Brands as Publishers - Where's Your Content Strategy?

Just returned back from Online Marketing Summit 2010 where the statement "brands as publishers" almost seemed overused. Although we've been talking about that on this blog for three years now and in more detail in Get Content Get Customers, this is the first time I've heard this type of statement in force "out in the real world".

It started with John Batelle from Federated Media.  John might be most well-known for being one of the creators of Wired magazine. In the opening keynote, John stated that for brands to stay relevant and develop a true online experience for their customers, brands must master the art of content creation.

Later in my session on content marketing strategy, we talked about the fact that any online marketing, whether social media, email marketing, search engine optimization, landing page conversion, etc., does not work without first having content strategy. 

Need more proof? Check out this excellent content strategy post from Kristina Halvorson.  Specifically, I like this line from Kristina:

Let’s not gloss over content strategy by focusing solely on what we should be doing; let’s also focus on the why and how. 

I couldn't say this better myself - and this point was evident at the OMS conference.  The brand marketers there were so focused on SEO and social media and all the content tactics, but they have never taken the time to ask the question why? - what are the informational needs of my customers? - what is our brand story, our brand voice?

Want proof?  Of the room of 300 marketing professionals we were speaking to at OMS, only four people raised their hands that they actually had a documented content strategy.

Where's yours?

More helpful articles:

• Web Content Strategy Presentation - Halvorson and Pulizzi
• The B.E.S.T. Method for Content Strategy

Comments

[Drew Stauffer]

It's crazy to think how companies will spend soo much time on design and development and then just throw together the content.

I see a lot of agencies that do both print and web, but have more print roots, think that pictures sell and that's just not true on the web.

[Russell Sparkman]

Joe,

Thanks for continuing to be the Content Marketing torchbearer.

Regarding Kristina's "How and Why" comment, re Content Strategy, here's what we've said to clients during the content marketing educational process:

"We'll start out by identifying and prioritizing your Desired Outcomes, i.e. goals and objectives. Then we'll plan content types (online, offline) for achieving those specific desired outcomes. Finally, we'll do this by planning content development within your human and financial bandwidth constraints."

This is the essential essence of content strategy, and when a client follows through, great things happen.

So, what needs to happen right now is that clients have to look away from the bright shiny object that is social media for a moment and turn their attention to content strategy. If they do, then they'll see how content strategy brings purpose and focus to social media/networking tactics.

Cheers
Russell

[Charles Bohannan]

You make a good point. I tend to see things the other way around, so that it reads "Publishers as Brands."

Publishers need remove the middle men from the business model -- namely agents, wholesalers, bookstores, etc.

But I guess that's another story...

[Victoria Kamm]

Content is king. Period. All the SEO and social media tactics in the world won't make a difference if the information is old, useless or simply not what the searcher really looking for. I say this as an SEO consultant.

Two things: Still a lot of scammers out there because of the lack of knowledge (in the land of the blind the one-eyed man is king). 42% of American businesses don't even have a website yet. Trying to sell these people is only possible with tactics...
even then it's nearly impossible.

We just have to keep walking the walk.

[Joe Pulizzi]

Charles...you are 100% right. Brands are becoming publishers and publishers need to become brands. We can learn much from both camps.

I remember about three years ago I was doing talks that we won't be able to tell the difference between brands and publishers in a few years. I think we are at that point.

@Victoria...right on. Thanks for coming by.

[Vinod Srinivas]

Hey Joe, you're making a good point here. Several brands like YSL and Chanel are already using content marketing and custom publications to push their products. But quite a few brands are apprehensive about crossing the barrier of traditional marketing.

In India, several brands are being advised by their advertising agencies to stay away from content marketing and custom publishing, because their research "advisors" think it's not something that's necessary just yet! Everyone know they need content marketing, but they just don't want to be amongst the first ones to use it because they really don't know why they need it.

Just curious, do you face resistance from ad agencies that advise their clients to avoid content specialists? Or are the ad agencies around your time zone nice and fluffy with the idea of external content marketing?

[Joe Pulizzi]

Hi Vinod...yes, many ad agencies are still pushing clients toward the 30 second spot. Some are coming around...I believe it's only a matter of time, but it takes a lot of time to move a big ship in a new direction.

[Anna Borsboom]

Exactly the point I made in the presentation 'Fashion2.0 - brands become media'. It's on slideshare, check it out on http://www.slideshare.net/AnnaB.amsterdam/fashion-2-0

[jacksmith]

Nice blogs, Just i read all the blogs that there opinion is different from one another. so this is a very good thing. I thought that the brand as publishers is a good topic, if you want to say something more your welcome.
thanks
jacksmith
.............................
Debt Management

[Hunter Boyle]

Wow, only 4 out of 300 had a defined content strategy? That's ludicrous.

I'm glad you mentioned Battelle, because in the late 90s, all the talk/hype was about the "Three Cs": content, community and commerce. Flash forward 10 years and that hasn't changed. The tools, channels and ease of implementation have changed, but the underlying strategy should be the same -- and it definitely shouldn't be lost in the buzz around which social sites to be on just to be there.

It's been fascinating to see online and mobile tech bring editorial (content) and marketing together, especially in ways that were once considered unthinkable even in b2b and trade pubs, much less major news outlets. Now that the barriers to publishing have dropped so low, the push for quality really has to rise, and that brings us right back to square one: content strategy.

Thanks for yet another great piece, Joe.

[Fred Williams]

It's pretty interesting that few of them had a strategy. I am in the home business industry and the whole theme of attraction marketing is taking over. Knowing what your potential customers needs are and providing a solution to them is a great way to attract people to your business. This means that you need to provide a lot of good, quality content. As marketing professionals, I figured they were already practicing this.

[Joe Pulizzi]

Thanks Fred...still a lot of work needs to be done. It takes a while to move the Titanic.

[Darrin Perpetual Traffic]

If companies are trying to get noticed by Google these days just doing social media and offline/online marketing they will only succeed in the "short-term" the lack of content as well as a strategy to implement and tie everything together, well they will not be around for long.

For me it has always been about attraction marketing, giving more value than what you take in currency. Over deliver on content and product and you will be rewarded.

[Eric Henderson]

What a great point. I started marketing online with a clear content strategy; I didn't know there was any other way! And frankly, there isn't - as someone else said, content is king. As an online marketing consultant, the first thing I always talk about is how to drive traffic through content. It's amazing that there are so many behind the game.