Marketing Interactions

4 Content Marketing Conundrums

I see a lot of stuff said about content that makes me wonder. There's so much noise about content marketing that it's hard to know what to believe. Some of it looks good on the surface, but when you start to dig in it doesn't. Some of it holds up. Do marketers take the time to find out which is which, or do we just go with what sounds best to us?

So, because it's Saturday and I'm stumped on a website copy project and need to clear my head, I thought I'd tackle a few things I've seen lately and see what you think.

Is Longer-Form Content Losing Ground?

For the last few years, I've been hearing a lot about how longer-form marketing content is dead. That everyone wants to read short blog posts, Tweets, scannable lists, look at pretty inforgraphics, etc. To a degree, I can see the logic. We're all busy. It's a snack-and-go world.

Or is it?

I stumbled across 36 Useful Internet Marketing Statistics, written by Mauro D'Andrea, and found these:

(Source: QuickSprout)

AND

(Source: QuickSprout)

So why is this?

• Is it because it takes more depth to write something truly helpful and instructive about solving a problem someone is trying to deal with?
• Is it because - instead of a snack - people are sometimes looking for a meal?
• Is it because people assume that since it's long that it has good stuff that may be useful - and make them look smart for sharing it? (But they don't really read it?)
• Is it because there are more opportunities to hit on the keyword phrase without the appearance of "stuffing" so the search bots like it better?

I use a lot of 1,000 word articles in the marketing programs I do with clients. They're selling meaty solutions that solve complex problems so it takes some weight in information and expertise to help prospects with serious consideration. But at 1,000 words, the content is still pretty easily digested. The programs have solid traction.

One of my client's salespeople finally secured a meeting with a prospect that he'd been after for a long time. When he got to the meeting, the prospect pulled out a copy of an article from our nurturing campaign and said - I agree with the way you're company is approaching this issue - what would it look for my company if we did this? The deal is in the works. And it's in the 7-figure range.

So, is longer-form content losing steam? I say no.

Only 20% Counts

I read somewhere recently that, on average, only 20% of the text on a web page gets read. Wish I could remember where. If you know, tell me in the comments. But, if it's true, how do you measure which 20%?

Some assumptions were made about the first 20% of the text from top down as that which would be read. If true, then I'd say the writing needs some work.

I'd guess that the first few sentences and then the headers and any bullets are skimmed. Maybe whatever has emphasis, such as bold or italics can also be thrown in. Then I think people decide if they want to read the whole thing.

If you had to consider how to optimize 20% of an article, how would you do it?

Producing More, More, and More Content

This is another hot button I'm hearing a lot about. Content marketers are trying to keep up with the hamster wheel of content production based on posting schedules and channel coverage. In fact, producing more content has overtaken the challenge of producing engaging content in the latest report (slide 17) from Content Marketing Institute.

But I'm also getting calls from marketers who say "We believe in content marketing. We produce great content. Buyers like it. But it's not impacting the pipeline"

Yep. That's because content for content's sake isn't going to do that. Content marketing isn't about just pushing out more content, it's about connecting the dots and telling the story that moves buyers from status quo to change.

I spoke to a marketer the other day who showed me a website redesign plan and asked my opinion. After looking at the site plan, my first question was to ask how he planned to produce all the content required on a schedule that would keep it fresh and motivate buying? We'll be working on a new strategy that gets the job done and doesn't kill his team and drain his resources. 

As a selfish plug - I'm presenting a webinar about Putting Your Content to Work next week. I'd love to "see" you there. If you'd like to produce less content and get better demand generation results, you'll find some helpful ideas.

Infographic Madness

This may be due to my age and eyesight, but most infographics make me a bit frustrated. Who decided that it was a smart idea to cram a bunch of really tiny text onto a scrolling horizontal series of graphics with big numbers?

This aside, even when I can blow them up big enough to read, many of them don't tell a story or carry through on a reader value proposition. #7 on the 36 Internet Statistics post is:

Publishers who use infographics grow in traffic an average of 12% more than those that don’t (Source: NeoMam Studios)

But I wonder if the traffic is bounce traffic or serves to build real engagement? If people only come for the infographic eye candy, is it worth the effort and resources to produce them? And, how many infographics are part of an integrated content program? I don't see many that are. Do you?

I'd love some examples if you've got some to share. And it needs to be more than "we embedded it on our blog and pinned it on Pinterest and Tweeted about it."

