Junta42 blog

Visual Representation of Content Marketing: Do You Agree?

I had a few of the folks at VizEdu.com send me this visual presentation of content marketing @Twitter, and I thought it was close enough to share.

I like what they've done, but as always with trying to depict a philosophy visually, it leaves a few things out.  Possibly for the next version?

Couple thoughts...

• This model completely leaves out content strategy, possibly the most challenging part of the content marketing process.  Check out this article by Kristina Halvorson (@halvorson) for more on content strategy, as well as in my book where we discuss this in detail. As part of content strategy is doing the research on the customer's informational needs and setting up listening posts. Hard to distribute good content marketing without an ear to the ground.
• A solid content marketing plan does not require viral or word-of-mouth to work.  There are plenty of retention-based content marketing programs that don't need to be spread in order to achieve behavioral objectives. That said, great content should naturally spread (for example, this 2009 predictions post was my highest clicked post of all time in just a few days as it spread through Twitter, Facebook and Stumbleupon).
• Content marketing does not only function online. Print content marketing, such as print newsletters and custom magazines/magalogs are still incredibly effective when done correctly (see the APA 25 minute research under Content Marketing Research). Customer events and roundtables are also a form of content marketing - the in-person kind. When planning your marketing, you should look at the all-important mix of online/print/in-person content marketing.

I must say, I'm still in awe at how the content marketing industry has changed and is evolving from custom publishing. Frankly, it's exciting and utterly confusing at the same time. How can it not be with all these terms?: content marketing, content strategy, inbound marketing, custom publishing, custom media, branded storytelling, private media, customer marketing, branded content and so on. Rick Liebling (@eyecube) calls this branding. For the most part, aren't they all pretty much the same thing?

Tell you what...let's all get together an pick a term.  You with me?

If you liked this, check out 10 Content Marketing Tips to Start Now for 2009 or Content Marketing on the Rise for 2009.

Like information about content marketing? Sign up for my weekly eNewsletter.

Subscribe  -  Junta42  -  Find Content Providers  -  Get the Book

Why Custom Events Have Become the New Forum for Targeted Engagement

I had the opportunity to catch up with Kirk Laughlin yesterday in New York.  Kirk is Vice President and Managing Director of Events for Ziff Davis Enterprise.  With all the talk about online marketing concepts, sometimes we forget how robust the custom events arena is.  Kirk was kind enough to sit down and share his thoughts to talk about content quality, audience delivery and why custom events are here to stay.

Joe at Junta42 - What do you do for Ziff Davis Enterprise (ZDE)?

Kirk at ZDE - I run the live events unit at ZDE which includes over 200 custom events and about a dozen editorial conferences annually. I manage a team of over a dozen event professionals, including editors, logistics leaders, audience delivery experts and project managers.

Joe - What’s your background?

Kirk - Most of my professional life has been as a B2B editor, largely in telecom and IT, both in the US and Asia. As a result, a big part of my focus here is to engage an audience with rich, quality content that they simply can’t obtain through any other media channel. I believe I am fortunate to have grown up in editorial at a time when “reader pain points” were explored through longer-form analysis. I truly believe live events have become the new forum for this deeper level of thought and investigation.

Joe - What is a custom event?

Kirk - That’s an interesting question, since so many of us in marketing and media know all about custom white papers or magazines, but what qualifies as a premium custom event may not be widely understood. Custom events, at least at Ziff Davis Enterprise, make the client-editorial partner relationship visible through targeted audience delivery, tightly managed content development and an emphasis on highly interactive presentations.  We were first in this space among the big B2B tech media companies and have established a unique formula that has generated strong affinity among our senior IT level audience. We bring to these select, qualified audiences the best thought leadership from the client and match it with our own independent editorial and deliver it to a number of different forums– whether a custom roundtable, wine tasting, half-day summit or specialty program at a museum,  a golf outing, or even a microbrewery!

Joe - Talk about the importance of engagement for a bit...

Kirk - Let’s be candid – our audience of IT professionals can smell a sales pitch a mile away – whether on a website, a printed piece or on stage. They are simply not willing to be subjected to two hours of “death by Powerpoint.” These people take time away from the office and fight traffic to be part of a two-way conversation, where they interact with peers and challenge the opinions of thought leaders. Debate and exchanging ideas are key requirements for all of our live events.

Joe - Who do you work with and what do these clients want from ZDE?

Kirk - We’re very proud of our client roster, having worked with virtually every large global technology hardware and software vendor and dozens of emerging and mid-tier players seeking to up-level their message to senior IT decision makers.  Our client marketers turn to us for complete confidence in managing the entire lifecycle of the event process – from establishing the topic and framework – to acquiring registrants to delivering on the day of the show.  We take a lot of pride in the quality of our leads, who are part of our database of four million web visitors, print subscribers and event attendees.

Joe - What are you doing to grow your business?

