I had the pleasure of speaking at the Canadian Business Press yesterday at their Mags University Conference in Toronto. The seminar topic was called "Braving the New World: Custom Publishing." The audience was made up of mostly publishers looking to grow their custom publishing divisions or launch custom media properties.
Here were the three key points that are really playing into the role of content marketing.
1. There was much talk about the power of association and corporate databases. In the past, corporations were powerless to target anyone. Today, corporations and associations have created powerful databases that in some cases are better than audited trade publications and web sites. This advancement takes out the distributor, and now corporations can communicate directly with customers AND prospects.
2. Distribution is changing the landscape of the content industry. Content can now be shared with key stakeholders through a variety of non-traditional mechanisms, including Digg, Del.icio.us, Stumble Upon, etc. These FREE distributors only care about one thing – good content that drives readership. Doesn’t matter whether it comes from traditional publishers or the tooth fairy.
3. The consumer is in control. And guess what: The consumer only cares about reading content that positively affects his/her life in some way…it doesn’t matter where it comes from. This has been the case for a while in Europe where custom publishing is mainstream, and some of the largest newsstand magazines are custom. Well, now it is alive and well in North America. The mantra is "Give me good content…period."
Corporations are listening. Traditional publishers are sweating.
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Databases, Distribution and the Consumer
I had the pleasure of speaking at the Canadian Business Press yesterday at their Mags University Conference in Toronto. The seminar topic was called "Braving the New World: Custom Publishing." The audience was made up of mostly publishers looking to grow their custom publishing divisions or launch custom media properties.
Here were the three key points that are really playing into the role of content marketing.
1. There was much talk about the power of association and corporate databases. In the past, corporations were powerless to target anyone. Today, corporations and associations have created powerful databases that in some cases are better than audited trade publications and web sites. This advancement takes out the distributor, and now corporations can communicate directly with customers AND prospects.
2. Distribution is changing the landscape of the content industry. Content can now be shared with key stakeholders through a variety of non-traditional mechanisms, including Digg, Del.icio.us, Stumble Upon, etc. These FREE distributors only care about one thing – good content that drives readership. Doesn’t matter whether it comes from traditional publishers or the tooth fairy.
3. The consumer is in control. And guess what: The consumer only cares about reading content that positively affects his/her life in some way…it doesn’t matter where it comes from. This has been the case for a while in Europe where custom publishing is mainstream, and some of the largest newsstand magazines are custom. Well, now it is alive and well in North America. The mantra is "Give me good content…period."
Corporations are listening. Traditional publishers are sweating.