Content marketing myths that need to die

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c o n t e n t m a r k e t i n g i n s t i t u t e . c o m

Chuck Frey, Director of Online Training

@chuckfrey

c o n t e n t m a r k e t i n g i n s t i t u t e . c o m

OBJECTIVES

• Clearly define content marketing

• Debunk myths

• Understand its true scope

• Understand its strategic importance

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“Content marketing is a strategic

marketing approach focused on

creating and distributing valuable,

relevant, and consistent content to

attract and retain a clearly-defined

audience — and, ultimately, to drive

profitable customer action.”

- CMI’s official definition

DEFINITION

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• Compelling, helpful, purposeful information

• Creation of valuable experiences

• Make your buyer more intelligent

• It’s a 2-way conversation:

• Communicate

• Measure engagement

• Iterate and improve

• It’s not new – just not widely practiced

DEFINITION

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John Deere• Started in 1895

• Distributed via dealer network

• Farming tips

• Now reaches 2MM people worldwide

• Goal: Help farmers become more prosperous

WHO’S DOING IT?

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Adobe’s CMO.com• Target: senior-level

marketers

• Daily content on digital marketing

• Educate/inform customers

• Started with curation

• Expanded to original content

WHO’S DOING IT?

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Airbnb• Features on popular

host cities

• Inspire and motivate

exploration

• Position it as a lifestyle

• a la Condé Nast

• Create end-to-end

travel experience

WHO’S DOING IT?

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CMI’s CCO magazine• Focused on marketing

strategy execs

• Advantage:

Demographics!

• Great cross promotion

opportunities

WHO’S DOING IT?

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BarkBox• Purpose-driven content

• Treats and toys

• Experience design

• Support as “customer love”

• 200K subscribers

• 10% of revenue goes to shelters

• BarkPost - Huffington Post with dog news

WHO’S DOING IT?

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Caterpillar• Entertaining videos

• Visually celebrate its

rich heritage

• Showcase agility and

precision

• Millions of YouTube

views

• Generated LOTS of

earned media

WHO’S DOING IT?

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Moleskine• MyMoleskine

community

• Share hacks, artwork

• Inspire users of their

notebooks

• Grow its evangelistic

fan base

WHO’S DOING IT?

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THE STATE

OF CONTENT

MARKETING

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SURVEY SAYS…

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SURVEY SAYS…

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SURVEY SAYS…

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SURVEY SAYS…

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SURVEY SAYS…

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MYTHS

TRUTHS

VS.

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MYTH

To be successful at

content marketing, all we

need to do is produce

more content

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• Disjointed experiments ≠ success

• It’s not about turning the crank faster

• YOU NEED A CONTENT STRATEGY

• Only 35% have documented plan (CMI B2B

Benchmark Study)

• Customer journeys/personas are a must

• Content/timing/channels/customer segments

• How will you measure engagement?

• Only 21% track ROI (CMI B2B Benchmark Study)

TRUTH

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MYTH

Content marketing is

about campaigns

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• Campaign implies a fixed end point

• Content marketing is ongoing

• Think of it more like a PRODUCT

• It has a life cycle

• Different investment model

• Long-term commitment

TRUTH

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MYTH

Content marketing can

help me sell more of my

products and services

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• It’s a relationship/trust building tool

• Be helpful to customers

• Create an exceptional customer experience

• Get creative!

“Content should have intrinsic value separate from your product or service.”

- Joe Pulizzi

TRUTH

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MYTH

Content marketing is

only for the top of the

funnel

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• It can be used throughout the funnel

• Trust/relationship building

• Lead generation/inbound marketing

• Lead nurturing

• Pre-sale content (e.g., lease vs. buy info)

• Product support content

• Customer retention and loyalty

TRUTH

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MYTH

We should build our

content where our

audience is

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• Put content where you can build audience

• Draw them in with compelling content

• Focus on list building

• Social channels control the rules

• Don’t build your house on rented land

TRUTH

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MYTH

Content marketing is

about thought leadership

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• It’s delivering value via content

• Not always about teaching customers

• Storytelling

• Building an emotional connection

• Conveying brand values via stories

TRUTH

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MYTH

Content marketing is

about SEO

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• SEO = by-product of excellent content

• Goal: Deliver value to an audience so they

want to engage with your organization

TRUTH

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MYTH

Content marketing is

native advertising

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• A common misperception of the business

media

• Native advertising = sponsored content

(advertorials)

• Content marketing plans may include

native content

• Smart way to amplify your messages

TRUTH

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MYTH

Content marketing is an

independent discipline

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• It’s more of a strategic mindset

• It’s a way of thinking about delivering

value to customers

• It makes any part of your marketing

strategy better

TRUTH

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MYTH

We can accommodate

strategic content

marketing with our

existing processes and

structure.

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• Requires:

• New ways of thinking

• New skills/training

• New metrics

• Will require some realignment of people,

resources

• Good news: Get a lot done by diverting only

a small amount of media spend

TRUTH

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MYTH

It's too hard to accurately

measure the impact of

content marketing.

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• The problem isn’t usually measurement

• The problem is usually a lack of clear

objectives

• Engagement metrics are improving every

year

• Example: Kraft Foods

• Engagement metrics used to inform other parts

of its marketing program!

TRUTH

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MYTH

Content marketing is the

“flavor of the month” and

it won’t last.

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• What’s driving content marketing is changes

in customer behavior

• Principles behind content marketing are

here to stay

• Smart companies treating it as an asset, not

an expense

• Joe Pulizzi’s new book – Content Inc.

• Content marketing first, THEN launch product

TRUTH

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• Develop a strategic plan for content

marketing

• Adopt a product management mindset

(think long-term investment)

• Seek training on key disciplines

• Close the knowledge gap

• The “Office of the Future”

ACTION STEPS

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OFFICE OF THE FUTURE

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“Those companies that focus on

developing new skills today are likely

to employ the successful marketers of

the future. Those companies that

maintain the status quo are likely to

find their content marketing initiatives

struggling.” – Robert Rose, Chief Strategy Officer, CMI

TRAINING MATTERS

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Thank you!

Chuck Frey, Director of Online Training, CMI

chuck@contentinstitute.com