Marketing – Page 2 – Editorial PR

06/Dec/2019

Two-thirds of marketers believe that their organisations do not have enough content to support demand-generation activities, while around half rate their overall output as either “fair” or “poor”, a new study by Content Marketing Institute (CMI) has found.

Demand generation is defined as the marketing programs deployed by brands to drive awareness and interest in a suite of products or services, and it is a common tactic in B2B and longer B2C sales cycles.

The broader takeaway from the latest CMI report is that while brands are setting out to be a leader in their respective markets, they often struggle to put themselves ahead of the competition due to a failure to “go beyond good” and strive for great demand-generation output.

Currently, a large portion of demand-generation content creation is focused on the early stage of the buyer’s journey when generation awareness and interest is the primary goal.

Respondents said that 52% of all content was devoted to early-stage activities in 2019, a 5% rise from 2018, and almost double that earmarked for the middle stage of consideration and intent (27%) and the late stage of evaluation and purchase (17%).

The good news is that 77% believe that content is either “extremely” or “very important” to their ongoing demand-generation drive and that the majority say that content marketing is “moderately successful”, though there is obviously room for improvement.

One area where companies could look to refine their approaches to demand generation is by creating greater quantities of content to really move the needle.

A sizeable 63% of respondents said that there is not enough in the pipeline to meet current goals linked to demand generation.

Looking ahead to 2020, 30% of marketers said that a major challenge will be having enough money, time and team members to conduct demand-generation activities effectively, which is a case for outsourcing and agencies.

A few other issues and factors that will be present in marketers’ thinking next year include the need to generate “large quantities of content”, support higher rates of publication and distribution, and having the resources to create high-quality content consistently.

CMI also spoke about the pressures of short-termism at the end of the report – another factor that is holding companies back.

In a previous report, just 6% of respondents said that they are delivering monthly campaigns compared to the 41% who do so on a weekly basis.

The focus on the near term can be damaging as it prevents enterprises from looking to the long term and the need to develop and overhaul infrastructure and scale efforts to deliver the excellent campaigns needed to achieve success.

CMI noted: “Most demand-generation strategies are simply demand-identification programs. Marketing teams exert tremendous effort to optimize content experiences for search terms and questions, and to be ever more different, persuasive, and faster for anyone who has raised their hand to say, ‘I’m interested.’”

CMI concluded by urging marketers to pivot from “good” to “great” and from short-termism to long-term strategy with a particular focus on the skills and infrastructure needed to support content marketing.

Aimee

22/Nov/2019

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Personalisation and bespoke digital experiences will be a major trend in 2020, but a new study by Oracle and Forrester Consulting has found that just one in 10 brands are effectively leveraging a “wide variety” of data assets to deliver the content that customers want across channels.

The ‘Getting Customer Data Management Right’ study, which is based on the opinions and insights of more than 300 marketing and ad pros based in Europe and North America, is the latest research this year to find that data is still posing a number of challenges for modern companies.

Brands recognise that centralising customer data so that it can be used to support marketing is now a critical activity and no longer just a nice-to-have, primarily due to shifting consumer expectations and the need to cut through the noise to reach and engage on a regular basis.

Three quarters of professionals said that improving the experience for customers is a crucial goal for them when attempting to make use of data, and more than two-thirds want to create unified profiles that enable simple targeting across a variety of devices and channels.

There are huge rewards for brands capable of doing this successfully as those adopting a customer data platform (CDP) generally see a 250% spike in the lifetime value of a customer while also driving revenue growth and higher profit margins.

Brands are making progress: 64% said that they have embraced CDPs during the last 12 months in order to eliminate data silos and bring assets together to create a “single source of truth”, which is crucial for better understanding the desires, needs and wants of customers.

CDPs can improve the efficiency of content marketing as they allow data to be deployed easily for a specific function and increase the effectiveness of campaigns run on channels such as blog pages, websites, social media and mobile.

All the benefits of data centralisation appear to be widely known then, but actually being able to achieve this objective is proving to be much more challenging.

