Content Marketing is more than just publishing content...
When Doug Kessler (Velocity Partners) published his Slideshare ‘Crap: the single biggest threat to b2b content marketing’ it rightly got a lot of attention (one million views and counting).
[slideshare id=15931787&doc=velocitycrap-130110064100-phpapp01]
I think that the popularity of this Slideshare was not only because of the great title, but because it highlighted the challenge of getting cut-through as more B2B brands are spending more time on content marketing. Now B2B buyers cannot move for the flood of Ebooks, blog posts, and infographics (which are getting longer by the day!). According to the CMI:
74% of marketers say they are producing more content than they did a year ago, but 70% of content produced gets wasted each day!
From my experience of working with brands and training marketers on content marketing, there seems to be a common experience with initial adoption of Content Marketing. You know you need to be doing something, so you start…
Why is recruitment marketing one of the most creative applications of content marketing?
As we claw out of recession, a now-searing job market has been flipped in the pan. Those with experience and marketable skills are finding they now constitute choosers as opposed to the beggars of years previous. Although there is still plenty of competition, skilled graduates now have scope to play hard-to-get with recruiters. This is why I think, that one the most competitive applications of creative content marketing right now is in recruitment.
So, what’s the return on investment (ROI) for a recruitment areerontent strategy? You could say that staff retention and productivity are obviously measurable vectors, and on a macro-economic scale, ones that go hand-in-hand with our needs as a nation.
Skill shortages and Graduate needs
Findings by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) published last…
Increasing your reach by getting off your B2B blog and writing for others
The benefits of business blogging and personal blogging are well-known in terms of improving search visibility, delivering traffic and raising your profile but often it is hard to get audiences to come back to a blog on a business web site and engage.
A standard approach most business bloggers adopt is to seed blog content around the web - tapping into social media platforms, websites, groups, hubs and communities - with the goal of getting people to click the link and return to the website to take action.
Blogging, in this sense is, a very worthwhile activity. But it also a little bit spammy and has to be managed carefully to avoid coming across as being self-absorbed.
As most companies are blogging in order to improve visibility, stimulate greater website traffic and foster deeper engagement - a more inclusive blogging distribution strategy is…
Making the Internet human again
By 2020, the amount of digital data detailing just about every aspect of our lives will exceed 40 zettabytes. To put that figure into perspective, 40 zettabytes is 40 trillion gigabytes. (Estimated to be the equivalent of all the grains of sand on all the beaches on earth.)
Little wonder therefore, that a child will grow up finding the notion of total privacy as foreign as blue bags of salt in crisp packets, or bottles of Tipp-Ex. People from all stratas of society in our high-tech dystopian world are resigned to the fact that details of their personal lives are increasingly being left to the stewardship of an ever-decreasing circle of power-brands.
In this pseudo-Orwellian world, Data Scientists have reassigned the 20th Century title of ‘Mad Men’ to ‘Maths Men’ (poignantly pointing to the fine-line between intellect and insanity).
Former giants of creative advertising like David Ogilvy would, no doubt find…
How to use analytics to convince potential clients that they need your help
Analytics are a vital tool for establishing which marketing strategies are successful and which are proving to be a drain on resources. However they can be overwhelming to the untrained eye, which provides the perfect opportunity for you, if you work in business development for an agency, to offer your services and expertise to potential clients.
Using analytics enables you to identify issues and shortcomings in their current strategy and recommend solutions, supported by data.
Your initial step must be to establish their existing level of knowledge. It’s essential that you clarify whether they are a novice, or they are just looking for the input of an expert, and whether the use of jargon is appropriate. Making this differentiation early on will not only save you time in your explanation, it will also prevent you inadvertently patronising or over-simplifying to…
How Spotify built a $5 billion business with more than 50 million subscribers
Spotify is a streaming music service originally developed in 2006 in Sweden and launching in 2008. Spotify Ltd. now operates as the parent company in London while Spotify AB manages research and development in Stockholm.
This case study about the online music subscription service illustrates how different elements of the mix can be varied online. It also highlights success factors for developing an online marketing strategy. We've included it on Smart Insights for readers of Dave Chaffey's books before the next edition is publishes - it replaces an earlier case study
In early 2015, Spotify was valued at more than $5 billion. Investments in the growth of the company have been $1/2 billion in seven rounds of funding from 17 investors. It is currently rumoured to be about to…
Sharing 9 tips on engaging staff within an organisation to create content
We find there is great enthusiasm for content marketing, but when we talk to marketers at companies and agencies, we find there are two common content marketing management challenges (amongst many). First, how do you make the business case for content marketing and prove its value post campaign and second, how to encourage colleagues with the specialist insights to create great content given limited time or inclination.
We are all busy, with our own priorities and responsibilities and it can be difficult to engage colleagues to understand the importance of relevant, interesting and up-to-date information to share with customers, prospects and stakeholders who can influence the sales or company brand.
This post was originally based around a discussion on our Digital Marketing Optimization LinkedIn Group. We still often get this question which we posed. The question was simply...
How do…
What is Digital Transformation and what can hamper it?
This new infographic summaries a new report from Infomentum exploring barriers and steps to digital transformation.
It starts with a definition of digital transformation, which although by Brian Solis, isn't as dynamic as you might expect. It also doesn't get to the main success factors which, for me, are people, process and tools in that order. Here's the definition James Carson and I cooked up in our Digital transformation toolkit:
"Digital Transformation: A staged programme of business improvements to People, Process and Tools tools used for integrated digital marketing to maximize the potential business contribution of digital technology and media".
The infographic goes on to explore the barriers and how to overcome them but keeping them straightforward for a CEO. Possibly too simple, but the second part of the infographic does highlight the success factors and reason for change.
…
An interview with Ann Holman discussing approaches for encouraging change
The Managing Digital Marketing 2015 research from Smart Insights showed that many businesses are planning a programme to manage digital transformation.
Around a third of businesses are planning a transformation programme, with another third of businesses already underway with their programme. So, what can companies who are about to embark on Digital Transformation learn from those who have already started?
In my interview with Ann Holman, Strategic Digital Director helps answer this question, since she works with companies on their digital transformation. She set-up Our Think Lab to focus on R&D around digital and social media, providing consultancy on digital transformation. The interview discusses the importance the barriers and levers to change and suggests why larger organisations needs to act more like a start-up and…
Census of Digital Marketing Managers reveals improved integration needed in many businesses
Over 200 Digital Marketing Managers in the UK, working in companies with turnovers over £2o million, were contacted by an independent research agency commissioned by Marin Software for this census. The top 5 priorities revealed from their research were themed on integration; 46% of respondents will be focusing on improving their on and off-line integration, 37% working towards integrated digital marketing disciplines and Managers will be working across teams, more closely with their IT/Tech departments.
In terms of digital marketing integration, 12% were not integrating it in their organisation and only 27% felt it was fully integrated.
Download Marin's Software's 'UK Digital Marketing Manager's Census' Report for more details (registration is required).
To help marketers find the right job in…
