Junta42 blog

Seven Content Strategies to Build Trust with Today's Savvy Consumers - A Complimentary eBook

At the heart of all sales transactions is trust.

The greater the trust, the more likely the sale. Without trust, there is no sale. In today’s business world, where more and more relationships are being developed and maintained over the Internet—the need for establishing trust and building confidence with buyers may be stronger and more powerful than ever. One of the resulting challenges for marketers is to find ways to quickly establish rapport, and then build upon it. How can you best do that? By listening to your customers and prospects and giving them information they need—information that will build their trust in your company as a solutions provider, and lead to the ultimate goal—sales.

That's exactly the reason why have developed this complimentary eBook/white paper entitled "Seven Content Strategies to Build Trust with Today's Savvy Consumers." Big thanks to our sponsors McMurry and ContentWise for supporting this important project.

This comprehensive eBook will:

• Give you seven strategies to enact right now that can tip the trust scale in your favor.
• Provide clear examples of how leading brands are creating trust through content marketing.
• Identify factors that erode trust and how to avoid them.
• Show you simple and free online tools to help monitor what customers are saying about you.

Download your complimentary eBook now!

If you like this one, you may also be interested in our complimentary white paper, "How to Attract and Retain Customers with Content Now." If you are a custom publisher/content provider, check out The New Rules of Custom Publishing and How to Become a World-Class Content Provider.

If you are signed in as a Junta42 member, you'll go straight to the eBook.  If not, your name and email address will direct you to the white paper download.

Enjoy!

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You Want Content Best Practices? Then Don't Miss This Event

Business marketers understand that creating relevant, valuable and compelling content is essential for their marketing efforts. That said, most still struggle with exactly how to do it, and how to walk the fine line between what is perceived as educational and what is pure marketing spin.

Well, that's exactly why we've put together the "B2B Leaders in Content" breakfast in association with American Business Media.  The breakfast panel in NYC on July 16th will include four cutting-edge marketers that will cover executing content programs from traditional print, to online content to social media.  Here's the panel (I'm moderating):

• Paul Dunay, Global Director of Integrated Marketing, BearingPoint
• Lynne Esparo, Senior Director of Corporate Marketing, Nuance Communications
• Cat Moriarty, Editor of Deliver Magazine, US Postal Service
• Martha Peterson, Managing Partner, Mediaedge:CIA

Here's the key...most marketers know that to succeed in marketing today, you must be part of the conversation. Unfortunately, you won't be part of that conversation unless you have something valuable to contribute.  That's why content is the core for tomorrow's marketing programs.

This is a can't miss event for any marketing, publishing and agency professional that understands the importance of corporate content and how to properly execute and market it. You will come away from this presentation with ideas that work. 

This is a limited attendance event, so be sure to sign up today.

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New Research: Business Marketers Spending Big on Custom Publishing/Media

We are proud to release research regarding how business-to-business marketers are spending and thinking about customized content (custom publishing, custom media, content marketing - you pick the term).

Junta42, in association with BtoB Magazine, surveyed 150 marketing professionals focused in btob markets. The findings were pretty clear: content marketing is alive and growing within the business-to-business sales cycle.

Here are some key findings:

• Business marketers are allocating almost 30% (29.42% to be exact) of their marketing budgets toward the creation and execution of customized content.
• Even in a depressed economy, 42% of marketers increased their content marketing budget in 2008, with only 12% decreasing budget.  The rest held budget.
• Seven out of 10 business marketers produce an eNewsletter for their customer base. Half the marketers produce white paper or case studies as part of their marketing mix. 
• 28% produce a blog for customers. 

Here is the formal release - but you can check out the results overview here on the Junta42 site.  More to come.

Enjoy!