Only 11% of brands are currently using the wide range of data types available to deliver consistent, personalised experiences that lead to a spike in customer lifetime value, despite 71% admitting that unified customer profiles are intrinsically linked to effective personalisation.

Issues remain, but brands are eager to improve as 69% of respondents said that spend on CDP initiatives will increase during the next two years.

“A solid data foundation is the most fundamental ingredient to success in today’s Experience Economy, where consumers expect relevant, timely and consistent experiences,” Oracle CX executive Rob Tarkoff said.

The new report also found that established enterprises are 3.3 times more likely to invest more in martech in 2020 compared to start-ups and emerging companies.

Oracle concluded by urging marketers to work closely with business tech employees as a more mature data and analytics approach can pay dividends in the form of richer consumer insights and higher-quality and integrated data processes, both of which will help marketing and other departments and divisions.

Aimee

11/Nov/2019

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Twice as many manufacturing marketers now have a documented content strategy in place compared to a year ago, but two-thirds believe that their overall efforts are only “moderately successful”, according to a new study released by Content Marketing Institute (CMI).

The ‘Manufacturing Content Marketing 2020: Benchmarks, Budgets and Trends’ report found that manufacturers have taken on content wholesale during the last 12 months with a huge increase in adoption rates and attempts to overhaul strategies to improve returns.

The enthusiasm for content marketing is also translating into better campaigns as 65% of respondents said that they would rate their organisation’s efforts as either “somewhat more” or “much more” successful compared to 12 months ago.

In contrast, just 3% said that they had achieved less success.

“With regard to content marketing, manufacturers have arrived,” CMI’s research director Lisa Murton Beets said in a statement. “No longer do we view them as late adopters.”

Overall, manufacturing marketers believe that their content marketing is “moderately successful”, which is a sign that there is still room for improvement across the board.

Currently, only 1% believe that their efforts are “extremely successful”.

However, the use of documented strategies is laying the groundwork for better outcomes, and there has been a notable improvement in this area year-over-year.

In 2018, 21% said that they had a strategy written down, but this jumped to 41% in the latest study, which shows that there is now a greater onus placed on strategic thinking.

Murton Beets added: “We saw a big increase this year in those who are approaching content marketing strategically. In addition, they’re having an easier time accessing subject matter experts and communicating complex content. Overall, manufacturers are reporting healthy levels of content marketing success, which is exciting to see.”

Manufacturing marketers face a range of challenges in 2020, but the most cited unique issue for them at the moment is “overcoming traditional marketing and sales mindset”.

Attempts to blur the lines between these two groups is a challenge for 55% of respondents.

The need to deliver content that can engage audiences across the sales pipeline (53%) and attempts to differentiate products and services from the competition (48%) are also hot topics in the industry.

A previous study by CMI found that outsourcing now plays a major role in content marketing for B2B companies, and the same is true for manufacturers where the expertise of agencies has gone some way to helping them deliver more engaging and higher-quality materials.

Two-thirds of manufacturing marketers are now outsourcing one or more of their activities to third parties, but it is content creation that leads the way by some distance.

87% of respondents said that creation is now outsourced, and the study noted that this may be the reason why manufacturers have been able to communicate more complex topics in 2019.

Perhaps most importantly, improvements in content marketing have helped manufacturers to position themselves as a “credible and trusted resource” for audiences, to value the craft and creativity central to content creation and production, and to serve the needs of customers in a timely manner.

Aimee

04/Nov/2019

Influencers can amplify the power of content marketing campaigns and 84% of brands are now running at least one campaign involving endorsements from celebrities, experts and other high-profile people on social media, according to a new report published by AspireIQ.

The study, titled ‘The State of Influencer Marketing 2019: An Analysis of the Social Media Ecosystem’ brings to light the pervasive use of influencers and their evolution from being a nice-to-have to an essential part of campaigns throughout the year.

More than three quarters are now planning to or are already managing ‘always-on’ influencer campaigns due to the wide-ranging benefits, which include increased awareness, reach, impressions and engagement.

Almost nine in 10 are running multiple campaigns a year, and over 50% say that they manage five or more.

