Read the Latest B2B Content Blog in your RSS ReaderWhy is Content Marketing Like a New Car?
Have you ever had the experience of buying a new car, and then suddenly you start noticing how many other cars just like it are on the road? There was no appreciable increase of that make and model driving through your town. You just became sensitized to it. That’s what has happened to me in regard to content marketing. That, and the fact that more and more companies are adopting it as a winning strategy.
I was invited to speak at a national conference of Janitorial and Sanitation Supply wholesalers a couple of weeks ago. I was one third of a segment on services. The remainder of the presentations that day were all product related. I was nervous because I felt that content marketing was going to be a foreign concept to that audience. I needn’t have been. They totally ‘got it’. Their heads were nodding, they asked pertinent questions, and a full 25% signed up for Bolen’s services.
Last Friday I was referred to a company that sells industrial supplies locally. They had built a storefront to sell online across the country. They were disappointed in their results. Although they had decent traffic (due to a Google AdWords campaign), the traffic wasn’t converting into sales. So we looked at the top competitors. The difference was obvious. The companies closing business had useful and relevant content… content that explained the products and their applications, and included installation instructions.
Last night I ran into an acquaintance of mine in the supermarket. After a minute or so of small talk, he asked me about my business. His questions were focused on what I do. He had been burned by ad agencies in the past, and wanted to make sure I wasn’t more of the same. He’s a value-added reseller of networking equipment. The economic downturn has put a crimp in his pipeline. What he wanted was ”information that positions us as the networking experts.” He didn’t have the vocabulary, but he understands the value of content marketing.
Look for it, and you’ll see content marketing everywhere.
Tags: B2B content, content marketing, selling
Bob,
Love to hear more about your pitch and if your clients are seeking just online collateral or print too. When WOM was “walking distance selling” (you did business with those nearby, pre-car and pre-tv) content wasn’t as important. Your reputation coupled with the quality of your product/service was all you had. Now a great product or service may never be used by a soul if it isn’t positioned correctly.
You are right on track.
Ian
Ian,
Re online or off, everyone is doing a mix (and I think they should). Depending on the industry and the target market, it’s more heavily weighted one way or the other. Online and print both have advantages and limitations. Doing both increases coverage and effectiveness.
Thanks.
Bob - It sounds like you have a lot of experience in what works and how to evaluate why something isn’t working.
There’s an article in Newsweek (current issue) about behavioral marketing. Where do you see this going, what is your opinion of the potential?
Suzanne,
I know the basics of behavioral marketing - delivering ads and/or content that’s relevant to the context of where a surfer is. A simple example might be an ad for skis when someone is booking winter travel to Aspen. I think my buddy, Joe Pulizzi, would be better able to make a prognostication re the potential. I’ll ask him to weigh in.
Bob/Suzanne…thanks for asking me to weigh in. I guess my simple take is that anything, whether ads or content, must be relevant ongoing into the future in order to be effective.
Unfortunately on the ad side, most banners and buttons that are even precisely relevant are becoming less and less effective. Buyers are getting smarter and are looking for “real” content and not direct sales.
What we are seeing more and more of is precise content marketing based on customer wants and needs, as well as looking at their past web behavior, to create valuable, relevant and compelling content.
I guess simply, all marketing in the future will be behavioral.
Best
Joe
For those of you who don’t know, Joe is one of the top Content Marketing gurus and speakers in the world. He has a book coming out soon (co-authored with Newt Barrett) titled “Get Content. Get Customers.” Learn more about Joe and Content Marketing at his blog http://blog.junta42.com/