English majors certainly have a leg up in the content marketing world, what with their trove of literary references and practiced writing flow. But what about Econ majors? It struck me recently that there’s an important contribution that knowledge of economics could make to help your content marketing execution. Economics is the study of the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services. Content marketing fits neatly into this context. It’s not about amassing a stockpile of … [Read more...]
Problem First, Not Product First: How to Hook Your Buyers Problem-Solving Content
Sometimes you hear something and think, "I heard that five years ago. Ten years ago. How is that still a problem?" Now, I’m not talking about global warming or peace in the Middle East. No, I’m in marketing world here, and specifically, talking about the old saw “sell solutions, not products.” Marketers have been told to focus on solutions countless times. So why are marketers are still focusing on product? We marketers are human, after all, and the problem with adages like this is that … [Read more...]
Content First, Not Campaign First: Four Steps to Make Sure You Don’t Fall into the Empty Campaign Trap
I was speaking to a colleague recently who expressed a common lament. She had launched a beautiful looking marketing campaign three months prior, and it wasn't working. Nobody was clicking. It looked great. It was running in the right places, and she couldn't understand what was happening. I had seen this before, so, channeling Click and Clack from Car Talk , I asked her one more question to confirm what I suspected her problem was. "How did you come up with the campaign?" I asked. Here it … [Read more...]
Organic Traffic Isn’t Free: How to Dispel this Common Misconception
I was in a meeting recently with a web design agency. We were discussing a new site, and how we would be generating leads, when he made the following comment, “Of course, you want to get lots of that free organic traffic.” I thought to myself, I'm not going to hire this guy. He has no idea what he's talking about. Why did I think that? Because SEO is not a one time, set-it-and-forget-it operation. Growing organic traffic takes a lot of work. Lots of staff and agency time. That costs money. It … [Read more...]
Diagnostic Content: How to Boost Conversion and Increase Customer Trust with Problem Solving Content
Last week, I had the pleasure of speaking at the 2015 MarketingProfs B2B Marketing Forum. Here's a condensed transcript with my slides of my talk, plus a link to the whole presentation at the bottom. The Concept: Everyone here has had what I call a "diagnostic experience". You've gone to the doctor, brought your car to the shop, gone to a golf or tennis pro, you've sought out the advice of a professional to try and help you understand your problem and give you advice on how to fix it. You've … [Read more...]
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