Junta42 blog

Kodak: Why Content Strategy Is the Key to Marketing

I had the pleasure of meeting Tom Hoehn from Kodak at Online Marketing Summit - DC last week.  Tom has a really cool job at Kodak, where he is director of brand communications and convergence media.

After my presentation on the Keys to Social Media, Tom and I got to chatting and we realized that we focus on many of the same things, the most important being the creation and distribution of valuable, relevant and compelling content as a core part of marketing. Tom was nice enough to participate in this Q&A about Kodak's content strategy.  There's some gold nuggets in here...enjoy! Thanks Tom!

Joe: Does Kodak have a content strategy that's a part of their overall marketing strategy?  If so, how do you integrate it into the plans?

Tom: Yes, our content strategy is two pronged. First, we focus on content creation that showcases our products in use. We have a long history of doing this. Our Tips and Projects Center is the best example.
It is chock full of examples, projects, tips, and inspirational photo essays. The second part of this strategy is about distribution. We use the content in a number of different permutations and distribute through our various channels based on seasonality, promotions, etc. Channels include our website, blogs, partners sites, social media, e-mail tips, etc. You can see our social media presence at http://www.kodak.com/go/followus.

Joe: When you hear the phrase "content marketing", does it mean anything to you?

Tom: It means everything to me! Seriously, we love how people use the products we make to tell the stories of their lives. It is great to work in a category that enables people's self expression. Giving voice to those stories and inspiring others is what it is all about.

Joe: What does Kodak call the process of delivering consistent, educational and entertaining information to customers?

Tom: Our job.  It is an expectation of our customers that we walk the walk and talk the talk and have quality content. We make sure that we leverage Kodak's businesses and sponsorship for content at every turn. It is in our DNA.

Some examples include:

• Doing red carpet interviews along side other media outlets during the recent Celebrity Apprentice finale that included Kodak
• Activating on numerous fronts during last summer's Olympic Games in Beijing.
• Showcasing our presence in golf with the start of the Kodak Challenge, which includes a fantasy game that will launch next week.
• Making your Inauguration moment more memorable by combining professional content with personal content.
• Featuring beautiful images on our homepage. Each week we connect the photos to a blog post that contains information about them. This week we are featuring photos in conjunction with the Cannes Film Festival. When we are not featuring photos from events or special occasions we use photos submitted by our visitors. Take a look at the previous selections at the blog posts dedicated to these stunning homepage photos.

So there you have it, we are nuts about content! ;-)

Joe: How do you take customer education to the next level to drive increased loyalty and sales?

Tom: The next level? In my mind it isn't always about what we think people want to learn. Amplifying the voice of the millions of people who take pictures, do cool things with them, and share with others is the big opportunity for us. People take 70 million pictures every day with Kodak cameras. Yes, you read that right. Don't you think that is quite an incredible wealth of source material that can be tapped?

Joe: Kodak has been in the middle of social media for a while now.  What's worked really well?  What are you no so sure about?  What hasn't worked?

Tom: Our blogs, starting with A Thousand Words, have been active since September 2006. That is ancient history in the social media space - in terms of large companies blogging it is positively prehistoric! The stories and photos we have shared from everyday Kodak people have been acclaimed by many. We get kudos for recognizing the space and how to use it. We are adding value to the conversations that are occurring. We are not shoving marketing messages at people. That doesn't work and we knew that from the outset.

Our distributed publishing model has worked really well for us. We decided not to have a few dedicated Kodak rockstar bloggers and opted to have many employees contribute. It helps to spread the work. I am happy to say we have published every business day since our launch - that is no small feat. A wise person by the name of Joe Pulizzi ;-) mentioned that "Frequency" is an important aspect of blogging. It looks like we embraced that from the get go. Every post contains a few photos (of course), most have more. One post I did actually had over 200 clickable thumbnails (but that is a story for another day).

A benefit we saw that was unexpected was the employee pride in contribution. They loved the fact that anyone could contribute their stories and were proud to share with family, friends, and their networks. 

Joe: How is Kodak promoting the use of social media within the company?  Do you have set guidelines?

Tom: We have a simple social media policy that was crafted with input from marketing, legal, our IT group, and corporate security. It contains very sound and practical advice and isn't overly restrictive. We promote the use of social media channels to product marketing groups and adoption rates vary. I find that people are eager to learn and we are happy to share our experiences.

