There’s a lot of chatter about content marketing these days. And rightfully so. It doesn’t matter if you’re the shop around the corner or a Fortune 100 company, done thoughtfully, consistently and responsively, content marketing builds loyalty, leads and revenues.
It’s not a trend that will come and go by next year. Which leads to three reasons why companies need to sit up, take notice and have enough sense to be afraid of it.
Reason #1: You’re not doing it.
For every reason you have why it won’t work, you’ll find three proven cases of how it can. Probably the biggest determinant for knowing whether or not content marketing will work within your organization is to take a look at your corporate culture and your openness to change. Don’t underestimate these.
Content marketing bucks the trend of traditional marketing. It’s not about pulling out your 42-item check list and ticking things off as you prep for your product launch. There’s a lot of companies that are very good at that. Once the product’s out the door, the product collateral goes onto the website and the internal sales portal, never to be seen again. Because it’s crap.
Your culture has to be open to change to move forward with content marketing because often you have to make decisions on the fly. You have to be nimble.
Think about having a conversation with someone in a social setting. You ask them a question, and there’s a five to 10 minute lag before they respond. Weird. And I bet it’s a short interaction.
Here’s the corporate equivalent. Your customer says something in a social channel and you want to join in. But before you do, you have to get executive and legal sign-off on what you say, which takes five to 10 weeks.
That’s not content marketing. That’s corporate bureaucracy. Companies try to apply the same rules and regulations to conversations as they did through traditional marketing, and it eventually kills the interest and enthusiasm for content marketing initiatives.
Marketing through content needs to create value, and not everyone is going to sit around waiting until you’re ready to share your value. Instead, they’ll go to your competition, who already understands content marketing, and is ready, willing and able to pick up the conversation where you left off.
Reason #2: You’re not emotionally engaged in the content you generate.
I love Southwest Airlines. I know a lot of people say this, but I really do love them. They love what they do, and they want to create a better experience for their customers. Flight attendants tell great jokes, and they enjoy making people happy.
Then there are airlines whose employees clearly go through the motions. Passengers boarded. Check. Safety presentation. Check. In-flight service. Check.
Technically, they’re doing the same thing as Southwest, getting passengers from point A to point B. But if you look at people’s expressions, there’s no engagement. When was the last time you smiled all the way down the jet way getting off another airline’s flight?
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Source : cmswire[dot]com
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