The non-negotiable tactic has been driven in part by the sheer scale of audiences that influencers can tap into, which now numbers more than two billion across social media platforms.

Complementing high-quality content marketing with influencer-generated content (IGC) on social via emails and ads has also become a popular practice, as the latter gives influencers the freedom to use their unique voices to create more authentic content, which can engage with an already established audience.

Two-thirds of brands are now using IGC in some form and 21% have set their sights on leveraging it during the next 12 months.

A wide range of content is being produced, and output has evolved from the static images and photos that were once the staple for influencers.

Eight in 10 expect to invest in video content in late 2019 and into 2020, while 55% will tap into the current trend of storytelling to move and engage audiences.

Written content is also hugely popular, with 42% planning to focus their spending in this area.

The types of influencers that brands are looking to work with is also changing as the move away from high-profile celebrities to micro-influencers with smaller followings continues.

Research shows that smaller channels and influencers have 42% higher engagement rates than their larger, macro-based counterparts.

AspireIQ’s founder and president Anand Kishore said in a statement that we are now in an era when influencer marketing is about more than just promoting a brand on social – influencers now power content engines to assist brands with telling a consistent story on all of the channels in which their users are active.

Kishore added that brands and influencers are going to work even closer in the future to build communities that have a shared passion for what the brands make.

The age of influencers is also trending lower due to the rise of TikTok, with data showing that 70% on the platform are now teenagers between 14 and 19.

Meanwhile, brands are spending $10k on average on campaigns on TikTok.

Influencer costs are rising though and the average price now stands at $0.26 per post, while cost per engagement has also risen sharply since last year and is expected to increase further next year.

Fortunately, return on investment (ROI) is high at 423% from the $6,249.91 per campaign budget.

Aimee

14/Oct/2019

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Small enterprises can go toe-to-toe with the largest corporations by publishing content and managing excellent marketing campaigns, but many still fail to invest enough money into the practice to reap the benefits, according to a new study by software company Intuit.

Digital marketing is proving to be a double-edged sword for SMEs as they can transform their business and drive greater sales by implementing it effectively, but they can also be weighed down by the time and resources needed to follow documented plans and align it with broader business objectives.

The latest study by Intuit analysed smaller businesses in Australia and found that just 34% are putting aside funds as a priority for content and other marketing endeavours, which means that two-thirds are missing out on a myriad of benefits and potentially falling behind more accomplished peers.

A sizeable 46% of respondents said that they constantly face constraints on their budgets, which forces them to focus on other areas of business – though ironically, these processes could also get a boost from marketing, SEO and advertising.

Intuit says that many enterprises fall into the “trap” of prioritising spend for other business activities as marketing can often help immediately by buffering cash reserves during the formative years of trading.

“It’s concerning that so many small business owners in Australia are sacrificing opportunities to grow their business profile as a consequence of having to spend on other priorities,” Intuit’s Australia Country Manager Natira Drayton said in a statement.

She added: “This is a classic trap for small businesses.”

Day-to-day operational demands can make finding the money and time to invest in marketing hard, and it is difficult to keep cash flow healthy and achieve potential without it, according to Drayton.

While marketing is being pushed to the sidelines by businesses eager to double down on what they perceive to be more important processes, 80% of the 500 owners of small businesses surveyed said that they believe that marketing offers great value and is a useful tool.

In terms of marketing channels, 47% say that websites are the most valuable overall as these hubs enable them to publish content and bring consumers in to view their products and services with the aim of completing sales digitally.

The next popular channel is social media, with 42% eager to leverage Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and similar platforms to reach and engage with potentially millions of users around the world.

Email marketing and digital marketing are also viewed as essential channels, but again, a lack of funds and desire to optimise budgets are preventing many from pursuing these options at times when they could transform the success of a business.

Perhaps the reason why marketing is not viewed as critical is that SMEs are not aligning it with other areas of the business and are instead content with using it as a tool for reaching more customers.

Intuit found that 39% believe that the value of marketing is tied to its ability to grow a customer base, while 42% say that it mostly brings in new business leads – a similar number also claim that it helps them achieve direct sales.