The above are only a few conundrums about content marketing. What else are you seeing that confounds you about content marketing?

B2B Marketing: Evolving or Stuck in the Mud?

There are a few things bugging me that I'd like to air out. Over the last few months, I've seen and experienced some things that make me wonder if B2B marketing is evolving or stuck in the mud and applying old thinking that no longer works in a new context.

Here are some examples:

1. Marketing speakers who still lead with a 5 minute "About my company and products" intro. Snooze.


2. "Experts" who have presented the same framework for years but talk about how the market environment is continuously changing. Disconnect.


3. Contests to gain followers or Likes. Is the guy who wants the Kindle Fire really a potential customer for a B2B complex sale? Wrong goal.


4. Exhibitors more focused on scanning badges than engaging people. Does it make more sense to try and build engagement later via email, or while the person is standing in front of you? Missing the point.


5. Presentations that mention the buyer once or twice but are predicated on the concept of customer centricity. Misdirect.


6. Survey reports with responses that contradict the responses to other questions in the survey. One example I can think of is a report I saw where the majority of marketers said they understand their buyers very well but responded that their top challenge is targeting the right people at the right company. Seriously?


7. Speakers who say outloud - "I'm not sure how I got here." Credibility.


8. Debating the labels and placing more importance on them than on the concepts and processes they represent. Distracting.


9. Fake personalization in emails that start off with statements such as, "I viewed your website and see that you would be interested in X" - when that's obviously bogus since X doesn't align with anything related to your website content. Fail.


10. Presenting takeaways that can help prospects take action. Too few.


11. Follow-up calls to white paper downloads as if responding to a qualified lead. Time sink.


12. Answering attendee questions with what you want to talk about rather than providing a direct and useful answer. Frustrating.


13. Compiling thought leadership from others and branding it as yours with a page at the beginning or end that thanks a list of contributors without indicating which ideas came from whom. Misappropriating.


14. Rehashing the same topics in blog posts again, and again, and again without adding anything new. Boring.


15. Jumping on the latest shiny tool, app, widget, network without taking the time to listen and evaluate the value it may (or may not) add as a component of your marketing mix. Irrational.

Here's what I'm rooting for to power B2B marketing evolution:

• New ideas
• Possibilities
• Excitement
• Commitment
• Integrity
• Focus on the attendees, prospects, customers, whoever your audience is - as long as its not you, your company.

B2B Marketing is at a more innovative stage than has ever been possible before. Marketers have the opportunity to impact the buying experience from end-to-end. It's time to develop new skills and commit to learning what it takes to walk the talk. Success is well within reach if marketers want to go after it. That's why I get fired up about this stuff. Endless opportunities exist around every corner.

There. I've aired it out. Thanks for listening. What do you think? What gets you fired up about marketing?

Why I Use Mind Maps for Content Marketing Projects

I'm often asked how I manage all the details of complex content marketing projects. My favorite tool for this is Mind Maps. Specifically, I use MindJet.

I whipped up a simple example to show you:

If I was doing this for real, I'd have the persona where it says Content Map Example.

I build my content flows based on questions the buyer persona asks at each stage of the buying process.

Next to each of them I input topics for content development and any links to documents or notes to provide the overall reasoning behind the question and answers (that's the content). Additionallly I can link to any resources I want to keep track of that may inform the content development. This keeps things tidy and condensed in one spot where it's relevant to me, as well as to others working on the project.

From there, I note which types of content I'm going to develop for each topic. I can link to the working drafts of the content as well as link to the final published content, once it's live.

What I like most about Mind Maps is that I can open up as many layers as I want at one time to get the big picture view of the flow, or condense it down to just focus on one area.

When I work with project teams, we'll often use Mindjet Catalyst - the online version - to work on drafts together and for meetings. It's much simpler than shuffling versions of documents back and forth via email.

When managing content marketing programs, finding tools that work for you is half the battle. I highly recommend that you try out Mind Maps and see if they'll help you turn some of the content marketing chaos into a calm and orderly process.

When Best Practices May Not Be Best

Many companies are obsessed with learing about best practices for their industry and creating a roadmap that mirrors those practices within their own strategies. We look to analysts, the tier 1 companies within our industries, vendors who solve problems we struggle with and whoever is getting the most media coverage on a subject we want to own. Based upon what they're doing, we think - Gotta get me some of that!

Best practices essentially have two parts:

• First is the theory, methodology and high level thinking that used to create and support the practice.
• Second is the execution of the first.