Joe: What's the next great frontier regarding online content? (is there one?)

Tom: It is the power of you. Instead of everyone being famous for 15 minutes perhaps we will be famous to 15 people. Telling your story requires content. Text, photos (yes!), videos (naturally!). What stories are you telling to your network?

Joe: How about print?  Do you do any print magazines/newsletters for BtoC or BtoB?  Wondering what your take is on the distribution of print content?

Tom: Yes, we do print and make products that support print. Did you know Kodak has commercial businesses that are in the printing and packaging industries? It is a multi-billion dollar per year category for us. That being said, we use print for B2B publications for our Entertainment Imaging (motion picture)
and Graphic Communications (printing) businesses. I would be remiss if I didn't mention that print also extends to personal needs. Are your precious memories locked on a hard drive somewhere? I hope not!

I hope you found this Q&A helpful.Thanks Joe for inviting me.
Leave a comment I would love to hear your thoughts. Thanks, tom @tomhoehn on Twitter

Relevant Articles:

• 10 Content Marketing Tips to Start Now
• Six Content Strategies for Keeping Content Fresh
• Five Content Marketing Ideas that will Pay Dividends

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If You Are a Marketer, Watch this Video of Gary Vaynerchuk

Thanks Gary Vaynerchuk.  In a few years this will be the norm, but right now most companies still don't get it. See more of Gary at this exclusive social media event.

Recession Creates Opportunity - Invest in Marketing that Builds Assets

I talked to a medium-sized company today that was having some difficulty with their content marketing efforts. After about five minutes it was easy to see why.

The print newsletter and "magalog" were owned by customer service. The five enewsletters were ultimately managed by IT. White papers, eBooks and annual reports were executed by marketing. The website was split up between IT, marketing and sales. And no one was responsible for listening to the customer through social media tools. Frankly, most of the attention was still going to trade shows, direct mail and telemarketing.

Lots of wasted time and resources. Everything was being measured individually and no person had the power to bring the teams together. The worst part? - everyone was so worried about their little piece of the pie, no one was paying attention to the informational needs of the customer (Twitter? - what's that?).

Things are about to change because now they have no choice. Sometimes a recession creates opportunity.

What's Your Opportunity?

Every company, no matter the size, has marketing processes or strategies that used to make sense in the past, but now just don't work.

In the good times, these processes go on because a little bit of waste is okay, tolerated or ignored altogether.

In times like these, your marketing can't afford waste.

Look at your marketing and do the following:

1. Take a hard look at what's working and what's not working.  You will probably find marketing that builds an asset is performing better (your website, your white papers, your videos - things that help you tell your story). Marketing that is created and disappears (online display, print ads, etc. - things that are difficult to tell a story) are either not performing as well or you aren't sure what it's doing.
2. Disregard relationships and well-worn marketing paths. You can't afford to play nice anymore. Make the hard decisions now when the opportunity is in front of you (Yes, you can finally fire that person/contractor/agency).
3. Don't pocket all the marketing dollars you are cutting.  Reinvest a portion of those savings into assets and stories - your web content, your enewsletter content, your informational products, your "customer listening" staff. Focus on being the trusted solutions provider for your industry - invest in products that do just that.
4. Address duplicate content issues. (courtesy of Natanya Anderson) Many times we find that several groups in a company are trying to address the same content needs, but through their unique lenses (and not typically through the customers' lens). They are all telling a very similar story and creating multiple, redundant assets, none of which really meet the end-user's needs. If companies can centralize these efforts and make the focus of the asset development the user, they will most likely be able to create a single asset that performs well.
5. Execute.

The companies that take advantage of this great opportunity will be leading their industries after the dust settles.

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10 Content Marketing Tips to Start Now for 2009

One of the reasons I love my job is the different kinds of people I have the opportunity to interact with. Over the past year, I've met with entrepreneurs, thought leaders, agency executives, top marketers, social media gurus, publishing veterans, authors and others - all with particular insights and challenges about how to sell more, do more and be more.

