The first post that get’s top billing this week comes from SearchEngineWatch. With the advent of big data and the ability to track just about everything in the world it’s important to implement simple iterative ideas that produce results. That’s the essence of this post here on small content ideas, it’s thinking small but by thinking small you can generate some massive results. The ideas and concepts in this story is often where I recommend people start if they or their organization is new to content marketing. Pay particular attention to the “understanding” sections of this post:
Read any popular digital marketing thought leadership blog and you’d be bombarded with the notion that “big” content is the future of search and social success.
And while that is true to some degree, it is also a view that is dangerously one-dimensional and lacking in real strategic content knowledge.
Creating “big” is also expensive, and for the majority of businesses it is simply not possible to push out massive content campaigns one after the next.
Understanding what makes them happy, sad, angry, and enlightened will ensure you are positioning your content to answer those burning questions they’ll be searching for later on. If those two things are not aligned, you’ve lost before you even start. Via searchenginewatch.com
This might come out of left field for some people but from time to time you might find that you have to implement some form of outbound or cold calling strategy. Usually this is a good kickstart to an overall strategy of engagement, content marketing, and paid advertising. One of the biggest challenges I’ve faced when doing the same thing is understanding whether or not that telemarketer really can back up what they promise in their service agreement. The story that follows here provides some insight and checkmarks to put on your list when seeking someone in that realm:
How to Tell if a B2B Telemarketer Has the Chops
Telemarketers possess both the pride and pressure of the company they’re representing, that is why they need to be continually developed and coached. This is most notable in outsourced telemarketing and lead generation services companies wherein their agent workforce is the product itself.
These firms usually have a dedicate team leader, quality assurance analyst, and sales coach to make sure the standards of the company – as well as that of the clients – are met. Via callbox.com.sg
Ahh… marketing plans, probably the most exciting thing to think about. Very little great marketing happens without a plan- or without going through the planning process. The take here from TruckNews provides some quick insight to get you started thinking the right direction:
Taking Care of Business: Better B2B marketing plans
There is an adage that states, “you get what you plan.” And that is especially true when it comes to business-to-business (B2B) marketing plans.
Weak marketing plans can make a company vulnerable, provide insufficient focus, impede efforts to cut costs and manage change strategically, and affect market and financial performance. Weak marketing plans are pretty common in business, while great marketing plans are rare. Great plans provide opportunities to penetrate further into existing markets and break through into new ones. They help businesses deepen relationships with customers and develop new ones. They also create innovative revenue streams. Via trucknews.com
The next story comes from Convince&Convert and makes a very valid point that in many ways tracking B2B content marketing is easier than tracking B2C content efforts. My 2 cents here is much of it has to do with the tracking systems that are put in place by organizations that believe and implement content marketing. While that exists in the B2C environment many times the engagement and purchase behavior is taken for granted. Here’s some good points and a video to that dives in a little deeper.
Why it’s easier for B2B to measure content marketing
Terry: Do you think communicators are missing opportunities if they don’t have conversion activities or call to actions plans in their campaigns?
Jay: Too often we are thinking about engagement and clicks and things that don’t necessarily lead to business outcome. They might. They might not. I think categorically people spend too much time trying to be successful at content and not enough time trying to be successful at business because of content.
The goal is not to be good at content, the goal is to be good at business because of content… Via convinceandconvert.com
Images from searchenginewatch.com, callbox.com.sg, trucknews.com, convinceandconvert.com