Aimee

14/May/2018

According to a new study of the industry released by the news site TheManifest.com, most large brands are now publishing at least one piece of content marketing material every day and are investing a significant amount of resources and time to drive a better return on investment.

Content marketing has been a focal point for some brands for more than a decade, but the study suggests there has been a laser focus on the practice during the last two years. In 2016, just over one-third of digital marketers said it was important to allocate resources to the strategy, but this number has since soared to 53%. When next year rolls around, the figure is likely to be even higher.

Brands are now recognising how the right content marketing formats can make a difference to engagement levels. Therefore, marketers are increasing their publication rates significantly, with 51% saying they now push out videos, blogs, editorial articles, infographics and other resources every day. It appears that it is no longer an either-or situation for brands in terms of quantity and quality.

“Even ten years ago, content marketing was seen as a new buzzword,” said Lauren Fairbanks, CEO of S&G Content Marketing. “But over the last few years, it’s really moved into the marketing mainstream. Marketers know that content marketing is essential in reaching consumers in a very organic way.”

Thus, content is king, and more brand managers are eager to ascend the throne with targeted and relevant pieces that can strongly drive positive actions. The desire to think big is more evident at larger organisations, as 62% of enterprises with more than 5,000 employees said a new form of content is published every 24 hours.

The report said that this frequent schedule is now considered as the “gold standard” in the industry but admitted that keeping up with the pace may be challenging for an SME. A marketing agency is an excellent resource for anyone struggling, as the knowledge, expertise and general infrastructure offered by a third party can support higher quality creativity and busy schedules.

Video has emerged as the de facto content option for many during the last two years due to the rise of social media, but the written word shows no signs of losing out in relevance. A sizeable 69% of organisations said blog posts were their most popular content type, which suggests these are still desirable outlets for thought-leadership pieces and high-quality editorial content, while 72% said they prefer to use video.

As always, a unique mix of content formats is usually the best option, as brands need to target different subsets of consumers across a wide variety of different channels. Moving forward, marketers revealed that they are aiming to improve how their content ranks in search engines and their ability to optimise content for a range of connected devices. About 10% of marketers also want to create more actionable content to boost their engagement levels.

Aimee

11/Dec/2017

Content marketers are now devising strategies and campaigns for 2018. With this in mind, CMI and MarketingProfs have just published their newest Benchmarks, Budgets and Trends report to provide an overview of the latest trends among other useful information to help B2C brands plan and budget accordingly for the next 12 months.

Content is becoming more of an asset to modern enterprises with each passing year, so brands will be heartened to hear that two-thirds of B2C marketers believe they are achieving either “somewhat more” or “much more” success with their content marketing endeavours compared to a year ago. Almost nine out of ten respondents said they are now leveraging content in some form to achieve critical goals and objectives.

One of the most interesting takeaways is that the craft required to create high-quality content is now valued much higher by brands, as a sizeable 79% agreed that their organisation now places a greater emphasis on creative and production, which is a notable uptick from the 69% that said so during last year’s report.

Previous reports have cited a strong link between the most successful content marketers being more committed to the practice alongside having a documented strategy in place, and this again rings true. 93% of the top performers said their enterprise is either “very committed” or “extremely committed” to content, and of this successful group, 59% have a written strategy. In contrast, just 18% of the least successful marketers have a documented strategy.

However, the growing value of content appears to have resulted in an emerging trend of unrealistic expectations, as just 55% said their organisation has set realistic goals and targets for what can be achieved, which is well below the 68% that said so 12 months ago. Despite this, more than three-quarters believe their overall approach can be considered as anything from “moderately successful” to “extremely successful”.

“66% of B2C marketers surveyed said they’re more successful with content marketing compared with one year ago,” Content Marketing Institute’s Research Director, Lisa Murton Beets said. “At the same time, fewer B2C marketers than last year agreed that their organization has realistic expectations about what content marketing can achieve. One of the best ways content marketers can set appropriate expectations is to document their strategy. This will help stretched teams — even those that perform very well — focus on the priorities that matter most to their organization, and give teams that want to do more a starting point for building a business case for additional resources.”

