Last week, more than 1,700 content marketers from around the world converged on Cleveland for Content Marketing World 2013 (#CMWorld). The conference was an opportunity for marketers to talk about content strategy and execution, how to apply the principles of content marketing to B2B and B2C environments, and how to generate great content on any budget. It was also a chance to see examples of how brands in all industries are using great content to communicate their messages and build relationships with prospective customers.
Because of my years in custom publishing, I was engaged in content marketing long before we were calling it “content marketing.” And I’m fortunate to work with a lot of great companies that understand the value of content marketing. So, I don’t need a conference to convince me of its value. But Content Marketing World was great for inspiration — people are doing very cool, very creative things. And it was great for a few reminders, too. If you weren’t there (or even if you were), here are six takeaways from last week.
1. Rethink your competition. As Jay Baer reminded us at the opening keynote last Tuesday morning, your competition in the marketplace isn’t just other companies in your own category. Your competition is anything that takes a consumer’s attention. You’re trying to pull a person’s attention away from his friends, family, spouse and other brands. You’d better make it worth his while.
2. Content marketing is growing. Companies are investing more and more dollars into content marketing. However, most do not have a strategy. Ouch! If you’re going to spend the dollars, spend them wisely — and have a plan going in.
3. Be useful. Jay Baer gave us this reminder on Day 1, but it was a consistent theme. Content should be — above all else — useful. If you can be helpful to people, you’ll build relationships.
4. Be inspiring. Or funny. When you go beyond useful and can add humor and emotion, you draw people in. Tim Washer, who was undoubtedly one of the funniest presenters of the week, noted, “If the video is funny or entertaining or educational, others will tell your story for you.” I see a lot of people focusing on “going viral.” Don’t worry about going viral. I believe if you focus on great content, the rest will follow.
Jonathan Mildenhall of Coca-Cola was another highlight from last week. A great speaker whose job (and marketing budget) I’d love to have. He spoke of the need to transcend your own category with your content, and for Coca-Cola, that means creating “content so great it can’t be contained.” I’ve shared several videos from this presentation with friends because of how awesome the content is (one video made me tear up!) … So, even though I don’t drink soda, I’m watching Coke videos and sharing them. Powerful stuff.
5. Measure, measure, measure. Not everyone is measuring the impact of their content marketing programs. (And if you’re not, you may not keep your job for long, frankly.) But I was pleased to see several speakers share more than their creative. They shared the business impact — moving the needle in awareness, lead generation, loyalty and sales. Whether you’re investing $1,000 or $1 million in content, you should be able to show the qualitative and/or quantitative impact of your content.
6. Take risks, and keep trying. Many speakers shared the need to take risks. (Guess what? Even Coca-Cola has had content marketing flops.) Measure your results, and test your programs. Do A/B tests on your website and email programs. Analyze everything. And acknowledge that part of being a creator — part of the creative process — is failure. It’s how we learn. It’s how we get better. But if you don’t give yourself permission to fail, you risk not stumbling upon something truly great.
If you were at Content Marketing World, please share any additional highlights from your experience!