A recent study really got me thinking about the role of the sales team in the B2B content marketing process, and vice-versa.

The ITSMA 2012 How Buyers Consume Information study asked an interesting question: “At what stage in the buying process do you find it most useful to engage with sales reps?”

The top responses to this question stuck with me:

• Epiphany (24 percent): Keeping up with industry/technology news and events
• Awareness (23 percent): Learning more about potential solutions and solution providers
• Interest (24 percent): Identifying a shortlist of solution providers

Until I saw this data, I was under the impression that sales teams provide the greatest value to prospects who are at the final stages of the B2B buying process — those who are evaluating vendors and solutions and those who are ready to negotiate and close a deal. Continue Reading

These days, we hear a lot about the fact that content marketers need to be storytellers. That sounds great in theory, but what does it really mean in practice?

Stories have always been around, but they haven’t always been a big part of the marketer’s tool kit. As more of us are creating content, the importance of finding a way to stand out from the crowd increases exponentially. Telling a personal story is a great way to do this.

A story helps you explain what makes your brand, company, product, or service unique, and do so in a compelling way. Humans are wired to appreciate a good story. We have been telling them for thousands of years — as spoken words, acted out at campfires, drawn on cave walls, carved into stone, painted on canvas… you get the idea. Continue Reading

Every company has customer stories that could be fabulous marketing tools; but not every company uses them effectively in its content marketing program. The case study is the gold standard and something most marketers are familiar with. But customer stories can be just as much of a content gold mine.Continue Reading

To the beat of the Ohio State University marching band, Joe Pulizzi came to the stage decked out in a three-piece orange suit. After thanking sponsors and speakers, he welcomed the crowd to Content Marketing World 2012.Continue Reading

The sheer volume of travel-related content available online can create challenges, both for consumers and for marketers. If you have ever searched for information about a destination or advice about something travel-related, you’ve no doubt had to scour through pages of results — some of questionable authority — to find information that’s useful and trustworthy enough to base your decisions on. On the other hand, for travel-related marketers the challenges lie in determining what information you’ll provide and planning a strategy that will distinguish your business as a trusted resource for travel-related content.

In general, travel is an enjoyable activity — something consumers choose to spend their leisure time and disposable income on (with the exception of business travel). Most consumers do a lot of research before making a travel decision, such as a destination choice, best modes of transportation, type of travel (adventure vs. a guided tour), and when to travel. This gives travel-related service providers plenty of options for creating useful content.Continue Reading

Have you experienced trouble with the social media side of your content marketing? Are you worried that you can’t maintain controls over the content produced under your company’s banner? Does the thought of using blog posts, Facebook, Twitter, or other forms of online conversation starters strike fear in your heart?

Not every content marketer is comfortable with all the media we have to deal with these days. This is partly due to the fact that we all want to maintain control of our content, which isn’t always possible. So how about settling for some assurance instead? Quality assurance, that is.Continue Reading

Smartphones and tablet computers are all the rage these days. So it’s no wonder marketers want to get on board by creating content for mobile sites and applications. When you think about it, though, do you wonder exactly how to get your educational content onto a mobile website or application in a usable way? It’s a valid concern.

Mobile is undeniably a hot new marketing tool. But it is not just a mini version of the internet we see on our computers. Marketers have to think long and hard about what information they want to make available via a mobile app or site, and figure out the best way to do so.

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Intranets are the lesser-known cousins of the public internet that we all know and love. Because the content on intranets is proprietary, they remain shrouded in mystery for those outside the organization. But sometimes, they are mysterious for those inside the organization, too — especially for employees who may not understand how powerfully intranets work to give them the tools and resources they need to do their jobs.

Built for internal communication, intranets don’t serve the traditional content marketing goals of educating customers and prospects. But they do function as portals to valuable tools and information that employees need to be productive. So in a very real way, intranets are designed to share useful, informative content — just like the best B2C and B2B content marketing sites do.

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