If 2008 was the year social media went mainstream, 2009 should be the year of content marketing, the corporation as media company, the brand as publisher and broadcaster. Why? Because everyone of those incredibly intelligent people I met with, in some way or another, told me that the difference for brands who make it versus those that don't will be relevance. How can we, as brands, be relevant to our customers? How can we create and develop real relationships with them? How do we engage?

As my friend and colleague Kirk Cheyfitz has said over and over - brands can do only two things to create the goal of 100% engagement - we can inform our customers - or give them a good time.

To help, I've put together 10 tactics that I believe you need to seriously consider NOW as part of your 2009 content plan (not in any particular order).

1. Tell the Story Differently through Different Media - It's frustrating to watch the sheer number of marketers tell a great story, but repurpose that story the same way in all their media. Ian Alexander over at Eat Media constantly harps (and rightfully so) on the concept that the story you tell in print versus mobile versus website versus video must be told in a very different manner. Seems obvious, but it's not done. Most commonly, this mistake is made from taking a print custom program and just putting it online. Do you engage with content in the same way in print as you do the web? Most likely, you don't. Do not expect more of your customers than yourself.
2. Raid Traditional Media Outlets - As traditional media continues to lay off the best journalists in the world and layoffs and bankruptcies abound, your opportunity to acquire talent has never been greater. Of course, I'm biased a bit that I believe most marketers should outsource their content and find great providers through our service, but this opportunity is too good to be true. First, the talent is available now. Second, expert journalists are very open to working with corporations today. Third, you need great content to survive as a marketer. To do this, you need talent that understands how to tell a story. Go get that talent today while there is still time (and before they all start up their own content marketing businesses).
3. Why Partner with Media Companies, Just Buy Them - Granted, this is for the larger marketers among us, but a great strategy nonetheless. Paul Conley just posted an excellent read on the shape of the media industry, and his #1 prediction was that content marketers may start to buy b-to-b media companies. I've agreed with this strategy ever since I was at Penton (when I thought Penton should be purchased by eBay Business - and still think it's a great idea for both). Remember, a media company is all about connecting buyers and sellers. Corporations need to do that as well, they only want to limit the number of sellers (to one).
4. Time to Start Using Twitter - I will agree with you...I thought Twitter was stupid when I first tried it. Now, it is an indispensable tool, where I've increased my network, formed partnerships, and led to new business opportunities. To understand the true power you need to use a tool like TweetDeck, which is the ultimately reputation management tool if you can't afford a real reputation management tool. Check out this article by Ann Smarty on using Twitter for Business, as well as Shama Hyder's 101 Ways to Rock Twitter. And finally, if you are distributing relevant content, try sending your RSS feeds through Twitter by using TwitterFeed.
5. Get Serious about a Content Audit - In all honesty, this is a huge task and very challenging to look for all the pieces of content in an organization from the inside.  If you are serious about performing a content audit, look to an outside expert to execute it.  For example, they will look at all your forms of communication and the information you are sending out in order to make recommendations on how to create and fine tune a consistent and relevant message to your customers and prospects.  This includes all the content you have on the web and what's circulating around your company.  Just think about your website…is it consistent?  Does it communicate your vision? If you are serious, we have a number of providers in the Junta42 Match system.
   
   The results of the content audit will help define the purpose, context, types, topics, voice and style for your content marketing plan.  With this information, you’ll have a good handle on where you are currently, and where you need to be in relation to your customers. Hat's off to Kristina Halvorson at Brain Traffic for showing me the light on content strategy.
6. No Reputation Management System? - Work on Your Google Alerts: Of all the listening tools out there, Google Alerts is probably the one I use the most (even more than Twitter).  The way Google Alerts works is that I can monitor keywords and brand names, and whenever anyone mentions them on the Internet, I’ll get a notification.  As a rule, when anyone blogs about me, my company, or my book, I want to know about it and comment to them.  Google Alerts helps me find most of this.
   
   But where this is really of value is to find out what people are saying around they topics that are important to you and your customers.  For example, by monitoring the term “content marketing” over the past couple years, I’ve really gained insight into how the definition has broadened and how more people are using the term in general. It also introduced me to thought leaders like Chris Brogan, who regularly posts and advocates the use of content marketing.
   
   We can help shape the conversation through our own content because we know what’s being talked about on other sites.
   
