My wife and I were just talking today about how we can't believe our oldest "baby" is in first grade and turning seven. Where did the time go?
And now, Junta42's first born, Junta42 Match, turns two months old. Since launching on June 24th we've had our share of starts and stops, but it's clear that Junta42 Match has been a tremendous success.
Here are some stats:
- 35 matches completed - Over 100 leads distributed to publishers - 11 different types of content projects Total Value of Business = approx. $3 million dollars
Needless to say, we here at Junta42 are pretty excited about the early returns on the service. It's clear that this was a needed service in the marketplace - bringing brands, agencies and associations together with custom publishers who can develop and execute their content projects.
Big thanks to our publishers and content providers for signing up early in the system and believing in the model. It's challenging selling a product that doesn't exist yet, but everyone believed in the promise, and now we have more than 90% of the top custom publishers in the country supporting our cause and getting high-quality custom publishing leads.
On the other side, we've had wonderful conversations with marketing executives, marketing managers, agency reps and even small-business owners about how we've saved them time, energy and resources, bringing them the most qualified publishers to help them with their custom magazine, newsletter, website and blogging projects.
It's been busy this past few weeks, but I have made time to read some really interesting articles relevant to content marketing. Here are a few that you should check out...
Why Smart Content Is Smart Marketing Great article from Chief Marketer (Joe Stanhope) about how the analytics age is here to stay, but content is still the glue that gets results. Worth the read.
Anna from IKEA... I rarely laugh at blog posts, but this one really got to me. Humorous story from David Meerman Scott about how one great company takes technology a bit too far.
It seems like every event I've attended or article I've read over the past few weeks revolves around one key concept - Trust in business. Here's the facts:
Trust is the key component for business growth.
Notice that I'm not saying "a" component. It's the component.
Trust is more important than ever as the traditional walls that separated businesses from their customers continue to get torn down.
KEY FINDING In 2008, the Edelman Trust Barometer found that only 20% of the people surveyed trust corporate or product advertising. Instead, for a vast majority of respondents, “a person like me” was considered “the most credible source of information about a company.” In other words, commitment to and trust in a brand is less about slick promotional campaigns and more about trusted relationships.
The web is taking this concept and putting it on steroids, faster and with more impact than anyone ever anticipated.
Companies in the future will either thrive on a customer's trust or get killed by a lack there of.
How do companies now and into the future create customer trust?
First, you need to realize that trust cannot be created by a great product alone. That's where most companies start and fail. Makes sense that if the product works, the customer inherently trusts the company, right? That's just a start. Great products are almost mandatory today with the number of choices we have.
Customer trust involves much more.
Ask yourself this question: "How can I help my customers help their customers?"
Answer that question by providing yards and yards of informative content to help them. Yes, your product should do some of the lifting, but can your product solve all their pain points? If your product can't, what can?
I have the honor of co-presenting on an upcoming webinar entitled: "Right Content. Right Response. How to create content that brings traffic, fosters engagement and boosts conversion." My esteemed co-panelists are Brian Massey, author of the Customer Chaos Blog, and Joel Granoff, founder of BeGreeted and resident webcast expert.
Just for attending the event on August 26th at 12pm EDT you'll receive two pretty cool freebies. Register now ... and you will receive the top line report, "B2B Sales Lead Generation: Integration of Web 1.0 and Web 2.0 Media" a
Research Insights publication by the very smart folks at
MarketingProfs, as well as my new book, Get Content. Get Customers.
Outside of some interesting statistics regarding business-to-business marketing, Peter's take on what marketers must do to survive really hit home with the audience of mostly btob CMO's and product managers.
Core research findings from Forrester state that new product adoption success, now managed by the buyer and not the seller (not new news here), is solely dependent on the quality of the need-matching effort. More specifically, Burris states that "marketing has to be compelling and must be a source of intrinsic value unto itself." Burris continued with the idea that "the buyer or prospective buyer must feel that they are smarter or more certain of their buying decision after they engage in the marketing."
We've been talking about this for a while, and go indepth about it in our book, but this is one of the first times I've heard the analyst community discuss this concept in detail.
Although he never came out and directly said it, Burris implies that btob marketers must generate significant amounts of high-quality information throughout all stages of the buying process.
So much so that Burris used an example from one of his CMO clients, where they are now looking for employees that have journalistic backgrounds who understand how to create high-quality editorial content, which is now the essence of today's community marketing programs.
For most btob companies, products cannot provide all customer value. Marketing must be a source of value to the customer to ultimately get the most revenue out of the product and service offerings.
In talking with a few senior marketing executives after his speech, this is still a relatively new concept to most large business-to-business companies. Although, one large components manufacturer I chatted with said that while traditional programs usually find no internal support, customer content programs are almost always approved as part of their overall marketing budget. We are making progress!
We are in the middle of a content revolution. Most companies are still battling with the technologies and the implications of social media, but haven't yet realized that the key to their marketing programs will ultimately hinge on how valuable the information is that they send to buyers, and the types of conversations that content creates.
One step at a time.
To see a similar PowerPoint presentation from Forrester on this topic, click here.
This quarter's update included a record 172 blogs, with more than 50 being newcomers to the list. Just within the past six months we've seen more and more bloggers (and media companies for that matter) focus on the importance of content marketing as integral to successful business marketing practices.
