Trends research (now in its fifth year). A good way for marketers to bring in the fun is to inject more human elements into their content. We need to build more human-level engagement … and create more human experiences. Chances are content fun is not a traditional guidebook, Mark says bluntly. 1 reason marketers use it, according to CMI research. We need to create real immersive human experiences.” Learn more Watch Mark’s presentations: Webinars that Rock! Matt offers an easy way to check your value. Count how many times your content mentions “I and we” vs. “you.” Get out of a company-centric content strategy and develop what Matt calls “pathological empathy” for your customers and prospects.
It’s the season when lots of well-meaning people set resolutions for the new year. Eat healthier, work out more, spend more time with family, lessen the screen time, connect with friends, be more mindful…
But we know most of those declarations fail before it’s time to eat lots of chocolate (or bacon) on Valentine’s Day while binge-watching 10 seasons of a hot show on Netflix. I mentioned bacon for a reason, but I’ll get to that later.
I’m not judging anyone who doesn’t keep a resolution. I’m not urging you to set lofty goals for the new year. Rather, I’m providing a dose of pragmatic and inspirational advice from a handful of our community members who presented on some of CMI’s most popular webinars in 2018. All of our webinars are available on demand and are free to watch (with registration).
These are not unrealistic resolutions but bulletin board-worthy reminders for anyone working to succeed in content marketing. (And they are achievable without cheating!)
1. Lose excessive content
There’s no shortage of content to be consumed these days. Brain+Trust Insights’ Christopher Penn notes an amazing statistic in a recent webinar. Some 30 zettabytes of data are created each day. If that’s hard to get your head around, think of it this way: “If each brick in a zettabyte were one gigabyte, we would build 14 Great Walls of China a day,” Chris says. Whoa. Is it time to trim your content? Is it time to increase the quality of your content so that it’s not just another brick in the wall?
If your blog, newsletter, or website is overstuffed with information about your products and services, it’s time for a diet. While information for your prospects has a time and place, serving up a hefty helping of “look at me” content is not going to help you win friends and influence subscribers.
During a recent webinar, Carlos Hidalgo of VisumCx tells a story of a client with 200 content assets on its website. A thorough audit and analysis revealed only one of those assets made the cut for inbound or leads.
Thirty-nine new pieces of high-quality, targeted content were created based on quantitative and qualitative research. The anticipated results (shown in the slide below) – double-digit increase in closed-won deal conversion, 60% increase in sales-qualified leads, etc. – are a nice reminder that more content is not always better. “You do not have to be a content factory to find success,” Carlos says.
You also can look to technologies like AI to accelerate your content processes, be more accurate, and automate repetitive tasks, Chris says. Those benefits allow you to keep focused on the things humans can do best: being empathetic, telling stories of human experiences, and building relationships. More reminders about those points are coming up.
Learn more
Watch Carlos’ presentation Creating Less Content Through Intelligence and Chris’ presentation How to Use AI & Personalization to Boost Your Content Marketing Impact and Transform the Customer Experience.
2. Exercise your authority more often
Conducting original research is one of the most effective and scalable content strategies among successful marketers. Orbit Media’s Andy Crestodina notes it adds relevance, credibility, and trust. It’s a key trait of the 1% of content strategies that he describes as “mission driven, research anchored, influencer powered, and PR focused.”
What makes a good research study? Andy suggests thinking about it this way: What is something in your industry often mentioned but not backed by research? Study that topic, analyze the…
COMMENTS