A Corporate Media Checklist...Content Marketing On the Rise

Jeremiah Owyang, Sr. Analyst and Forrester Research, provides this excellent starter checklist for launching a corporate media strategy. Jeremiah hits on a few of the key points that we've been preaching for a while, including:

• All companies are media companies. He uses a quote from Dan Scheinman, a VP at Cisco, who stated, "All companies are media companies, they just don’t know it yet."
• Outsourcing is Key. Man, I love this post by Jeremiah. I've always been a huge believer in outsourcing content initiatives. Why? For the most part, organizations are set up to sell products and services, not to communicate and publish a consistent message. That's where the experts come in. Also, internal pipelines and resources (communications and eMedia) are often challenging to deal with (or nonexistent). Work with an outside provider who adheres to your production schedule.
• Media is not channel specific. When you are considering launching a content marketing initiative, you can not be limited by a certain set of channels (no matter what you think about your audience). Key here is, don't think, know your audience. Then, meet that audience with valuable information where they are at.

I made a few additional comments to Jeremiah's post, which I'm including here.  For the most part, he hit the nail on the head...but I felt the need to add a few key items.

• Pinpoint the buyer persona you are after. This could be done by setting up listening posts (feedback loops) throughout your current media, or by conducting some research. Before any content marketing initiative launches, the business must have a very good idea of the informational needs of the buyer (If not, wait or don't do it).
• The content must be consistently delivered and not a one off. So many companies are looking for that big viral hit, but what works most often is delivering consistently valuable information to buyers, which is available through a variety of channels.
• There is a distinct difference between what I call sales collateral and content marketing (corporate media). Product demos and feature-driven content should be considered sales collateral. Content marketing is information that makes your buyer more intelligent. If that’s done, then you have a content formula for success that will drive business growth.

Of course, those of you that have been reading this blog know that this industry is huge, but recognition and organization of these activities are still in the early adopter state. What has been really interesting over the past couple months is to see the growing amount of blog and keyword activity around content marketing. Just take a look at this three-month trend line for "content marketing" in IceRocket. Definitely seeing this catching on in the marketing community. Exciting stuff!

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Related Articles:

• 42 Content-Building Ways to Attract and Retain Buyers
• 16 Questions to Ask Before Launching a Content Marketing Project
• Content is King, But What Is It Really?
• Stop Shouting Features: 5 Tips To Create a Knowledge Marketing Program
• 4 Content Marketing Essentials for Every Business

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Content, Marketing and Custom Media in Wikipedia

I've been wanting to put this post together for a while on Wikipedia as it relates to content marketing. Wikipedia is an extremely useful resource for marketers, especially when you are looking for basic information or definitions.

Just in case you are new to Wikipedia, here is a link to the about page.  Basically, Wikipedia is the world's encyclopedia...edited and policed by people from all over the world. Some marketers actually try to create tactics and strategies to get their company web sites onto a particular word or phrase. Since it's well policed (just look at the history section of Custom Media...thanks Rex), the content stays pretty accurate and very educational.

Here are an assortment of words or phrases that are worth checking out when you get time.

• Custom Media - The definition that encompasses content marketing, custom publishing, custom media and customer media.
• Marketing - Excellent overview of the basics.  Some areas, such as "Criticisms of Marketing" may not fit...but definitely interesting. This post also shows you how Wikipedia polices itself. As of today's date, it's noted that this definition "may" not meet Wikipedia's standards.
• Content (media and publishing) - Excellent overview of distribution channels, platforms and monetization models.
• Media - This will get you to links for just about every type of media, from print media to digital media.
• Media Meshing - Interesting take on integrated media.
• Branded Content - Short definition here.  Definitely needs some work.
• Branded Entertainment
• Customer Engagement
• User-Generated Content (possibly a better term for this is conversational media)

Also good basics for just those content offerings you are interested in, such as:

• Magazines
• Podcasts
• Webcasts
• Newsletters
• Blogs
• Microsites
• Video

Although Wikipedia is far from perfect, you can see how useful a resource this information can be. If I missed any important ones, let me know and I'll add them to this list.

