Marketing

Effectively Using Data in your Content Strategy

Communications, Content Strategy, Marketing

Content Marketing has been an important part of the overall communications and marketing mix for more than a decade, but it continues to evolve and mature.  Content plays a significant role in attracting prospects and delivering the information they need to advance in their journey from consideration to decision.

However, a content strategy which is not based on clear business goals and driven by data will simply fall short of those goals. There are a ton of great educational resources and models out there but one thing that is lacking in many of the tips and articles is the use of data to offer additional insights in your content planning.

Before developing the content strategy, we need to outline the fundamentals:       

What are your business goals?

What are successful outcomes that you want to achieve?

How are you defining the core messages that differentiate you in the marketplace?

What does customer research tell you about where your targets spend time?

What channels make sense for content to reach your specific audience?      

If you are not clear on these elements, stop here. Without these answers, you are likely to waste time and money hoping for results. A great friend/mentor of mine, Bob Aronson, often said “If communications is not your top priority, then all your other priorities are at risk.” This is spot on. If you cannot effectively answer the questions above with confidence, it’s important to pause in order to define those to ensure your strategies will truly align to drive your desired results.

Assuming the fundamentals are in place, organizations typically dive in with creating content they think will hit the mark.Yet, data driven insights allow so much more than just taking a smart, educated guess as to how to deliver valuable content to meet the needs of the market. It’s an ongoing challenge that has been exacerbated in the last couple of years with more focus on the credibility of online results with Google continually looking to help users understand why they get the results they see.

With several great tools available, there is more that can be done to create an effective content plan. So, what should be considered?

Search Behavior Research

This is an extension of basic keyword research where you try to understand search intent. Of course, taking keywords into consideration should still be a part of the process but it also must be done in context. This is of critical importance. We want to deliver the right information to meet the needs of the person searching, not simply leveraging keywords and saying a prayer that somehow you wind up on page one of search results. Those days are long gone and never really worked all that well anyway.

Attention to the problem you’re trying to solve for a user should be the focus in all planning efforts. As a marketer, you must deliver the content that is meaningful to the audience. That’s the win-win for everyone. Readers want to find what actually addresses their needs, and you want to reach people who are seeking your content. Every page you are working on should have a specific purpose and advance the reader further into your marketing funnel by either addressing their questions or providing critical information. Thinking through the questions that will get a user to your site as well as every step through your content pathways once there, including effective calls to action, should be modeled as part of your plan. In the example to the right, the volume provides the obvious guide on if the topic is actively being searched online. Understanding the current interest in specific terms is the minimum to consider in capturing those readers and allowing you to begin to formulate ideas around topics.

Most Shared and Engaging Content

Another area that I believe is under-utilized is analyzing the content most shared for your industry or topic. This data is readily available and can provide extremely specific insights that help in understanding how your audience is engaging with content.

Conventional wisdom has said that shorter-form content is what most readers want. We’re busy right? You can hear it now- “There’s too much going on, I don’t have time to read lengthy articles” or even seeing how often people share articles and clearly have not read beyond the headline. But surprise, sometimes the most helpful content can be very heavy, lengthy pieces.

It varies of course, but if you don’t look you won’t know what is happening in real world scenarios. While personas and assumptions are better than nothing, you may be leaving opportunity on the table without doing this research.

In the table above, the data displays which articles are being shared most widely based on the initial research. To the left, I’ve included the column that corresponds to the length of that highly-shared content. You can see that longer articles are performing very well. Many of the top-shared articles are several thousand words. While many short content pieces do well for a lot of topics, you can see that some of the most highly shared articles feature deep, rich content. For new or potentially complex topics, many readers seem to appreciate the added detail versus quick-hit copy. This level of content planning simply allows smarter outcomes that are more likely to succeed.

Get Ready for Content Success in 2022

This time of year, many companies begin the process of planning for the year ahead and wouldn’t think of ignoring real-world customer or prospect data garnered from the sales team or industry voices but don’t fully leverage data available online. If you want to learn more about effective content planning, and ensure you’re turning over every stone to help meet your goals, please reach out for a discussion on opportunities to enhance your strategic content efforts in 2022.

B2B Email Marketing in 2021

Marketing, Writing

Every year it feels like there will be a push to move away from B2B email marketing with new tools and channels available. Plus, “everyone gets too much email” and “nobody reads email.” This year will be no different. The growth (justifiably so) of audio and video has captured much of the buzz as we collectively seek new ways to connect while more physically apart than any time in recent memory.

BUT WAIT THERE’S MORE- B2B email is performing better than pre-pandemic levels. According to Hubspot’s State of Email Marketing in 2020, 78% of marketers have seen an increase in email engagement over the last 12 months. Email can generate an ROI of up to 42:1 per research by Litmus with some industries even outperforming that average.

