How long have B2B companies been producing "content"? Is content marketing really only a recent phenomenon, deserving of so much airtime? Or is it simply that the channels have evolved and therefore the content needs to evolve also?
Defining content marketing
The marketing institute define content marketing as: Content marketing is a marketing technique of creating and distributing valuable, relevant and consistent content to attract and acquire a clearly defined audience – with the objective of driving profitable customer action.
Whitepapers, guides, insights, newsletters, client updates, e-zines, press releases - these have been the stuff of B2B marketing (particularly services) for so long. They convey expertise and formalise knowledge of a particular topic. They remind clients and contacts why knowing you is helpful to their business. If you think back over the past 15 years in B2B marketing, we spent our time put together publication schedules and hot-topic maps and distribution lists to ensure our organisation remained top of mind with the right people.
What would you call this now? ......A content marketing strategy!
It is easy to get overwhelmed by evolving marketing terms like content marketing or inbound marketing.
Really content marketing is an old game for B2B and the priority now should be about building on that old content strategy and repurposing your traditional whitepapers, insights, etc for an ever-widening landscape of newer channels.
In order to make sure content works, you need to know the channels, who is using them and how these people use them. But that has always been the remit of good marketing practice. You wouldn't put the same content in an e-newsletter as you would in a whitepaper or in a media article. You decide the core point or point(s) you want to make and you make them in slightly different styles depending on how you are reaching people.
The great news is that B2B organisations have been developing "content" in different formats and for different audiences/clients since they were founded. They are knowledge businesses, run by people with lots to say and advise on. No doubt there have been many squirmishes with marketing over the years about making the headlines and intros punchier, introducing bullet points, images, diagrams. Those are still happening today - tenfold when it comes to trying to distill the nuances of a detailed paper into 140 characters!
BUT it is already in our nature to produce content. This is a huge headstart over organisations that have more traditionally used more direct sales and marketing approaches.
The key is to stick to the good practices of planning out your content strategy in advance. I find this needs to be done on quarterly and a monthly basis to make sure you have an overall plan and the flexibility to change tack to reflect industry shifts in interest. Write out your overall publication schedule and a sub-plan for each channel (all on one map). Then try and write your content as far in advance as possible (yes even "spontaneous" tweets). People are normally more willing to get drafting if they see there is a plan in place and that if they are late, they might miss their publication slot. Once you have your content publication plan, you can see how all the topics work together and how the language reads as part of an overall tone of voice for the organisation.
Of course there will always be last-minute additions - an urgent client alert, a PR crisis to counteract or other events we cannot predict, but by having 70% of your content planned, scheduled and drafted, you will give a much more polished and consistent impression of your organisation to your clients and key stakeholders.
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