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Content Marketing, Need I Say More?

Podcast Interview with  Joe Pulizzi: CEO Junta42.

Along with Newt Barrett, Joe Pulizzi is the co-author of Get Content: Get Customers. This book was very inspirational to me in writing my book, Marketing 2.0. Joe was an early reviewer of my book and he was kind enough to write a review on the back cover.

Joe is the founder and CEO of Junta42. Prior to starting Junta42, Joe worked at Penton Media where he was responsible for custom publishing. His division served customers such as the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, producing custom content such as podcasts, newsletters,etc..  In Joe’s words, Junta42 is the “e-harmony” of content marketing. They “match up” brands who need to create custom content with expert custom content creation vendors.

What is Content Marketing?

Content marketing is the natural evolution of custom publishing. It’s branded content created by any business, in any industry no matter how large or small. Original custom content was in print, e.g, John Deere, Toyota send customers a custom magazine to strengthen customer loyalty.

In recent years, online branded custom content has become very popular.  Online custom content comes in many forms including but not limited to blogs, podcasts, video, newsletters, topical websites, white papers, articles, e-books, and any form of aggregated content.  Custom content is the natural evolution of custom publishing. In contemporary marketing, brands must deliver relevant content to keep customers loyal.

Marketing 2.0: Two Pillars

In my book, I refer to two pillars in Marketing 2.0: Content Marketing and Relationship Building. I refer to marketing 2.0 as a mindset which many companies still do not understand. Those companies who produce or aggregate great content and deliver it to their buyers across different platforms build relationships with them.

It’s Not Your Father’s Market Anymore

Buyer behaviors have changed. Buyers don’t want to be engaged the way sellers have engaged them in the past. The old style of marketing is very selfish. It’s all about the seller (me, me, me attitude). The seller just wants the prospective buyer to contact them or buy from the seller. The new mindset is about you (the buyer). Brands should think like a publisher. Brands should strive for buyers to like their brand, trust their brand, think of their brand when it’s logical to think of the brand. In other words, the new marketing mindset is about you, the buyer. What can the brand do for you?  Don’t think like a marketer. Think like a publisher.

What’s Your Competitive Advantage?

Joe is quick to point out that your competitive advantage is your communications. All your communications! Build your brand as an expert. Buyers go online to find what they want.  They seek conversations with people who have something meaningful to say. Unleash the power of your secret sauce. How are you the expert? Demonstrate your expertise. Don’t just talk about it. Share…Teach…

Lethal Generosity

Jeremiah Oyang, of Forrester Research has coined a term: lethal generosity. Brands should give and give and give to our customers…Give for free. But, most marketers still don’t think that way. But, that will change in the coming months and years. It’s inevitable as marketing 2.0 mindsets continue to evolve and buyers demand it.

What if you’re a B2B high tech product manufacturer? How do you give away your secret sauce? Become the media. Create  custom content as an asset. Create content that is compelling and builds trust. Be the media. Build communications assets which have potential to reach many people who are willing to share your content.

Excuses

“We just don’t have the time.” “We’re in such a niche market.” Joe’s response to these typical excuses is to ask people how they find new products? He asks do they buy from advertisements, yellow page ads, direct mail, trade shows? How many people use search engines? Everyone does! Buyer behaviors have changed. They go to industry websites and other sites and find people talking to each other. Brands may be left out of the purchase discussion if they don’t participate! It applies to nearly every market, not just some industries.

All buyers are online somewhere. Brands should produce or aggregate good content online in multiple formats that are accessible and subscribable.  Good content online spreads. You can reach people you would not otherwise be able to reach.

Risk of Social Media Abstinence

The risk of social media abstinence refers to the risk of being absent from conversations on the web where your buyers are and you’re not. If you’re not present and your competitors offer good content and they are building relationships across various platforms, you are at risk…If I’m a buyer and I’m consuming a vendor’s content, and others are spreading their content and saying positive things about them, I’ve begun to build a relationship with them before I contact any of these vendors. Are you one of them? If not, your social media abstinence can cost you business!

When you make content marketing your mindset, you organize your time around this mindset. So, it’s not as time consuming as you think. You’ll develop new habits. Do you really have a choice?

30 Year Nap

Imagine you just awoke from a 30 year nap. When you visit an office you observe all knowledge workers using PCs. If you are going to have gainful employment you must learn to use a computer. You need to use email, create documents, spreadsheets, use a browser to access the Internet, etc. Do you have a choice? Not if you want to be employed….People must learn new habits as culture and technology evolves. It’s just that simple.

Content marketing is a new habit that companies must embrace or die! Build content that shows off your expertise. Build content that will become an asset. Your content can become one of your greatest assets. Without this asset your marketing will eventually become ineffective.

Listen to the entire podcast interview with Joe Pulizzi to learn about a limited time offer to receive a free copy of my book, Marketing 2.0 as well as a copy of Joe’s book, Get Content:Get Customers.

And, of course you can produce your own content by adding your comments below. I want to hear from you.

@berniebay