Did you know that ad blocking software increased by 400% in 2015? According to Michael Brenner, this also means that 50% of your media buys on the web went directly into the trash bin . [1]
By 2020, there will be 400% more information on the web than there is now. How will you make your voice heard through all the noise? Also, how will you exploit this ever increasing density of information? [2]
These challenges are here and now. Since 2014, plunging engagement on social media platforms due to what has been called “social media fatigue” clearly shows that the web has been suffering from a content crisis
Content and marketing technology
84% of successful companies will be using marketing automation by the end of 2016. Content is the raw material used to generate leads through this automated process. Companies will need to learn how to maintain an up-to-date library of relevant content. The challenge will be to convert through relevant content.
Integrating this library with a marketing automation tool will enable the nurturing of micro segments with precision and control.
Interestingly, at the end 2015, data Source counted 1876 technology vendors supporting marketing processes.
Effective Content Marketing
72% of B2B content creators will put out more engaging content in 2016. Why? Engaging content attracts more, converts more, and qualifies purchasers. Also, engaging content helps create and maintain communities. Creating communities will become strategically more important and will influence the “value” of your organization (this subject will be part of an upcoming blog posts).
But what is engaging content in B2B? I might ruffle some feathers in saying this, but engaging content goes beyond “storytelling” (a fashionable buzz word these days). Much more important to consider when creating content are the problems that your target audiences and target markets need to solve. Each piece of content (blog post, video, case study, ebook, etc.) needs to have solutions to the issues encountered by the groups of individuals in the organizations that you are targeting.
If you can’t meet this basic criterion it won’t be effective content marketing. It will be nothing more than a pleasant story that generates little interest or engagement. In a B2B sales and marketing context, the financial, technological and functional risks are much higher than in B2C. Therefore, it is crucial to meet the requirements of each of the actors in the buying process by demonstrating how your product or service answers their needs, their expectations or solves the common market problems they are experiencing.
How? By getting to know your audiences, by analyzing your data and by creating conversations that invite people to talk about themselves. Think of your first dates and the evolution of your personal relationships, those with which things when well and not so well, and why.
At the end of the day, have you generated engagement, leads or revenue?
If you’d like learn more about creating effective content, contact us!
[1][2] Oracle Marketing Cloud, The future of modern marketing