MarketingProfs Chief Content Officer Ann Handley added: “Our research shows that B2C content marketers are placing a higher value on creativity and craft in content creation and production compared with one year ago.”

Marketers are using a variety of content formats to drive engagement, but social media posts topped the list of most popular resources, while videos, illustrations and photos, infographics, interactive tools and white papers rounded out the top six. Meanwhile, 79% agree that these resources have increased audience engagement during the last year, while 68% and 58% say content has driven lead generation and sales, respectively.

Eain

19/Dec/2016

Those wanting to boost their content marketing strategies to the next level should ensure they’re using magnetic advertising techniques to gain more leads. This is one of the most important aspects of marketing for those wanting to see online success. Why? Because it attracts readers and feeds them into a firm’s sales funnel.

The quality of content can make or break a business’ marketing success. If material is poor and doesn’t answer an audience’s question, people will click away quickly. On the other hand, if the content focuses on their exact needs, they’re not only likely to stay around, but they may also share the content with friends and acquaintances too.

Magnetic marketing utilises high-quality content

When developing magnetic marketing campaigns, it is essential to use only the best quality content. In many cases, people write content simply as a means of boosting their publishing schedule. This means it’s not necessarily high quality and is, therefore, unlikely to attract readers time and time again.

Angie Schottmuller, an expert in growth marketing, suggests that to make an audience take notice, the ‘Triangle of Relevance’ needs to be used. At each point of this triangle is a key element that needs to be included within content. These include business interest, user interest and time significance. User interest, for example, needs to cater to an audience’s likes and interests. Business interest has to include points on brand message for base products and services, whilst time significance takes into account community-relevant topics such as special events, holidays or the latest trends.

Create magnetic content with three steps

There are three key steps to developing content that might prove magnetic to a target audience and boost a campaign’s success, along with creating many new leads. The first is to research the appropriate topics. To do this, strategists should look up leading influences and experts within their niche and identify the topics of conversation being discussed. In particular, questions that are regularly asked could make ideal content topics, with brands being able to add their own personal experience and spin.

The second point is to establish just how to answer these questions. Of course, one simple way is to look online. However, by using this information, companies do little than regurgitate the same material. Instead, it’s worthwhile to take a personal stance on a topic and try to tell a story of how an employee or entire firm overcome a problem. This makes content more relatable and can build trust with readers.

Finally, the third point relates to how questions are answered. It is easiest to do this simply and systematically to avoid information dumps, disjointed tips and random information. Staying on-point and answering in a step-by-step format works wonders.

Creating magnetic content isn’t hard if the correct research is done and the Triangle of Relevance is utilised. And, by both attracting and then gripping audiences, brands are more likely to gain leads and see their content shared organically for increased reach.

Annie

10/Oct/2016

2017 is predicted to be a year when mobile content really takes off to new heights, so it’s vital that strategists are prepared to make an impact. Almost every aspect of life has now been disrupted by mobile, with people spending more and more time on smartphones and tablets. In fact, a Deloitte survey in 2015 found that phones are checked 440 million times every day. Meanwhile, it was reported that tablet use in Australia had surpassed PC use in November 2015. This means that more strategists need to look to the mobile market if they’re to deliver content in a successful and modern way.

One of the most important things to do is to ensure that content has all of its barriers removed. This means that content must be individually optimised for mobile. Google has already stepped in to downgrade content that is providing a poor mobile experience. Lately, they have also been targeting websites that include barriers such as pop-ups or newsletter sign-up overlays. These can be difficult to navigate on a mobile platform and, therefore, impact upon experience.

In addition to removing mobile barriers, firms have to ensure they are providing a smooth, quick and efficient digital experience. Site speed has been included in Google’s search algorithm for some time, and audiences have less patience and will put up with fewer delays than ever before. Ensuring quick loading time is incredibly important to build audience retention.