Best practices are appealing because they're usually based on something known to produce a desirable outcome. The downside is that those outcomes happen for the entity that developed and executed on that best practice.

Unless your company is exactly like that company, then adopting that practice as-is may not produce those results for you. But even more concerning is that your differentiation can be diminished if you're seen as a wannabe or imitator of the developer of the best practice.

When this happens is when we lose track of what we're trying to achieve and allow best practices to turn into hero worship. Imitation is not the best use for best practices.

Consider tossing out the 2nd part and focusing on the first. If you take a best practice and analyze the ideas and methodology behind them, what do you see?

Once you've done that, think carefully about how what you've discovered applies to you and your company.

Ask yourself a few questions:

Can you add in some of your own secret sauce to put a spin on a best practice that more closely aligns with what differentiates your company?

In what ways do your target markets differ from the source of the best practice? Based on those differences, how can you shift the best practice to align with what your company provides?

What's your company's distinctive value? Will adopting this best practice amplify or detract from that?

If you put the best practice into use, what will need to change? Culture, process, messaging, positioning, etc. Or what might change that you wouldn't want to change?

What do you expect to get from the best practice? Is that achievable? At what cost?

Another Way

Appreciate best practices for what they are and learn from them.

Figure out how your company's expertise can become a best practice and put that out there for others to learn from and model. That's part of being a thought leader within your industry.

We all have best practices, we just fail to recognize that when we're too close to them. Then we get sucked into thinking that the grass will be greener if we can just get what someone else has by doing what they do.

Best practices are great. I've even got a few of them up my sleeve. But, like everything else, they must continuously evolve to establish longevity as a best practice. How I do things today is not like how I did them a year ago.Today is better based on all I've learned in the last year and how I've incorporated those insights.

How are you building best practices for marketing your company?

What would you do differently?

Just a little something I've been thinking about lately.

Stop the PR Madness

In case the title isn't fair enough warning - this is a rant I kept hoping I wouldn't have to write, but I'm about fed up with the PR madness.

Before I start, there are a number of PR people who do GET it and we have nice, respectful relationships. I appreciate them and help them whenever I can. You know who you are.

Now, for the rest of you, there are a few things you need to understand:

1. I do not blog for a living. I have clients and their projects are what pay my bills. They—not you—are my first priority.


2. I cannot drop everything because your client is launching a new product tomorrow. Didn't you know that before today? Your urgency is not my urgency. Give me some lead time to work it into my schedule. I'll respect your embargo date. But I'll also appreciate getting to be one of the first to publish a story covering your topic.


3. I have a niche. I write about B2B marketing. Period. If your product, book, news or whatever else you're looking for press coverage about doesn't fit in with the theme of B2B marketing, don't send me your stuff. If you don't know the difference between B2B and B2C - go figure it out. Yes, amazingly, there are actually some PR people who don't know this.


4. Spamming me with a press release with no human message above it telling me why I should care isn't going to get you anywhere. It's rude. 


5. Do not send me attachments unless I ask for them. It's presumptuous.


6. Why is it you think you don't have to follow CAN SPAM rules? Oh, wait, I get it. It's because you're afraid everyone you spam would unsubscribe if you gave them the opportunity. Wise up and do it anyway. Beyond being considerate, there's a little thing called the law. Plus, if I respond and ask to be removed from your list - pay attention!


7. If you want me to respond to your request, spend a few minutes and read my blog and then use what you've learned to tell me why you think I'd be interested in learning more and writing about what you're promoting. Better yet, comment on my blog so that I get to know you and understand that you actually care about the topics I cover.


8. You also should understand that spam sent in representation of your client leaves an impression with me about your client. That they do business with someone who behaves this way rubs off on them. Is that what you want? Really?


9. Oh, and if I don't respond to your email, sending another one a few days later trying to guilt me into responding isn't going to work. I don't owe you anything. And your presumptuous behavior is making things worse.

I don't think this is asking too much. If you want something from me (essentially free work - see #1 above) you should be willing to make an effort. But in case you're feeling put out, perhaps you should understand what building relationships with bloggers can do for you.

• Bloggers have loyal followers that rely on them and their recommendations to find options to explore and to learn more about topics they're interested in.


• Many bloggers are syndicated. If they write about your stuff, it's likely the post will be picked up in numerous places that have audiences with interests similar to their own readers.


• Many bloggers are also heavily involved in social media and share their blog posts in those venues. They often have a network that proactively helps to share their posts - even more exposure for your clients.


