We’ve come a long way since 4200 BC. Electrical tin openers, monotheism, Teletext – you name it, we’ve invented it. However, a loose translation of the first form of custom publishing (also known as content marketing) suggests the practice has remained relatively consistent: ‘six ways a spear can save you from a wild boar’, was the message sprawled on a cave wall. But this begs the question: why has content marketing only recently gathered so much attention?
The content marketing revolution, an article by the Harvard Business Review, published by Citrix GoToWebinar, was the most downloaded item this week from b2bmarketing.net. The paper investigates the phenomenon, reflecting on its rapid unfolding and explains why it marks ‘the era of corporate enlightenment’.
If content marketing is the most effective way to fuel your inbound strategy, the primary focus should be lead generation. Gathering the second most downloads, The characteristics of a strategic lead generation website, from Tomorrow people, provides a step-by-step guide to help marketers overcome lead generation difficulties, highlighting some of the simple changes that can be implemented for great inbound results.
If your social media can go further, it’ll be by standing on the shoulders of giants. Marketo’s latest contribution, the Big social media brand profile lookbook proved to be a must-read this week for social media marketers looking for inspiration from the likes of Lexus, Oreo and HBO.
Apteco are assisting marketers to reflect on the market with their paper, Trend report 2014/2015 – Data driven marketing. This accessible report uncovers trends in the adoption of marketing automation, growing data volumes and cloud hosting, and reveals how industry practitioners plan to confront data challenges in the coming year.
‘While marketing may sound incredibly daunting,’ say Marketscan in their recent paper The business owner’s guide – how to generate new business through marketing, ‘it is something that every business owner has to face in order to survive and thrive.’ The week’s download leaderboard suggests this message resonates with a vast B2B audience. From provoking the market to cold calling and referrals, this paper provides a seven-step guide to generating new business.
Top downloads
- Citrix GoToWebinar: Content marketing revolution
- Tomorrow People: The characteristics of a strategic lead generation website
- Marketo: See how big brands are being creative on social
- Apteco: Trend report 2014/2015 – Data driven marketing
- Marketscan: The business owner’s guide – How to generate new business through marketing