However, simply streamlining mobile operations isn’t enough and marketers need to actually change the way that content is created. For example, large blocks of text simply do not work in the mobile market, and can put audience members off from even starting to read a blog post or article. Instead, short headlines, bullet point lists and easy-to-navigate information is key.

In addition, web analytics firm Kissmetrics suggested that brands have up to ten seconds to catch someone’s attention on mobile before people navigate away. This means that key takeaways must be instantly apparent, and content should have obvious value. Strategists also need to alter their approach to call-to-actions. For example, adding these at the end of mobile content is no longer advisable. It is better to spread them throughout content instead. Videos can also be added to improve the quality of mobile marketing. Audiences are increasingly looking for rich media such as photos, charts and video instead of the traditional blocks of text. Adding video that has been optimised for mobile search and playback can significantly boost engagement.

Finally, it is extremely important for mobile content to be supplied on a platform that has a very simple, tap-friendly navigation. Tablets and smartphones have relatively small screens, and without the use of a mouse, audiences have to rely on touch gestures. Therefore, easily clicked links and collapsing menus can be utilised to save space and provide readers with an enjoyable experience.

When it comes to content marketing, the mobile era continues to change how material should be published. And, for those wanting to optimise their mobile content, delivering the right content in the right way is crucial.

Annie

12/Sep/2016

In an era of high competition amongst brands, and some of the shortest time spans in history with which to grab people’s attention, it is vital for content marketing to make its mark on customers immediately. For the best strategies to work, there must be immediate impact so that target audiences remain engaged for long enough so that a piece of content’s messages can be conveyed. For advertisers trying to tackle bounce rates and boost interactions, there are numerous data-backed tactics to utilise.

One of the most important priorities for any content marketer is to ensure they have an accurate buyer persona. It’s useless targeting content towards uninterested parties, and keeping people engaged relies on customers actually wanting to hear what’s being broadcast. To do this, brands must focus on unique buyer personas that allow them to identify what people are looking for and, therefore, help shape content and increase engagement. On average, marketers have four defined ideal customers, though niche companies may have fewer. It’s vital, however, to stop treating any audience as a single entity if any improved interaction is to be noted.

Another tactic, though one that may have to be run past superiors, is to increase the content marketing budget. It’s a fact that real results often come from a boost in spend. Marketing strategies can be kicked off with little capital, but to keep the ball rolling and improve results requires more money. As such, marketing budgets should not solely be for the purpose of written content curation. Money should also be spent on increasing multimedia content, investing in eBooks and whitepapers, and paying for increased promotion and analytics opportunities.

There is also some importance in not overlooking potential platforms, even if a host of networks are already being used. For example, LinkedIn can be incredibly useful for conducting B2B content marketing. In recent studies, the platform was found to be the only truly effective place for B2B marketing. Creating an account and blog is relatively simple, and this allows for original content to be shared across the network. Even better results can be found by utilising LinkedIn’s niche groups.

Email marketing should also play a role in any content marketing strategy. Whilst disseminating material across social media networks can provide good results, any curated email list provides a direct link to consumers. A report from CMI found that 73 per cent of B2C firms still believe email marketing is extremely effective – even more so than producing video content. There are many automation tools on the market too, allowing strategists to easily add email advertising to their content plans. Even sending out a single monthly email can be a very good way of maintaining brand visibility and keeping customers involved.

The best content marketing efforts are not solely focussed on new prospects, but aim to boost relationships with current customers too. And, by using a variety of data-backed tactics to keep people engaged, brands can boost the effectiveness of advertising plans – not only to better the bottom line, but to nurture consumer relationships for the future as well.

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EditorialPR Musings
Content Marketing Blog

Marketers say companies not producing enough content for demand generation

Oracle study finds just 11% of brands are using data properly

Enthusiasm for content marketing has helped manufacturing companies to succeed

Eight in ten marketers now run one or more influencer campaigns a year

Small businesses fail to prioritise funds for marketing

Marketers spending more on content and publishing every day

CMI and MarketingProfs release 2018 B2C content report

Utilise magnetic marketing to gain more leads

Marketing tips for mobile content strategists

Keep visitors engaged with data-backed tactics