• Once you've established a relationship with a blogger because you bring them something valuable to share with their readers, it's likely that they'll share your stuff again.

I'd say that the pay offs of a healthy and respectful blogger relationship are worth your time and effort. If not, that's fine. Just take me off your list. There are plenty of PR people who will make the effort and leave you in the dust with the results they get for their clients.

How to Get UnLinked on LinkedIn

LinkedIn can be a very valuable tool for B2B professionals to meet colleagues they'd never otherwise have access to, network with those they don't see very often and engage in conversations on topics of interest. It's also one heck of a community for getting to know your prospects and customers.

LinkedIn can also expose a lack of integrity and authenticity in a heartbeat.

Here's an example of how that can happen:

Yesterday, I received an email from a colleague telling me about a woman he'd met on LinkedIn who was asking for advice on finding a job with a marketing automation vendor. Since that's not his specialty, he suggested that she contact me. She thanked him for the referral to me. I know this because my colleague forwarded me the email trail of their discussion along with his note.

An hour or so later, I received an invitation to connect on LinkedIn from the woman which I accepted.

Next, I received the exact same email that she had sent to my colleague:

Date: 7/22/2010
Subject: Thank you!
Thank you so much for connecting with me virtually! I just wanted to introduce myself and see if I may be able to help you in anyway and initiate connecting further.

If I may, I am writing to you because my current employer which is a small marketing automation provider, lost its funding. As a result, I am initiating an aggressive job search campaign. I am a well-qualified sales/business development executive with a 15+ track record of surpassing sale quotas.

If you have any questions about my background or would just like to see how we may be able to help one another, please email me or dial...

No salutation. Nothing personalized. Word-for-word the same exact message as if the exchange between her and my colleague never happened. If you get this message, just click delete. I have a feeling it's being sent to more people than the two of us.

What a turn off!

Will I help this person? NO.

Am I even interested in being connected to her? NOPE.

Do I feel slimed? YEP.

The point of this rant is that building a network takes time, care and respect. LinkedIn is tied to your professional reputation, your integrity. Trust me, if this woman's name ever comes up in conversation my response won't be favorable.

You never know who people know or the side conversations that can happen beyond your visibility. It's a small world out there - getting smaller by the day. If you don't have respect for others or for yourself, it will become obvious faster than you think.

The sad part is that she could have started a relationship. She could have met some people who could introduce her to others who could help her find a new position. She could have made the experience valuable for others and for herself. But she didn't. 

She has just been "unlinked" - removed from my connections.

Why Sales and Marketing Alignment is Like Golf

Last night my husband and I watched our DVR recording of The Haney Project's new season featuring Ray Romano. In this series Ray Romano is seeking the help of golf coach Hank Haney to break through his lowest score to date of 80.

I used to play a lot of golf. I was never great at it, but I love the game. While watching the antics of Ray as he tries to grasp Hank's tips and improve his swing - the commentary is hilarious, as you might expect - I started thinking about why golf is so challenging.

A few things on my list include:

• Too much to do at once - head down, don't dip your shoulder, bend your knees, stay in your swing plane, keep your club face in the right position...and about 90 other things critical to achieving perfection. But only if all done simultaneously.
• The wind can change everything. Even a skillfully hit shot can be taken down by a shift in wind currents. 
• Water is only friendly to ducks.
• The rough isn't friendly to anyone.
• Trees. Why?
• Bunkers - just in case you haven't had enough fun already...

Yes, there are a lot of obstacles in golf. Lot's of things that can stop you from getting the ball onto the green and into the cup.

Golf has a lot in common with the B2B marketing-to-sales process.

Marketing tees it up and takes a swing. The more they know about the course (buyer's) and the conditions surrounding it (buyer's needs), the more forward progress they can make. If they take a misstep and hit the ball out of bounds, they must return to take a drop and start again. When marketing gets the ball on/near the green, sales takes over to execute the short game with as few additional strokes (sales calls) as possible. 

The lower the handicap, the shorter the sales cycle.

Anyone who's spent much time watching Phil Mickelson over the years knows what happens when there are issues with hitting the long shots or in the short game. It's getting the two consistent that produces a champion—and that takes a lot of practice, coordination and highly-tuned skill. 

When marketing and sales are working both ends of the game without collaborating on what works, tuning the transitions and eliminating obstacles, their results will be much worse than Ray's best score.