   So, how do you do it?  Google Alerts is a free tool.  The first thing you need to do is create a Gmail (or Google mail account), which is also free.  Once you have a Gmail account, just type in your keywords into Alerts and set your notifications. To use exact phrases (recommended), try using parentheses like so - "content marketing".
7. Assign a Chief Conversation Officer - Whatever you call it, make sure someone is in charge of listening to customer conversations through blogs, Google Alerts, and Twitter.  Have that person be the personality for your brand.  Customers want to talk to other people, so it’s very important that you put a human face on this.
   
   Remember, a successful content marketing strategy is dependent on how well you know the customer's informational needs. Listening is required.
   
   Here’s an example why you need ownership.  Type in "Kodak" into Twitter Search and you'll find that there are hundreds of people just in the last day that are talking about Kodak in one way or another.  This takes someone’s full time attention to monitor what customers and prospects are saying (which is why Kodak has Jennifer Cisney @KodakCB as their Chief Blogger).  If done right, and with transparency and honesty, there may not be a better way to gain loyal customers than to interact with them in a personal way through social media.  So, I encourage you to take a very serious look at assigning an owner to your social conversation management.
8. Are you BtoB? If so, choose to "Be the Media": Heck, BtoC can do this as well (it's just more challenging). Most brands don’t look at themselves as publishers or media companies right now.  This is starting to change.  Over the next five to ten years, content marketing – or whatever the phrase is – will be the engine behind most of the marketing that happens around the globe.  That’s because buying behavior has changed, and will never go back to the days of mass marketing.  I believe the early movers in providing best of breed industry and educational content will have a clear advantage and be able to position themselves as trusted content providers – which in the long run – will position them for sales and profit growth.  It’s not easy, and right now it takes work to measure, but, as Seth Godin has said, Content Marketing is the only marketing left.
   
   Point is, don't wait for your industry's trade publication or online resource to cover an important topic - important to you and your customers. Go out and develop that information yourselves. Become the trusted content provider in your industry. Not only a good thing to do for your customers and industry, but believe me, it will be good for your bottom line.
9. Find Someone to Be Your Publisher/Media Company - Yes, even though I believe you should grab the journalistic talent when you can, partnering with an organization that focuses on content 24/7 is just a smart move.
   
   You need someone to own your content process.  Select someone to be your turnkey publisher. In my experience, marcom people are not necessarily the most qualified to create story-driven content.  So, if you are serious about growing your business through content marketing, find the expertise now. 
   
   Once you select your publisher or journalist as part of your content team, you should expect them to assist you with the following:
   
   • You can count on this group to help you develop the content plan.  This means that they need to have the best understanding of your customer’s informational needs, and make sure that you have a plan to communicate to each of your customer segments – valuable, relevant and compelling information.  This will involve surveys and discussions with your customers and prospects, and from that you can create a buyer persona for your customer, which is a detailed representation of who your buyer is.
   • Now, Once the content plan is created, you may be asking what types of programs you may need to execute. This will ultimately be dependent on your content plan and the kinds of information that you need them to receive. 
     
     So, you need case studies, interviews with customers about challenges solved. Industry white papers or ebooks that cover a key topic that your customers need to be educated on.  White papers are generally done quarterly by even smaller organizations. For webcasts, you can produce webcasts for resellers, educating them on what’s going on in the industry so they can sell better, or communicate with webcasts/webinars directly to customers.  Key for webcasts is to do it consistently.  Many brands partner with media companies to use webcasts as lead generators.  When done right, there may not be a better lead generator than webcasts.
     
     Believe it or not, custom magazines are still growing, and yes, in print.  Most consumers still enjoy reading print magazines, and even with all the Internet hype, readership in magazines hasn’t gone down.  For distributing in depth information and positioning yourself as a true solutions provider, custom magazines or even online digital magazines are a good choice.  With custom magazines, think retention for your very best customers.
     
     eNewsletters are the most popular content vehicle, and unfortunately most are pretty bad.  You have an opportunity to really position yourself as an expert if you deliver consistently valuable content instead of news release/press release type information. I've always loved what the folks at IMN do with their Pro&Content eNewsletter.
     
     And finally, social media community sites/blogs and content-focused microsites are all growing in popularity.  The key to any successful blog or social media site is this: If you can’t handle customer comments that may be negative in nature, don't go in this direction.  Some companies mask the openness of a blog but don’t allow comments.  My question to that is, what’s the point?  Also, the content needs to be good, and it needs to be personal.  Ghost writing a blog is possible but tough…to make this successful you really need a company personality…but your content provider/publisher can help you get the direction right.
     
