Laila Lotfi, head of product marketing at Red Gate Software and speaker at our upcoming conference, shares her top tips of how marketers can create good content.
Why has content marketing become such a hot topic over the last 18 months?
Back in 2006/2007 digital advertising was working fantastically well for us, with click-through rates around 2-3 per cent. But as display ads multiplied, our audience trained itself to ignore ads or blocked them entirely with ad blocking software, and the effectiveness of digital advertising waned. Then around 2009/2010 I realised advertorials and user stories (ie content) performed consistently better when it came to generating quality leads – in fact, they converted up to six times better than traditional online display advertising. So I guess content marketing has become a hot topic over the past few years simply because marketers are finding that it works better.
Why is there so much poor content out there?
Well, content can now be created really easily (e.g. a video on your smartphone can be swiftly posted on YouTube or a blog post can be published in a hurry without peer review), which means everyone can be a content creator. There are literally millions of content creators on this planet and few editors. So I’ll answer with a rhetorical question here: how do you expect not to see rubbish content out there?
Give an example of a great B2B content marketing campaign
BrightTALK are pretty good. It understands various marketing personas, concerns, challenges and goals. It sends me a weekly newsletter telling me what webinars are coming up and if there’s a topic relevant to me and my circumstances, then I take time off to watch it. Not only do they produce content that is useful for me, but I also like the fact that it keeps the content digestible (20 -30 minutes long) to fit with my schedule.
How can marketers cut through the content avalanche?
That’s hard one. However, I’ve found that if the content we produce is genuinely valuable (i.e. relevant and useful) for our audience, and we can find a way of attracting attention to it, then we tend to be alright. There are many ways of attracting attention and some that have worked for us are, using prominent figures in our industry and doing something out of the ordinary (more on that during my talk).
What’s going to be the next big thing in content marketing?
If you produce lots of content, you don’t just want your audience to consume it and go away, right? So, if you can capture those leads and devise a solid lead nurturing programme, with the aim of moving your leads progressively down the funnel, then you’re already doing the next big thing: lead nurturing and funnel optimisation. And if, like me, your first experience of lead nurturing doesn’t work, then keep at it: optimise your programmes until you get it right.
Laila Lotfi will be discussing content marketing futher at our upcoming B2B Marketing Conference, ‘The Content Avalanche’. The event offers a tour-de-force in content marketing excellence. Marketing leaders will share insights, outline best practices and offer actionable advice. Plus, the event offers a rare opportunity to network and share ideas with over 200 B2B marketers.
Book your ticket today by visiting b2bmarketing/conference or calling: 0207 269 6590