Kirk - Execution is everything in our business. We work in a time sensitive, client-focused environment where we must be fundamentally nimble and proactively find solutions to all kinds of little things that pop up. We’re in a public facing environment also and everything we do – from our logistical performance to quality of audience to strength of our content – all contribute back to our growth. Finally, our core mission is to find and deliver the precise type of attendee sought by our clients, running in a vertical category, like financial services, or horizontally, such as directors of IT.

Joe - What makes you different than other custom event providers?

Kirk - Earlier on in our evolution, we tried to borrow editors from the print titles to work on events and that didn’t work. Our competitors are still stuck in that model, and clients tell us that the lack of dedicated talent always shows up at some point in the process. Our entire team is customer service oriented, which to be honest, is more similar to the way an ad agency might operate than a longstanding media brand.

Joe - What’s next?

Kirk - We’re continuing to advance our integration of live event and virtual platforms and also partnering with selected large trade show organizers to better leverage our content expertise.  I am especially excited to see that many sponsors are returning year after year to work with us on custom campaigns – in fact one just finished up a roadshow that started in the US and finished up in Paris and Bangalore!

Related Articles:

• How BuyerZone Creates Content - A Q&A with Jerry Sacco
• Holding a Custom Event vs. Exibiting at a Trade Show

Subscribe  -  Junta42  -  Find Content Vendors  -  Get the Book

 

Holding a Custom Event vs. Exhibiting at a Trade Show

In-person events are extremely important, especially in an economic downturn. There is nothing like talking on-on-one with your customers and prospects. They require significant investment, but can also show a solid ROI depending on the overall strategy. More and more, companies are spreading their wings and producing their own events. Our recent BtoB/Junta42 study revealed that almost 40% of marketers plan and produce their own custom events or roadshows.

Still, custom events are costly from a financial and human resources perspective. Also, if the content is not stellar, a custom event could actually hurt your brand. But the payoff, if done correctly, can be huge.

I asked trade show expert Joyce McKee from Let's Talk Trade Shows to give a little insight into what a business needs to consider when launching a custom event - versus just being an exhibitor at an industry trade show.  A big thanks to Joyce for putting this together. - JP

Holding a private event vs. being an exhibitor at a trade show

Of course there are many trade offs which needs to be taken into consideration when considering a custom event versus exhibiting at a trade show.

Normally, the reason to host a private event – a company wants to control the content and keep competitors out.  But at what cost?

Here are some serious considerations to consider before leaping to the conclusion that the private event is your best opportunity.

Audience Acquisition
How difficult will it be to draw the correct audience to the event?  What compelling information will you be delivering at this event?  It needs to be so rich and relevant that they are willing to interrupt their schedules and travel to be at your event.

A show organizer will spend money on audience acquisition.  And this is where I advise my clients to assess the marketing efforts of the show to draw an audience.   What marketing tactics are they deploying to get the audience to the show?  As an exhibitor you need to understand the strengths and weaknesses of their marketing plan.

If you are an exhibitor, you still need to use this show function to bring your current customers and prospects in so that they can be “educated” in your booth.  There are other opportunities for entertainment which should be considered for your target audience.

Being an exhibitor at a show means you can draw from the show organizers and other exhibitors’ marketing efforts to have a crowd walking up and down the aisles.  Now to get a stream of that crowd into your booth – that’s another topic!

Another key audience consideration for a private event – what does your list REALLY look like – how clean is the database of names?

Personal invitations and custom direct mail will be the best way to inform your audience – you must reveal the compelling reasons to come. You may also be able to leverage your sales team, who should have close relationships with key prospective attendees.

Set Expectations
The tangible dynamic of a crowd at a show vs. a group of people at an event needs to be taken into consideration.  It will be very important to set expectations among your attendee as to the look and feel you would have at a private event.  The language of exclusive gathering, etc. can be used to draw them to the event.

Education and networking are key components of any gathering.  You need to make sure to facilitate both aspects to have a delighted attendee.

What's the Strategy?
What are your objectives for hosting the private event?   What type of ROI would be acceptable for your firm to host this type of event?

The cost of a private event can be considerable and that should be scrutinized carefully against the objectives desired.

Event Expertise
Do you have the talented, well informed event personnel on staff (or can contract them) to produce your private event?

If you holding an event at a conference facility or large hotel, someone with the knowledge to navigate all the contracts, food and beverage and on and on needs to be in place or costs can spiral out of control.

Make Them Feel Special
Now there are ways to use a trade show to host special groups and create a “private” feel for the show experience.  One is to have a special room off the show floor for demos, private conversations, etc.

Then there are the hotel rooms which can be used to educated and entertain selected customers and prospects.

As you can see, Joyce knows her stuff.  Another important component that I would add is the creation of content - which is as difficult as any of the above points. You may want to consider partnering with an organization that can assist you in creating the most compelling and relevant content for your organization.

RSS Feed  I   Subscribe to the Junta42 Blog  I  Junta42  I  Junta42 Match