   
   Those are just a few…remember, every communication challenge is different, and may require a different content initiative - which is why an expert publisher is so important.  Also, for the most part, none of these initiatives work independently.  For example, there is no such thing as just a custom magazine.  There is always an online component, which may be a microsite, additional web content, white papers and more - and in each of those media channels, the story needs to be told differently for maximum engagement.
10. All this is Meaningless Unless You Measure: Yes, content marketing is a good idea for any size company, but without measurement, how do you have any idea what is working? My former boss at Penton Media, Bill Donahue, used to preach to me all the time that "Hope is not a strategy". Even hope, without an idea of a preferred end result, may actually be defined as insanity.
    
    Before you launch any content initiative, create the content strategy around your marketing program, and be very specific with how you will measure success. Use numbers whenever you can to quantify your plan. Then, have your management buy off on those numbers to support your content plan. Although we finish with this strategy as our last, it probably should be the first. Successful content marketing plans need at least six months just to get any traction at all - so plan for a minimum of 12 to 18 months and continually modify your plan as you gain customer intelligence.

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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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Telling Your Story and Southwest Airlines

Quick story for you.

I was flying back last night from Chicago via Southwest Airlines. After we landed, there was a long taxi to get to the gate - and to pass the time, everyone was talking to each other (it was actually pretty loud).

About a minute into the taxi the Southwest flight attendant asked if anyone wanted to hear a story. Within 10 seconds, over 100 people were completely quiet, and so, she told the story.

Once upon a time there as a man and a woman.
The man was in love with the woman.
So, the man asked the woman to marry him.
The woman said no.
And she lived happily ever after.

After much laughter, the flight attendant said "wait, the man ended up happy as well. He moved back in with his mother."

The Importance of Story

All people, consumer buyers and business buyers, love stories. We had all kinds of people on the Southwest flight, and every one of them were quiet so they could here the story. A story engages, it uplifts, it persuades.

Whether you are Barack Obama or an automotive parts distributor, you need a story to accomplish your business goals. Whether you want to inform or entertain, you need a story to do it.

And, for the first time ever, I attended a media/publishers conference this week where one of the main topics was (wait for it) - helping customers "tell their story" (rather then peddle them space). For those of you not familiar with the inner-workings of b-to-b publishing, this occurrence runs a close second to the invention of the phonograph and Tootsie Rolls.

Buyers listen to stories. They listen to stories unlike anything else today.

Most of the passengers ignored everything the flight attendant said before, during and after the flight...but when she mentioned the "story" they stopped and listened. Harnessing and distributing what your business story is may be the most important thing you can do over the next few months.

Learn how to tell your story, because if you don't, chances are your customers won't listen to anything else.

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Traditional Media Bad, Custom Content Good

Anyone in marketing must be sick of hearing about how bad it's getting with in the media world. Brands across the board are slashing their media spend, at least according to a recent Reuters' article.

In the article, the prediction is made that 2009 could be as bad, or possibly even worse than in 2008 for traditional media spending. In general, we are most likely looking at flat spending for 2009.

Traditional media is not dead by any means. Leading brands spent good investment on the Olympics, and the political race is always a boon for traditional media in the form of TV, radio, print and online display. At the ABM/FIPP Business Media conference, in-person events are continuing overall growth, and innovative companies like Google are still looking to break into the traditional radio and print space. So, if Google is interested in it, that's where the money is.

That said, the trends are flat to down for traditional media.  They have been, and continue to be, and we see stories like the one from Reuters and others talking about the death of media.

The Problem Is Not Media
This is important.  Nothing is broken about media itself.  Consumers have more media choices than ever before. They can also turn on or off most online advertising by opting in or out of particular messaging.

Just this morning I started the day with the print newspaper, caught a bit of news on CNBC, checked the news highlights and RSS feeds on Yahoo!.com, and caught a few industry articles on the web.  Getting information is easier and more effective than ever.

That's it.  It's key is information.  Wow, we've hit on it.

