Had an interesting conversation with Texterity president Martin Hensel regarding lead generation programs (specifically for BtoB markets) and how they are changing before our eyes. Now, all lead generation programs are different, but they basically run this way (yes, very simplistic to all you lead generation experts…here goes). Create the offer Convert and gather the lead information Direct e-mail or call by the salesperson to qualify or convert If they don’t respond, keep pestering them with email offers. Martin was discussing how one of his clients (a leading software company) was beginning to move away from this process. Why? They are finding that the majority of leads they acquire are: Very early in the sales process (often six to 12 months out and are just in the process of learning) and Are put off by getting a direct solicitation after completing an online form (usually from a white paper or webinar) The solution: the membership model. Here’s the process: Develop...

As usual, Seth has done it again. I’ve taken Seth’s questions to ask on launching your next website and adapted them a bit for content marketing. As you put your next content plan together, use these questions. You won’t be sorry. Enjoy! What is the goal of the content marketing project? In other words, when it’s working great, what specific outcomes will occur? Who are we trying to please? If it’s the boss, what does she want? Is impressing a certain kind of person important? Which kind? How many people on your team have to be involved? At what level? Who ultimately responsible for owning the content program? Who are you using to outsource your content project? What expertise will they need? What will they specifically do? Who will oversee them? Who are we trying to reach? Is it everyone? Our customers? A certain kind of prospect? The person we are trying to reach – are we trying to inform them or entertain them? Do we know what their informational...

Had the pleasure of giving this presentation for Virtual MENG (Marketing Executives Networking Group) yesterday on social media and content marketing. Some key takeaways from the presentation: The key to social media is understanding that no one cares about you.  They care about themselves. If you deliver consistent, valuable information to your customers (or followers in this case), they will care because you made it about them.  Most brands get this wrong. That means that publishing, and developing a content strategy that revolves around your customers' informational needs, comes first. Without content, using social media as a distribution mechanism and conversation starter is pretty pointless. What's your secret sauce?  Find the place where your customers' informational needs intersects with your niche expertise. You can build a strategy on that. 10+ Social Media Tips – Social Media Starts with a Content Strategy View more presentations from Joe...

Just finished this last post on content strategy before content marketing, then saw this perfect post from Seth Godin. It really puts what we are trying to accomplish with content marketing in perspective. Seth maps out six specific steps when it comes to success. Let’s take these steps and relate them to our content marketing efforts. Attitude Approach Goals Strategy Tactics Execution Note that Seth puts execution last. Many marketers focus on the execution of the marketing program first, without looking at the previous five points (hard to believe, I know). Step 1: Attitude I call this secret sauce. What is the intersection between your expertise and the informational needs of your audience (your customers)? Those content areas become the core for your content marketing program (and your business). Your secret sauce should be very relevant to your product and service offerings.  After all, you are in this to sell more of something, so be sure that is in the plan. Step 2:...

Core point: Don’t start executing on your content marketing until you have a sound content strategy. Yes, easier said than done, but so many of us get infatuated with a tactic before really planning out what should happen and why. You wouldn’t build a car without a step-by-step plan, but many of us create an eBook, Facebook page, web content or custom magazine without a content strategy. To address this, Newt Barrett and I covered the B.E.S.T. content strategy in Get Content Get Customers. The goal of asking the B.E.S.T. questions as part of your content marketing strategy is to find the intersection between your products/services and the information needs of your customers. Only then can you craft a content marketing approach that will deliver more sales, more customers, and more measurable results. Behavioral What action do we want our customers to take? What effect must we achieve with them? How will we measure their behavior? How will we put them on the path to purchase...

Following in the footsteps of their previous white paper on marketing trends (The End of Advertising as We Know It), IBM Global Business Services has developed another dandy for your reading pleasure called The Changing Face of Communication (download the PDF here). The report was designed specifically for telecommunication providers, but I feel it’s relevant for all marketers. I recommend you take 30 minutes to really go through this, but I wanted to pull out some interested quotes that help tell their story about how buying decisions have changed, and the role of technology in marketing.Continue reading

What if? (questions posed to a marketing professional) What if your customers saw your company as the industry thought leader? What if they signed up for your enewsletters and white papers because they were interested in what you had to say, and thought it could positively impact their businesses? What if traditional media called you for interviews, or bloggers wanted Q&As from people in your organization…not just a few times, but consistently? What if you didn’t need salespeople to make cold calls anymore? What if your customers spread your content to prospects for you – essentially becoming your marketing distribution arm? No, this is not fantasy land.  This can happen.  Maybe it’s already happening. How you ask? By consistently delivering the most important, most valuable, most necessary information to your customers. No one cares about your products, your services, your blog,  or your website.  They care about themselves…how to be happier, more successful,...