What golfers learn about the course on the way to the green plays into their efforts to sink the putt. If they can read the course well, they need less shots to finish out the hole. It takes practice and the honing of skills needed for every shot of the game to improve your score.

What handicap would you give your marketing-to-sales alignment efforts?

Social Media should be like Smile & Move

There are countless guides on how to get a gazillion followers on Twitter, how to optimize your personal brand on LinkedIn, how to blog with the best of them, etc. But, I'm constantly amazed that many folks employing these social media tactics have truly forgotten the meaning and purpose of a conversation.

Somewhere along the line, it feels like we've forgotten how to just be present. We've lost touch with the idea of giving as a path to reaping rewards.

It's really not all that difficult to jolt yourself back into what a marketing or sales conversation should be all about. I've found the perfect way to show you.

If you haven't heard about Smile & Move, now's the time. If you want a guide for etiquette in the social media environment, here you go.

Watch the video and tell me that you're not inspired to approach social media with the idea of serving, sharing and a commitment to providing value.

Smile & Move works like this:

Smile =

• Wake up 
• Be thankful 
• Be approachable
• Complain Less
• Smile. Really.

Move =

• Start early & go long
• Exceed expectations
• Have a sense of urgency
• Be resourceful & resilient

Sounds like a recipe for social media engagement to me...

Oh, and there's a book, too!

What do your partnerships say about you?

I love Wired magazine. The articles are insightful and meaty and expose me to new ideas and thinking. So, imagine my surprise when I received my latest issue bound with a copy of Fashion Rocks magazine. Say what?

What's funny, is that I was excited when I realized there was an additional magazine in the plastic envelope. I expected it to be something related to reasons why I read Wired in the first place. Wow - a bonus gift, I thought. What a disappointment.

There wasn't one thing in that magazine that appealed to me. It made me wonder what Wired was thinking?

I'm sure they have a lot of younger, edgy and hip readers who would appreciate it, but I'm not one of them. In fact, this post pretty much sums up my reaction. [Notice the reference to "involutary subscribers" - yep in an opt in world you still get that.] I did look for a link to their magazine, but it wasn't readily returned in a search query. Hmm.

**As a side note, I've learned that Fashion Rocks is an annual publication put out as a bonus to Conde Nast's fashion-based magazines. This raises more speculation as Wired isn't one of them.

But the real point is that Wired obviously sent this package to all their subscribers, without thought to segmentation or relevance. Is the response from the segment who's interested worth it to put doubt in the segments who aren't? Something to think about if you're still sending one-size-fits-all communications.

On the flip side, I wonder what sending out free copies of their magazine to people who aren't interested does for Fashion Rocks? In a world where relevance is becoming more important by the day, I was surprised that Wired chose to do this.

Be a Marketing Explorer

When's the last time you went out and looked for a new marketing idea? No, not a twist on something you've done, but something totally new and different - even if you didn't use it?

As we approach Independence Day I thought I'd challenge each of us to think about marketing in some new ways - come up with some fresh ideas. Sometimes we get so buried in deadlines and execution that we stop thinking new thoughts. Marketing becomes a job, instead of an exciting experience full of possibilities.

Have you noticed that it's doggone hard to find the time to look at things in new ways? Take some time over this long weekend to think new thoughts. No pressure, no deliverables, just think differently. See things a bit off kilter.

You'd be amazed what might occur to you.

To rev you up, here's a sampling of questions to ask yourself along the way:

1. When's the last time you read a business book and actually tilted an idea to apply to your marketing projects?


2. When's the last time you read a book? Not skimmed it, but read it, reflected about it, reveled in things it made you stop and think about.


3. What's the last book you read unrelated to marketing that gave you a content presentation idea that you used?


4. What can you do to better understand why people become your customers?


5. Do you reach out to learn new business ideas or just try to adjust the jargon to sound like you're in touch?


6. What's one way you can apply social networking to your next marketing program?


7. Think of a way to inspire prospect dialog that isn't being used in your marketing programs today.


8. What's the last thing you did to help sales connect with the prospects you're giving them for sales conversations?


9. What can you do to get marketing's message embraced by someone in your company who isn't in the marketing department?


10. What do you think will be the next big change in your industry? Have you thought about it? Once you recognize it, what will you do?


11. Name one thing you would do to impact your marketing efforts if nothing stood in your way.

Okay, that should get you started. Go explore some new ideas and embrace independence over this long weekend. Have fun!

You're invited to share your brilliant ideas here.