Information is what people want, not advertising.  They want to be educated and entertained by really good stories. Just this week Story Worldwide CEO Kirk Cheyfitz said that there are only two ways that customer communication works - to give customers relevant content or to give them a good time. It's that simple. Those two things create brand engagement.

Now look at traditional advertising.  It's very hard to deliver relevant and compelling content or give customers a good time by renting space with a media company.  It's hard to create true engagement. Here are a few reasons why:

1. Limited Space - Whether it's a 30 second spot, an online display ad, radio commercial or print advertisement, there is simply just not enough time or space to tell a story that engages. Plus, you have to share it with many others who want to sell, sell, sell.

2. Rent Not Own - With traditional media, you are renting a tiny portion of space from another company to pitch your product or service. You don't own much besides your own creative, and once the ad program is done...poof, all gone.  There is no substaining life beyond the program in most cases.

3. Inefficient - Even as traditional media gets better at targeting, it's still lacks the effeciency of targeted customer programs. Whether you admit it or not, much of the message goes unnoticed or ignored by prospects and non-prospects alike.

There are many more reasons, but you get the point. If the goal is engagement, and you get engagement by telling stories, traditional media is a dead end. Brands need have conversations with customers, to help shape conversations in an educational or fun manner. Traditional media makes that difficult, if not impossible in most scenarios.

Custom Content Rolls
Yes, traditional media is not coming back - ever. There are too many choices for both brands and customers today - and too many more effective choices.

At the same time we talk about the "flatness" of traditional media, custom content continues to grow. According to Veronis Suhler Stevenson, the industry is now growing faster than any other category except for word-of-mouth. The money that once went to traditional forms of media, is now being invested in targeted, relevant and compelling information to customers. The money is not going way. It's being reinvested.

So don't be sad. It's just like when someone reallocates their 401k investments. We used to be overweight in traditional, underweight in content. The process is underway to reverse that trend.

So, if you are a financial adviser to the brands, traditional media would be a bad investment right now, while custom content would be good. Where do you think you'll get the best return?

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Attract and Retain Customers with Content NOW - A Complimentary White Paper

Today’s Internet-savvy buyers are hungry for content. And not just any content...valuable, relevant content that offers solutions to their problems and helps them lead successful, productive, enjoyable jobs and lives. However, they are also inundated by thousands of marketing messages every day, most of which they ignore. To get through, you need to communicate differently—you need to do more than just sell products and services. You need to provide information. Smart marketers know this and are creating strong brand relationships by providing good, authoritative, even leadership-type content.

For that very reason, Junta42 is offering this complimentary white paper entitled, "How to Attract and Retain Customers with Content NOW."

The majority of companies are set up to sell products and services, not to create valuable, relevant and compelling content on a consistent basis. To deliver content that has a chance to create long-term relationships with customers and prospects, businesses need to develop a new content mindset.  This free white paper will help you get there.

Here are just a few of the content marketing issues that are covered in this white paper:

• Content marketing defined
• Why companies have to "Be the Media"
• Six reasons why you need to begin today
• How to develop a content strategy
• Putting the plan in motion
• How to measure your success
• Content + Marketing = Customers

We also include a few case studies from leading brands that are making it work today.

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

Download your complimentary white paper now! For all you media types and publishers out there, make sure you check out the sister-white paper to this document - "The New Rules of Custom Publishing: Nine Strategies to Create a World-Class Content Marketing Organization." Enjoy.

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Why Lease When You Can Buy? - A Case for Content Marketing

We are in the middle of working on a video about content marketing and one of the key phrases we are using is "Why lease when you can buy?"

If you are looking at a car or at a house, their are pros and cons to buying versus leasing (or renting).  To make a decision, first you have to understand the differences between buying and leasing:

"When you buy, you pay for the entire cost of the [asset] regardless of how [much you use it or what you get out of it.] When you lease, you pay for only a portion of [the real asset's cost], which is the part that you 'use up' [while you are occupying it]."

Buying is Creating Your Own Content
Think about that for a second in relation to the creation of content. By creating your own content, publishing it, then distributing it through print and online mechanisms, you've bought yourself an asset. Once you buy it, you could do nothing with it, or distribute the heck out of it.  Regardless, you still pay the same for that asset. Getting ROI out of it is ultimately up to you.