Why does email work so well? Targeted, strategic content that is on-target to your prospects.

  • We’ve been conditioned to look for professional communications via email. There’s no surprise in this but the key is identifying the content that is relevant for your audience. Would you have guessed that 73% of millennials prefer communications from businesses to come via email? (Hubspot) Understanding your audience is central in creating the content strategy that will drive your B2B program.

  • The most successful companies use metrics to measure content performance and have a documented content strategy. (Content Marketing Institute) It’s difficult to improve performance if you aren’t measuring against specific goals. One of the areas I work with clients to improve is utilizing metrics to track progress and performance but also learn specifically what type of content and topics are working and what could be missing the mark.

  • What do you want them to do? This is the central question when shaping email content. With limited real estate both visually and in terms of best practices for copy length, be specific in what the call to action is within your message. Don’t make the mistake of trying to list every benefit or feature that you think a prospect needs to jump to a buying decision. Consider the journey that will be required to move a prospect from awareness to consideration and ultimately to a decision- work step-by-step. Email is a great way to nurture a relationship, provide useful content and you’ll get there.

The Building Blocks of Success- Entrepreneurship as Growth

Business, Business Communications, Communications, Entrepreneurship, Growth, Marketing

I’ve always been interested in a variety of industries and just generally in how businesses are built successfully.  So, after hearing some positive things about a local company here in Minneapolis and its team, I set out to sit down with Mike Rynchek and get to know him a bit better.  In chatting with him, it became extremely apparent to me that he’s one of those people that was really predisposed from birth to create and seek to build.

When I sat down with the July/August edition of Inc. Magazine I couldn’t help but catch the cover featuring a bold headline of “Bring on the Entrepreneurs” and it got me thinking again of the need to create and build successful, creative business models in the communications and marketing industries.  The traditional agency model, if not broken, is certainly in need of some good maintenance work as fewer companies are seeking single agencies to handle all their needs.  There is so much specialization needed that selling a one-size fits all model doesn’t make sense.   I again thought of my conversations with Mike and asked him to share a little more about his background and thoughts on building a business that is conducive to ongoing growth.

Q: What attracted you to the concept of starting and running your own business?

A: Two words, flexibility and opportunity. Since childhood, I’ve always wanted to be a CEO and I truly enjoy the power of marketing. Put them together and I found my passion.

Q: What can marketers/communicators learn from entrepreneurs in other industries that should be applied to this industry?

A: Marketers, much like entrepreneurs in other industries, should always be looking for inspiration. Now, with the advancement of technology, both entrepreneurs and marketers have the freedom to be creative and innovative in ways never thought possible.

Q: When you think about the creative process, what stands out you and what do you try to do at Spyder Trap to create an environment that is unique for your clients?

A: Consistency is key in any creative process, while forward thinking is crucial in defining our objectives. In combination, these elements help to capture the core needs of our clients. Additionally, our clients provide an external viewpoint for inspiration.

Q: How would you describe the business community in the Twin Cities? What have you found helpful, and what has been challenging?

A: The business community is lively in the Twin Cities offering an abundance of social engagements and community events to engage in. From simple coffee shops to extravagant galas, there is always something social happening in the Twin Cities business community. Social networking helps to establish, to connect, and to build upon professional relationships. One challenge I encounter is time; there is never enough time in a day. I often find myself needing to be in two places at once, if only I had a clone!

Q: A lot of entrepreneurs mention a constant nagging feeling of wondering what’s next. Do you experience that and how do you channel those thoughts into a productive model or path for new experiences?

A: “What’s next?” is a common question among entrepreneurs. This is a question I ask myself everyday! I have found that the best entrepreneurs are perpetually striving to find the pulse for what’s next in all areas of their business and environment. In my experience, the question of, “what’s next” has had a positive impact in aiding my growth as an entrepreneur. I am confident this question drives the growth and innovation necessary to remain successful in marketing. Larry Page and Sergey Brin had to be thinking, “what’s next?” before they launched Google in 1998.

Q: Who has served as an inspiration/mentor for you as you looked to build a successful business?

A: I am fortunate to have numerous mentors in my life who inspire me daily. As long as I can remember, I have found it important to gain insight from people in all areas of my life ranging from high-level executives to family and friends.

Recently, I have been incredibly inspired by philanthropic events that I am involved with, as I have learned that giving back is truly humbling.

I appreciate Mike’s help on this post and sharing some of his thoughts. I’d also like to hear more from the community on taking on an entrepreneurial mindset and what you believe is critical in creating companies that raise the level of quality in a creative manner. How do we collectively break into a new level of achievement that benefits clients and the organizations we serve?