Wanted to pass on an outstanding eBook from Jonathan Kranz on the what, how and why for developing an eBook.  First off, this is a great example of how to do an eBook: inviting design, easy-to-follow organization, great examples, and a readable, natural voice. Second, if you are considering an eBook as part of your marketing plans, this is a must read.  Below is the embed, but you can download the complete version from Jonathan here. The best part is, Jonathan is eating his own dog food by not requiring any registration in advance of getting the eBook (way to go Jonathan!). The Ultimate Guide to Creating eBooks – The eBook eBook View more documents from Joe Pulizzi. The eBook eBook 11 Point Checklist Find an exciting subject that really means something to your customers Identify subject matter experts and other sources of precious information Frame the subject on terms favorable to your business Use conflict to create dramatic interest Organize your content for easier...

Just read through a very interesting post from Brian Solis on Forrester’s Five-Year Media Spending Forecast. From the results, this quote from Forrester’s Shar VanBoskirk is worth some discussion: “The most interesting takeaway from the research is that overall advertising budgets will decline.  Yep.  With dollars moving out of traditional media toward less expensive and more efficient interactive tools, marketers will actually need less money to accomplish their current advertising goals.” Takeaways here… Five years is a long time.  Twitter isn’t even that old.  Take these with a grain of salt. Anyone who doesn’t think that advertising budgets will decline should try a new career. Yes, online efforts are cheaper, and social media is essentially free…but what’s not being said here is a lot. Where’s Content? Let’s look at a few of the biggest projected growth areas, social media and search marketing. I’ve said it...

I love branded content tools and applications. If you aren’t thinking about creating one, you need to be…now! What is a branded content tool? Simply put, it’s an online application that comes from a brand (i.e., Kraft) that solves a very simple problem or is incredibly helpful.  Most times, it’s free as well. Why create a branded content tool/app? Similar to content marketing, where a company delivers valuable, relevant and compelling information in order to position that company as a trusted expert, a branded tool uses data content to do the same thing. What are some branded content application examples? Here are a few of my favorites. Website Grader from Hubspot. Free and easy-to-use tool that measures how well a website is doing in terms of search engine optimization. Website grader has been so successful for Hubspot (over 1 million websites to date), that they launched a number of other graders, including my new favorite, the Gobbledygook grader. The Webbed-O-Meter...

Had the pleasure of presenting “Please Stop Talking about Yourself” at the Web Content Conference 2009 in Chicago this week.  As usual, I was discussing the importance of brands creating their own media channels, and putting their publishing hats on in place of traditional marketing practices.  You can catch the PowerPoint presentation on creating media channels here, but for the PowerPoint averse, here are the top 10. Please Stop Talking about Yourself – Joe Pulizzi Web Content 2009 View more OpenOffice presentations from Joe Pulizzi. Create an online media site. Examples – HomeMadeSimple.com and BeingGirl.com from P&G; Out-Law.com from the UK law-firm Pinsent Masons (we also talk about Out-Law as a full case study in Get Content Get Customers). An educational enewsletter (not to be mistaken for the “sales happy” enewsletter). Godfrey gives us a great example from the b2b marketing side. A slideshare channel. Why not create your own presentation...

I was invited by the great teams at Advancement and DATAForge to  talk about personal branding success and wanted to share the presentation. There are some excellent personal branding specialists that I follow (thanks Dan Schawbel), but the presentation below was based mostly on what I feel has made me successful. What I emphasized to the group was that you don’t have to do all ten steps to be successful.  The most important part is that you pick the steps you can commit to and consistently execute those steps. 10 Steps to Personal Branding View more presentations from Joe Pulizzi. 10 Steps to Personal Branding Success Update Your Online Profiles Now. LinkedIn, Facebook, and your Google profile are the most important. If you don’t have it already, buy your domain name. As a standard practice, all business cards you collect should be sent invitiations via LinkedIn. Finally, hire a professional to take your picture. Start a Blog/Get Involved in the Conversation. I use WordPress...