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Trade Publishing's Dirty Little Secret

I've been focusing a lot lately on the rise of corporate media. I've received more than a few notes and emails that I'm flat out nuts about this notion, and a few that agree with me. For perspective, check out Are Corporations The New Kings of Content?

One of the underlying principles behind the growth of corporate content marketing is the diminishing role of the trade publication. My third point in this post on corporate content reviews the financial dissimilarities between corporate spending and the investment of traditional media.

"It is corporations, and not the traditional press, that have the financial resources to go out and create the best content."

In the "Corporate Kings" article, we review that:

"Corporations often have bigger budgets and more resources to find and pay for the best research and content in the markets they serve. Unfortunately, too many media companies have been cutting both research and editorial budgets at the same time. The quality of corporate publications today are excellent and ever-improving. At some point, their quality will surpass independently-produced publications."

A "Per Word" Comparison

Let's just look for a second at what trade publications spend on outside editorial versus what corporations spend. This forum post reveals that trade publications tend to pay $0.50-$0.75/word for writing services. I know one that pays $0.30/word. At the same time, good writers can get $1.00/word and upwards of $2.00/word for writing on corporately-funded projects. Even when writers work directly with a custom publisher, $1.00-$1.25/word is commonplace. It's easy to see where the quality talent (and therefore product) is going.

Dirty Secret?

I had an interesting conversation with a former trade magazine editor who has recently moved onto other opportunities. He confirmed the information above and went on to state that,

"With all of the competition for time/attention, it's suicidal for trade publishers to reduce the quality of their core print product. They [trade publishers] say it's just as good as it ever was, and while it's difficult/impossible to measure the quality of the output (which is part of the problem), no one can argue that there are less editorial resources being invested on the input side (fewer people), and those resources are being spread more thinly across print, online, and events. This logically translates into lower print quality."

Is this trade publishing's dirty little secret? I'm not sure how much of a secret this is, but I do know how much more challenging it has become for advertising reps to sell the "quality of editorial" as a reason to purchase an ad.

There is no question about this though: The majority of trade publications have seen a "steep" decline in resources as a combination of cutbacks and multi-purposing of staff. Have you looked at what a trade magazine editor does today? Writing, editing, designing (in some cases), event management, webcast coordination and speaking, managing freelancers, going on sales calls, blogging and more. All this with less staff than ever before. It would take a thousand miracle-workers across a thousand industries to maintain "leadership-type" quality in those publications. Is it hard to see why many of these editors are leaving for corporate shores?

What Does This Mean for the Corporate Marketer?

For those marketers in corporations, this trend means that it has never been easier to get great editorial and writing talent for your content marketing and custom publishing projects. Frankly, many established editors in industries across the board are looking to jump ship...they just don't see the right opportunity yet.

I had a nice discussion with an expert in eMedia trade publishing today. He is recommending that his clients focus on a true competitive set, which includes, in some cases, their largest customers in each category. This is difficult for publishers to accept. Now they not only have to worry about the number 1, 2 or 3 book in the field, they also have to worry about their (traditionally) best customers. Oh, how times are a changin'.

What this also means for corporate marketers is that trade publications are much more accepting to work on custom publishing projects than ever before. New revenue streams are hard to come by for the trades, and custom publishing/content marketing initiatives are growing at a significant clip. Forming good relationships with your trade publishing counterparts may assist you in your content efforts...that is, if they have enough staff to fully service your project.

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Toyota Connections Hits and Misses the Mark

Toyota Connections is a custom magazine targeted to Toyota owners in the states of Alabama, Florida, Georgia, North Carolina and South Carolina. Professionally executed by Pace Communications in Greensboro, North Carolina, Connections is a beautifully-designed piece with a lot of promise.

Spec Report
- 32 Pages
- 4 Color
- Standard Size
- Summer 2007 Issue
- Frequency - 3x annual

Here's a quick review of the high points, and places where this magazine could take a few steps forward.

