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Discussions on content marketing between B2B, B2C and non-profit marketers continue to take the scene in the center. What tactics to use? What should be the message? And does content marketing really work?
Some light has been brought about by two recent studies conducted in 2012 and 2013 by the Content Marketing Institute and MarketingProf. The overwhelming majority of B2B marketers reported that, in the two years, they employed content marketing and, further, they used a wide range of different content marketing tactics:
Social media (other than blogs) were used by 87% of marketers;
Articles on their websites and conclusions have each been used by eight out of ten;
Events and blogs in person were used by three-quarters of marketing;
Case studies and articles on other websites were used by seven out of ten marketers;
White papers were used by six out of ten, while about half of the used webinars / Webcasts;
And sixteen other tactics were 10 to 44% of marketers.
Given the wide variety of tactics used, it is not surprising that these marketing specialists have also reported the use of content marketing to achieve a number of different goals, including increases the reputation of the Brand, customer acquisition, lead generation, customer retention and leadership of thought.
So, while these studies confirm the popularity of content marketing (such as similar studies among B2C marketers), on many platforms and with a number of different objectives, the key question remains – what messages should -You communicate through all these tactics?
Understand your prospects and customers with market research
With all these opportunities to engage your customers and prospects, it strikes me that it would be careful to understand their desires and needs by buying a product or a service, as well as how these desires and needs are satisfied by your brand and your competing brands.
Some marketing specialists believe they understand their customers and hope they understand their prospects. But in today’s cluttered information, Trump Opinion facts. Without the right message, all your efforts in content marketing can be perceived as a just noise – and sometimes a lot of noise – by your target audience. Not a very effective way to spend your money or resources.
Therefore, before spending your limited time and your marketing communication, would it not be much smarter to learn directly from your audiences what they consider the most important for them in the selection of the brand? Ask them what is most important for them – quality, reputation, price, distribution, terms of delivery, manufacturing standards, reliability, environment, health, etc. Once you know, and how these attributes are related to your brand and competition brands, you will be able to align your strengths with weak competition to meet the needs of buyers.
In addition, this knowledge will also provide your employees with significant ideas that will affect their relationships and dialogue with customers or prospects. And, as a bonus, the research you make for your content marketing efforts can lead to an improvement in marketing and marketing communications on all your programs.
Marketing Communications Consultants or Internal Personnel
Have the skills and time to develop your email, regardless of the tactics of content, is another question to consider. Whether you use internal staff or external professionals, this type of research offers a meaningful and specific direction on what to communicate to improve your return on investment. Then the question becomes how to communicate this message.
Qualified professionals will not present the results of the search as a message “Brand Let’s speak” flagrant. Instead, the goal should be to build trust with your audiences through communications that meet their needs without a “difficult sale”.
So when you continue your discussions when, where and how to use content marketing, I hope you will agree that you will agree
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