If executed correctly, you can leverage and re-leverage that asset to continually communicate with customers and prospects. The majority of top tier content does not depreciate either (what publishing folks call "evergreen" content), unlike a car. Great content works more like buying a house or property. If it's good and can be found (location), it goes up in value.

Traditional Advertising is Leasing
Although more and more companies are "buying" content, a good portion of marketing budgets are still spent on leasing or renting activities such as print advertising or online banners and buttons. Like in the definition above, you, the marketer, pay a small portion of the true asset cost or value (owned by the publisher or content distributor) for the area that you are "using up" during that particular time.

Since the publisher owns the asset, which is essential the community they bring to the table for your benefit, they have the right to charge you for the space you are taking up.

Now, advertising has its place. We at Junta42 use traditional advertising all the time. But understand that once it's gone, it's gone.  You have paid for renting the space and there is no asset created, in and of itself. The activity generated from the advertising may ultimately create an asset, but the space you occupied with your brief message is essentially worthless after the period of "occupation" is over. Poof...gone.

Why Are More Marketers Buying/Creating Content Today?
It's quite simple if you think about it. As we see more technological advances, the consumer of content has more and more control over what they engage in. In the past, there were limited options (television, radio, newspapers, consumer and trade magazines). Today, a buyer can go to a search engine and find exactly what they are looking for in a second. And, since Google has democratized content, ANY company with good content and a little search engine savvy can distribute it to that targeted buyer. (Here's a good white paper that spells it out from A to Z.)

Content is also worth more today since it is constantly "alive" on the web and available for consumption, even years after it was first distributed.

So, as the value of traditional marketing vehicles declines with the number of media choices increasing, the lower technological barriers for content creation, and greater content accessibility, corporate content marketing becomes more valuable for the same reasons.

Some "To-Do's" for the Traditional Marketer
Don't worry if you still spend a boat-load on traditional marketing.  If you are, you also realize that the tide is moving away from traditional media and you may not be sure what to do next.  Here are a couple easy steps to take:

• Don't go canceling all your traditional print and online advertising (I'm sure you won't). But do leverage those communities to distribute valuable, relevant and compelling content that can entice a behavior. Microsites, white papers, webinars, video shorts are all good ways to engage with a target buyer. IBM, Seimens, and Unilever are all leveraging traditional media outlets with big investments to drive consumers to their own content. Unilever's DegreeRookie content campaign was promoted all over DirecTV this weekend (on channel 116 I believe). Note that they are also leveraging a traditional media outlet (Fox) to get the job done.
• Get serious about content in your organization. The title of Chief Content Officer is starting to pop up in more and more businesses.  Why?  Because content is a strategic marketing device that can drive substantial revenues, so it must be taken seriously. Content is the asset you create that becomes the foundation for your customer relationships. Give ownership to someone that can help guide your content ship. The future of marketing is in the content you create and distribute. Be prepared.

Buy and Build Your House
A great content strategy does not happen overnight, but it's very similar to buying and building your house. The more investment in skilled builders (journalists, content experts, custom publishers), the better your house will look (customer relationships, loyalty and increased sales).

There are always situations where leasing works, but if you can buy the asset of content, and you know that, if done correctly, the asset will grow in value, why would you ever miss out on that opportunity?

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Tales Equals Sales: The Power of Marketing Storytelling

Here is my latest article from Chief Marketer magazine on the power of storytelling. Some excellent examples here from Unilever's Degree (Degree Rookie campaign) and Blendtec's Will it Blend?

Aside from the examples, here's the real core of the article:

Storytelling, sometimes referred to as content marketing or custom media, consists of delivering the brand product message as relevant and compelling information. Instead of marketers following a playbook, storytelling requires much the same mixture of rational and emotional messaging that you’d find in a New York Times feature, or even on primetime television drama.

Smart marketers are realizing that they don’t have a choice anymore when it comes to reaching consumers. In today’s business environment, the 4 Ps of marketing can be copied verbatim by an outside competitor. The only separation is communication - how a marketer tells its story.

Although I prefer the term content marketing, many leading content experts such as Story Worldwide and Storybrand Consulting have picked up on the "storytelling" concept.

Whatever it's called, the "story" is the same - deliver relevant, valuable and compelling information to your customer, and reap the rewards of engagement, loyalty and, ultimately, purchase.

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