Hits
1. Variable/data-driven pages. Page 3 of the magazine includes a personal letter to the car owner offering highlights of the current issue. The personalization gets my attention, and the note is from the dealer who sold the owner their last Toyota. The address of the dealership is on this page as well.

Page 4 includes current events around the reader's area that are within a one-to-two hour drive. Grabs my attention immediately and is a pleasant surprise.

2. Perforated and attached to the cover is a full-service coupon set. Perfect motivation to get the car back in the shop. Some good deals here as well.

3. Articles on "Portable Fitness" (exercising while on the road), "Natural Beauties" (three national parks I can drive my Toyota to) and R&R (recommended music to listen to in my Toyota) are all engaging articles that make me want to get in my Toyota and head for the road.

4. Book contest. Those who return the owner's update card or complete it online can randomly win one of the books in this column.  Good motivator to fill it out. Wish there were more possible winners though.

Misses
1. Two features on Toyota cars is one too many (Highlander and Scion). One is enough.

2. Not sure the fit with some of the editorial. The "Safe at Home" column is good, but I don't see the relation with my Toyota. I was also at a loss with the home decorating feature. These two stories just don't seem to fit in with my Toyota magazine. Would like to see more of a link to my vehicle.

3. Some good call-to-action throughout (contest, links to pertinent Web sites, toyota50th.com commemoration, Sudoku key), but there could be some improvement here.  For example, could we go online to get a couple additional travel workouts?  How about additional imagery and "can't misses" from the national parks article?

Connections does a good job overall of pushing the reader to more, but there could be improvement in integrating the print version with online resources (read on for more, etc.).

The online version contains all the articles, plus some more contest information. But, Toyota misses the mark with the online articles by not having links like "forward to a friend" to get the articles out to other Toyota and non-Toyota owners. Also, other than the articles, there isn't much here. There is an opportunity here to create an online experience for the reader (which may be in the works). Get the reader truly involved in the Toyota lifestyle, don't just give them an online article.

Overall, the magazine is beautiful and professional, but there are clearly some opportunities to take the reader even further into the Toyota brand and experience.

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Corporate Content Will Take Over Media As We Know It

Yesterday I had a nice email exchange with a good friend and colleague regarding the rise and influence of content created by corporations. His belief was that traditional media will continue to be the main informational source for consumers and business professionals.

Specifically, he was responding to my blog post that stated, "The future of content around the globe will rest, not in the hands of the traditional press, but in the hands of businesses."

His statement back to me was that "media consumers are savvy, and are wary of the agendas of the sponsors of content. Traditional media will continue to have an important role as the independent arbiters of relevance, taste, etc."

Where I agree with him is that traditional media will always have a role...a very important one at that. BUT, the majority of the content we consume will NOT come from the traditional, unbiased press.

Here's why:

1. It's getting easier every day to ignore advertising placed along side traditional media. For example, take a read through this article by Greg Verdino on the 30-second spot where he questions a recent Online Publishers Association Study:

"...where's the study that helps marketers, agencies and media companies navigate a path to true innovation in online video? Where are the questions about branded content, the integration of product placements into online video and the use of next-generation video interactivity, including hotspots, overlays and telescoping? Where are the findings that justify the development of new video ad models that don't rely upon intercepting consumers when they just want to watch some content?"

These are the questions the Greg feels need to be answered as the 30-second spot continues to be deleted through TiVo.

Corporations must continue to be part of the content, since, to my friend's point, media consumers are savvy enough to ignore and delete the ads that surround the content they really want. Corporate media innovation is just getting started. Smart corporations will find away to deliver great content that is consumed in mass quantities because, frankly, they won't have any other choice.

Take two other examples. I can read a digital magazine and skip all the ads in it. I can get RSS feeds of my favorite business articles without looking at one ad. Technology will continue to help us ignore traditional advertising...so, what's a business to do?