On Friday, August 15th 100 golfers came out to Fowler's Mill Golf Course in Chesterland, Ohio to support a great cause (and have a great time doing it). We had a perfect day for golf, and the best part is that all the event proceeds went to benefit the Easter Seals Northern Ohio speech therapy and autism program for children and adults.
This was our second annual event. In 2007, we raised $7,500. This year, we will near $11,000 in net proceeds to this important Easter Seals program. This is a 32% increase in proceeds over last year. We couldn't have done this without great support both locally and nationally.
Most people
do not know this, but the Easter Seals is the largest provider of Autism
Services in the country. The net proceeds of the event go directly to those
children who need specialized speech therapy treatment, but are challenged
financially to get the proper support.
While there
is no known cause or cure, nor one single effective treatment, autism is
treatable. People with autism, at any age, are capable of making significant
progress through personalized interventions and therapy; and can and do lead
meaningful lives. That’s where Easter Seals comes in. Getting the right support
at the earliest stage in life can help a child gain the skills he or she needs
to be successful.
Those of you
who know me know that autism is very personal to me, as it is to many of the
people who participated in the Junta42 Golf for Autism event. I continue to be
overwhelmed by the support we have received for this great cause, and am
thankful to those that believe in this fight.
We Couldn't Have Done it without Our Sponsors
Along with the 100 participants, we had nearly 70 corporations and
individuals donate to the cause. All of them have made a significant
impact into helping those dealing with autism become more successful.
Here is a list of our supporters:
And finally, a special thanks to everyone on the Junta42 GFA Committee
that really made this possible. First and foremost to my wife, Pam
Pulizzi, who ran a flawless show during the event. To Mike and
Lynne Pistillo, and the entire Pistillo family, for their fundraising
efforts throughout the campaign. To the volunteers: Missy Pistillo,
Angela Vannucci, Lisa Francisco, Laurel and Jim Clarke, Jeanne Foley and Ben and Don from Ka, Inc. Also a big thanks to Laura and Sandy Kozelka for watching the kids during the event. And
finally, to Melissa Kocher and Sheila Dunn from Easter Seals Northern Ohio, and to Alex and the entire Richardson family for being our special guests at our event.
Here is a link to my interview Q&A with MarketingSherpa on writing and launching your first book project. It was a fun interview, and I remember saying everything except that I am "consistently tired." I must have been too tired to remember. :)
1. Engaging the social web is no longer optional, because so far, the companies that have been most badly burned have been the ones who tried to pretend they can ignore it.
2. You have to keep up with the speed of the social web, and stop bull****ting that you don’t have the resources to do it.
3. The emphasis in marketing on the web has shifted from
trying to force everyone to come to your content, to deploying your
content where the audience is.
4. Although we’ve reached the point where the cost of
ignoring social is greater than the cost of engaging it, social isn’t
going to replace other forms of marketing, any more than digital media
replaced traditional.
5. Marketing and PR cannot cover over quality issues, and listening is half of participating in the social web.
6. If you really want to know what’s
going on in social media marketing, truthfully, you can find it...
in your RSS reader.
General Motors has asked its team of advertising agencies to take a 20% cut in fees this year and next. This article in the Wall Street Journal yesterday is just the start of more to come.
And guess what? Even though GM may cite economic and business model reasons for the marketing cutbacks, the money may not come back to the agencies...ever again. At least not like it was.
But now it's front and center and things will never be the same. My article in Folio: this week talked about what's happening with media companies adjusting to this change. Ad agencies are also seeing their business models begin to crumble. Of course, this is nothing new.
Scary part is, ad agencies and media companies, for the most part, are looking for the next great tool or next great piece of measurement that will make everything okay again.
Blinders On One quick stroll down the exhibit row at Digital Hollywood in San Jose yesterday is all the proof one needs. Apps providers talking to Agencies about the next big thing. Tools companies talking to other tools companies about creating amazing new technology that will continually interrupt consumers, whether they like it or not.
The world wide web is all about the democratization of content that hands the power to the consumer. At the same time, literally hundreds of companies are creating "helpful" tools that brands can use to "control" their message and brand, and try to regain the power.
News to all of us: the power is gone and will never come back. Why do we keep trying to take the mass media model from years ago (that worked very well by the way) and try to place the same methodology to the web? Can't be done.
What To Do Nobody likes being the bearer of bad news. The point of all this is that, all evidence aside, this may be the greatest opportunity that agencies and media companies have ever seen. For those that choose to accept it.
In order to be relevant with consumers, brands need to be part of the conversation. The only way to be part of this conversation is to bring something valuable to the table. Think about your one-on-one conversations. Why would you talk to someone that has nothing valuable to say?
Information is the key. Brands must provide valuable information to their customer segments in order to create and sustain long-term, loyal relationships. Advertising of the past will be replaced by information in the future.
They need help doing it.
Media companies are best positioned for this because they understand the value of targeted, editorial content (regardless of channel). Ad agencies can fill this role as well, but the culture shock may be too much for them to handle.
Some media companies and agencies are starting to get this. They will be the new marketing leadership. Many won't. It will be fun and sad to watch all at the same time. Hang on!
My wife and I were just talking today about how we can't believe our oldest "baby" is in first grade and turning seven. Where did the time go?
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