Content marketing think like a publisher chapter 2 why is content important now

2 Why Is Content Important Now? “Content is the bait It’s what captures eyeballs, ears, attention, and engagement.” Content is king Anyone who’s ever worked in publishing or broadcast media has heard this familiar mantra ad infinitum In media, content is the bait It’s what captures eyeballs, ears, attention, and engagement It’s part of a timehonored contract with consumers: We’ll give you content, you give us attention—but you’ll have to agree to get ads or commercials as part of the bargain The traditional media model is interruptive marketing That model still holds true, of course, and will continue to so But these days, traditional media is on a continual decline Newspapers, television, radio, and magazines, although hardly on the verge of extinction, are nevertheless experiencing catastrophic disruption Circulation and tune-in are sinking Journalists are losing their jobs in record numbers 6 Part I Content Marketing Basics Consider Figure 2.1 According to eMarketer, the time consumers are spending with media is seriously out of whack with the types of media advertisers are buying to reach them Share of Average Time Spent per Day with Select Media by US Adults vs US Ad Spending Share, 2010 % of total Time spent share 3.3% 42.9% 25.2% 0.5% Ad spending share 42.7% TV Internet 15.6% 8.1% Radio 18.7% 11.0% Mobile 4.9% 16.5% 10.6% Newspapers Magazines Note: numbers may not add up to 100% due to rounding Source: eMarketer, March 2011 126338 www.eMarketer.com Figure 2.1 Share of average time spent per day with select media by U.S adults versus U.S ad spending share, 2010.1 Meanwhile, the rise of the Internet and other forms of digital media has created meaningful shifts and changes not only in the way media are consumed, but also in the way various channels are created, found, and disseminated What powers that fundamental shift is, simply, content and technology platforms that make creating and disseminating content within everyone’s grasp You may not be able to afford to buy a television network, but nothing’s stopping you from creating your own YouTube channel The cost of launching a newspaper or magazine is prohibitive—and risky Want to set up a blog? Go for it A basic blog can be up and running in minutes, and will cost nothing but your time Certainly consumers are jumping on these digital trends (see Figure 2.2) Consider the astronomical growth of Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, or other content platforms that didn’t exist a decade ago (or in some cases, even five years ago) It took television and even the VCR decades to reach these content platforms’ levels of use One primary change came with search Some 90% or more (depending on your sources) of buying decisions begin with a web search And on the Internet, practically no one’s searching for an ad Depending on where they are in the purchase cycle, they’re searching for information, recommendations, research, reviews, authority, and credibility And when they find the information they seek, they’re sharing it with others involved in the purchase decision: A friend, a spouse, a colleague, or their boss, or perhaps they’re throwing out that information to a trusted network to vet it or to validate their position in the decision-making process Source: eMarketer Chapter Figure 2.2 Why Is Content Important Now? The content boom As Figure 2.3 illustrates, search marketing professionals are working overtime to keep up with this trend For the first time in 2011, search engine optimization efforts were more directed toward optimizing social media programs than toward more basic activities such as increasing website visibility with links and keywords Most Important SEO Activity in 2011 According to US Search Marketing Professionals % of respondents Automating SEO processes to lower execution costs 9.7% Mobile site optimization 10.3% Integration of SEO and social media programs 43.5% Developing geotargeted SEO content 11.6% Link building 24.6% Note: numbers may not add up to 100% due to rounding Source: Covario webinar, provided to eMarketer, Dec 22, 2010 123487 Figure 2.3 www.eMarketer.com Search engine optimization activity in 2011.21 That’s not something you with an ad, either Online, ads are hardly searchable, much less shareable Source: eMarketer Part I Content Marketing Basics Content can also create a virtuous circle in tandem with search engine optimization (SEO) efforts More content helps a brand, product, service, or company rank higher in search engine results—provided that content is useful, helpful, relevant, or engaging People talking about that content in social media channels creates links to the content, which in turn further elevates it, search-wise It’s a win-win situation that will be discussed in detail in Chapter 10, “Overview of Content Channels.” “Nine out of ten businesses— across all industries and companies large and small—are incorporating content into the marketing mix.” Content marketing is also coming to the fore as marketers realize the importance of focusing not only on the buying cycle, but also equally on the sales cycle Marketers are then flipping the funnel over entirely as they quickly learn that customer service, reputation management, branding, positioning, and public relations (PR) are occurring in digital channels as well as positioning, lead generation, and nurturing Businesses of all kinds are adapting, and they’re learning how to create great content A 2010 study conducted by the Business Marketing Association and American Business Media, in conjunction with MarketingProfs and Junta42, surveyed 1,100 marketers in North America and found nine out of ten businesses—across all industries and companies large and small—are incorporating content into the marketing mix On average, they’re spending a quarter of their marketing budgets on content, and over half said they plan to increase that investment in the coming year These marketers know content can provide the solutions prospective buyers are seeking when they use search They know prospects need to be educated before making buying decisions They know that when credible, trustworthy information is found, it can easily be shared with others involved in the buying process They know they can become publishers Rather than invest time, money, and resources buying or influencing media with advertising or public relations campaigns, savvy marketers can redirect the flow of that money to become the media Marketers worldwide have caught on to these strategies Although, as Figure 2.4 illustrates, most still rely on print to distribute at least some of their content, virtually all marketers have made digital the centerpiece of any content distribution strategy Case in point: For many years, I was editor-in-chief of the top online publication covering the digital marketing industry Our bread and butter was selling ads to marketing technology companies and publishing those ads in our email newsletters and on the website Chapter Why Is Content Important Now? Content Distribution Models Used According to Media* Executives Worldwide, Nov 2010 % of respondents Web, print, mobile and tablet 24% Web, and print 23% Web, print and mobile 21% Web only Web, mobile and tablet 16% 10% Web and mobile 6% Note: *traditional and digital Source: AdMedia Partners, Inc “Merger and Acquisition Prospects for Media, Marketing Services and Marketing Technology Firms,” Dec 29, 2010 123491 www.eMarketer.com Figure 2.4 Content distribution modelss used according to media executives worldwide, Nov 2010.3 HubSpot is a marketing technology company—one that would have been a hot prospect to my former employer’s ad sales team But no longer A serious, longterm commitment to content marketing means the company features more than 50 digital marketing case studies on its website—all with videos The site attracts roughly one million unique visitors per month It sends email newsletters to more than 700,000 subscribers who have opted in to receive them More than 100,000 people follow the company on Twitter, while another 50,000 track the company’s LinkedIn updates As a result, the company is spending little on other sales and marketing efforts And I promise you, these numbers seriously compete with the subscriber, following, and website traffic statistics of the major editorial property I led just a few short years ago Consumers have come to expect content from brands and the companies they business with More and more, marketing is structured to supply content and to enable customers to use it, interact with it, and share it To sell, engage, educate, and inform in a highly competitive online environment, the time for marketers to embrace content marketing is now Source: eMarketer This page intentionally left blank ... Our bread and butter was selling ads to marketing technology companies and publishing those ads in our email newsletters and on the website Chapter Why Is Content Important Now? Content Distribution... Search engine optimization activity in 20 11 .21 That’s not something you with an ad, either Online, ads are hardly searchable, much less shareable Source: eMarketer Part I Content Marketing Basics... industries and companies large and small—are incorporating content into the marketing mix On average, they’re spending a quarter of their marketing budgets on content, and over half said they plan to