2. Tomorrow's consumer looks at corporate content and the traditional press differently today than ever before. This article by Martha Spizziri for ASBPE Boston on the reader of tomorrow is eye-opening.

Boston University professor John Carroll discussed the four distinct characteristics of today's students when it comes to media. Of particular interest was #4, "They don't understand the value of a free press," Carroll said. "They don't get the role of a watchdog. They don't trust the press, they don't like the press, and they don't believe the press. ... They don't understand why the First Amendment is important. They don't understand why anyone would go to jail to protect a source."

Carroll goes on to state: "They don't understand that MTV is a series of commercials interrupted by ads. They don't understand that their cell phones are running them, and not vice versa. When you ask them who's going to report on the conditions at Walter Reed Hospital, it doesn't occur to them [to think about that], because they don't know about the Walter Reed story."

This should cause some concern, but if you really digest what he is saying, the future consumers "may" (dare I say) trust corporate content more than the traditional media. It is corporations they relate to with their iPods, Nikes, and Sean John...not the WSJ or Times.

3. It is corporations, and not the traditional press, that have the financial resources to go out and create the best content. Now this is not a certainty, but don't tell me that Google or Microsoft (MSNBC?) couldn't start a media property tomorrow. Frankly, eBay should be buying up industry trade publications left and right (a built-in buyer/seller community).

Over the last decade, I've seen more and more traditional journalists "cross the line" and create content or perform research for corporations. Where in the past this was looked down upon...not anymore. Hey, writing for Microsoft, Cisco or Parker Hannifin looks good on a resume. So not only do corporations have the financial bucks to go out and get the best in research and editorial, the best journalists like it.

In summary, technological advances, consumer behavior and financial resources will culminate and create the "age of corporate media" as the dominant media we consume, day in and day out. Businesses will get better at creating great content, and great content is what consumers want. Consumers ultimately will not care where it comes from or (even worse for traditional-media types) they may actually "prefer" content from corporations.

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B2B Social Media Site Targets Custom Content Marketers - Junta42 Press Release and Detail

On July 21st, Junta42 launched in preview release (we like preview release better than "beta"). The formal press release will be distributed on July 24th, but I've included detail on the launch here in my blog for colleagues and marketing professionals we are contacting before the 24th. The full and complete press release is just below this post.

Frankly, content marketing is the biggest industry that nobody has ever heard of. Finding case studies and basic information on multi-channel, editorially-based branded content is nothing short of a major challenge (even though, on average, corporations spend more than $1 million per year on content marketing initiatives). Junta42 was created to make it as easy as possible for marketing, association, and publishing professionals to find out what's going on in content marketing (for detail on the definition of content marketing, and its relation to custom publishing or custom media, check out this piece on "The Five Pillars of Content Marketing - The Ultimate Definition.")

The future of content around the globe will rest, not in the hands of the traditional press, but in the hands of businesses (small, medium and large). It's businesses, not the media, that have the financial resources to go out and find the best research and editors to create great content. Plus, businesses are beginning to figure out that the creation of great content is key to lasting customer relationships. To date, we are only seeing a partial picture, but the time is not far away when corporate content will be more dominant than traditional media. Technology is only speeding up this transformation (...and have you looked at corporate databases lately? Quite impressive!) (NOTE: Don't get me wrong, traditional media will always play an important role, but the majority of content that people will consume will not come from traditional sources.)

Our hope at Junta42, and our parent Z Squared Media, LLC, is that Junta42 serves as a tool to help marketers create better content for their internal and external customers. It is also our hope that a community around content marketing will enable better services for marketers to fulfill that goal (custom publishers, agencies, direct marketers, traditional publishers, interactive agencies, etc.).

As of the writing of this blog post, Junta42 has approximately 300 content marketing-related articles tagged and in the database. Our hope is that media professionals, bloggers, and marketers see the value in this tool and fill in the gaps where we need more content resources (such as case studies, educational articles, and industry trends).

