The Dawn of Content Strategy and 38 2010 Predictions

Click Documents put together this truly helpful eBook on Content Marketing - 39 predictions from the top content marketers, B2B marketers, email marketers and social media experts (and yes, it includes yours truly).

Here is the content marketing eBook (no signup required)

Here's my prediction for easy reference (found on page 38...oh so close to page 42)

The Dawn of Content Strategy

Content strategy is the most important part of marketers’ toolbox. How we tell our story and educate customers is paramount.

As marketers are starting to understand that they are indeed publishers, content marketing strategy is moving toward the forefront. What is content marketing strategy? It involves the following:

• Clearly understanding the goals behind all pieces of content
• Knowing our customers’ information needs as it relates to those goals
• Setting up listening posts to gather that information
• Start figuring out where our customers are hanging out on the web
• Choosing content tactics that tell a brand story that will resonate with customers and prospects

Publishers have been doing this, in one form or another, for years. Now is the time that marketers will begin to take the strategy behind creating content seriously, and figuring out how to leverage content to grow the business.

Comments

[Brandon Klein]

We live and breathe our content. Written over the last 20 years, we are just publishing it piece by piece, sharing some of the best collaboration experiences ever written. http://collaborationking.com

The goal of the content though is for the user to be able to change their old, antiquated collaboration techniques. Bounce back if you think it fits within 'content strategy'

[Alison]

Really like this quote from Joe Lodico: "Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook…these are
the starting points. Look for ways to
move to higher level, quality connections."

[Mark McCulloch]

Great blog with awesome information.

Your design and layout is fantastic and I very much enjoy visiting your blog.

[Ambal Balakrishnan]

Hi Joe: Thanx for the mention. It was a great pleasure collaborating with you on ClickPredictions eBook. Thank You for inspiring and educating me about content marketing.

[Mark McClure]

Thanks for this - I 'content snacked' on it and out of my marketing toaster popped the following:

- the rapid increase (see the ebook) in folks with 'social media' in their job titles on LinkedIn. A provocative statistic indeed. Is LI leading or lagging in the SM area?

- a focus on marketing automation requiring the creation of relevant content. I have a horse in this race and so was nodding along in agreement... ;-)

- ... except that the ease with which floods, no torrents, of dross can still be directed at people online will mean that the content they really want can only come into view via "micro fragmentation" of markets and tribes.

- "You can't be everything to everyone." This is good news as jewels in the content dust will really shine.

- Social Media ROI tools. I'd love to know more about how b2b folks are going to track and report on investments of money, energy and time in this brave, new sm world.

- "word of mouth." There's no stopping this empowerment of consumers / customers / groups.
Seems like the marketing / advertising dinosaurs are looking upward as the initial asteroid streaks across their screens... just wait 'till the big one behind blasts in without warning. Game over! (the little guys win)