Below is the complete press release that will go out on the 24th. Please don't hesitate with any comments or feedback. We are still working out the bugs, so let me know if you find anything.

For Immediate Release

Contact:

Joe Pulizzi
Junta42, a division of Z Squared Media, LLC
joe   AT   junta42   DOT   com (replace AT with @ and DOT with .)

B2B Social Media Site Targets Custom Content Marketers

Junta42 offers twist on b2b content, covers booming custom publishing industry.

Cleveland, Ohio – Custom publishing, or content marketing, is one of the largest and fastest growing marketing segments in the world. According to the Custom Publishing Council and Publications Management spending is at an all-time high of $55.6 billion. More corporations and associations are launching their own targeted content initiatives in print and online than ever before. Yet, trying to find useful information and case studies about content marketing is a different story.

Launched as a preview release in July, Junta42 (www.junta42.com) offers a solution for marketers, association professionals, and publishers looking for custom publishing or branded content solutions. “Junta42 was created out of our own frustrations with finding valuable information about the content marketing industry,” says Joe Pulizzi, founder of and chief content officer for Junta42. “Great content is out there in the form of expert articles, blogger posts, audio and video; someone just needed to create a little organization to help business professionals find it.”

Most social media sites let the user-community dictate the content. At Junta42, there is collaboration between Junta42 expert editors and the community. “We believe in the concept of the editor,” says Pulizzi, former vice president for Penton Media’s Custom Media division and a Custom Publishing Council (CPC) board member. “Combining a dedicated team of marketing experts to moderate content with outside contributors made perfect sense.”

Junta42 links to content sources from all over the Internet and includes abstracts on each article. “Marketers are busier than ever,” says Pulizzi. “We created an easily searchable site that they can ‘taste’ through expert abstracts. But ultimately, our goal is to direct marketers somewhere valuable as fast as possible.”

The site is free to all users, and includes a twist for members who submit articles regularly. “We know there is enough incentive for community members to submit great content, but we wanted to do something extra,” Pulizzi says about Junta42’s revenue-sharing program. “With Junta42, we share a portion of our AdSense revenues with active members. Those who contribute will share in our success.”

The site expects to earn profits through Google AdSense and keyword sponsorship.

About Junta42

Junta42 is a search community site focused on content marketing and custom publishing. Junta42 combines expert and user-generated results with computer results to give users the best possible matches to searches. Junta42 is a division of Z Squared Media, LLC (www.zsquaredmedia.com), which develops initiatives to help marketers and publishers create and execute content programs through integrated channels.

About Joe Pulizzi

Joe Pulizzi is founder of and chief content officer for Junta42, as well as president of Z Squared Media, LLC. Previously Joe was vice president at Penton Media, Inc., the largest independent b2b publisher in North America. Joe serves as a board member of the Custom Publishing Council, and recently served two terms as chairperson of American Business Media’s Custom Media Committee. Pulizzi, voted a Northeast Ohio’s “Top Mover & Shaker under 35” by the Cleveland Professional 20/30 club, is co-author of the book Get Content. Get Customers. which will be released this coming winter.

 

Stand-in CMOs and Publishers at Your Service

Thanks to Gretel Going from the Custom Publishing Council for promoting the launch of Junta42 and some detail on our consulting firm, Z Squared Media.

Here is an excerpt of Gretel's post on the CPC blog:

"Can't we all just get along? Bringing marketers together with content and publishers together with marketers. Junta42 is a search community site focused on content marketing and custom publishing. Junta42 combines expert and user-generated results with computer results to give users the best possible search results. Junta42 will launch on July 23rd and will be a completely free service. Z Squared Media decided to launch Junta42 after realizing that, while there’s plenty of content marketing information available on the web, it’s difficult to find."

To read the entire post, click here.