Thought leadership strategy is a common component of content marketing — and for good reason. It’s true that thought leaders tend to be the most successful professionals in their fields, and thus exert the most influence over potential followers. The problem is that the term “thought leader” is often thrown around without any foundational evidence of what it truly takes to deserve the moniker.

By the abundance of anecdotal evidence, it would appear that a large volume of content is one criterion that justifies the definition. Another seems to be sharing a unique insight at one particular moment in time — sort of the “one hit wonder” of thinking — rather than long-term sustainability of original ideas. Continue Reading

“Turn and face the strange, ch-ch-changes…” —David Bowie

In a previous post, I talked about why content marketers need to embrace change to survive in today’s environment. Beyond just surviving, what do marketers and content creators need to thrive and prosper?

An agile learning mentality.

As we adapt to new behaviors along the evolving buyers’ journey, content creators and marketers have to prepare to draw on new insights and expertise to drive business growth for their organizations. We have to be open to new ways of thinking, and we need to continually learn new skills to anticipate the challenges that emerge. Continue Reading

Changing buyer behavior has forced changes in how we think and act as content marketers. Those who thrive in uncertainty feel like kids on summer vacation – so many opportunities, ideas, and inspiration – while apprehensive marketers hold onto traditional practices, thinking that if they ignore the disruption, they won’t have to address it. Fear of the unknown freezes their openness. In between are those just trying to keep their heads above water. Yet marketers still yearn for influence within their organizations and scrape for dollars and resources. We have to prove ROI on every investment we make and continually push for the value we think we deliver.

Research by the Fornaisse Marketing Group says that 73 percent of CEOs think marketing lacks credibility. In contrast, 69 percent of marketers think their strategies and campaigns do make an impact — they just don’t know how to prove it. They aren’t equipped to have marketing conversations in the context of business impact. Much of this disconnect between marketing and CEOs stems from marketers not understanding the strategic and leadership roles required of those who hold a content job. Continue Reading

Eduardo Conrado has proven himself to be a nonconformist. An engineer-turned-marketer, Conrado not only oversees marketing for Motorola Solutions, but also recently added IT to his management portfolio. Throughout his 20-year career with the company, he’s underscored his ability to lead through innovation and establish new expectations for the realm of marketing.

With the recent expansion of his role at Motorola, Conrado accepted an opportunity to speak to Chief Content Officer magazine (a publication from CMI) about the reasons marketers must work comfortably across multiple departmental environments. Continue Reading

Recently, Joe Pulizzi wrote a post on the 12 Roles Essential to the Future of Content Marketing. In it, he listed the new roles we need to consider, not only as marketers, but also as people who drive business for our organizations. It’s a reflection of the growing responsibility we have as marketers — and the growing need for us to step up our leadership role. Continue Reading

Named one of the top marketers by B2B Magazine in 2009, 2010 and 2011, Mark Wilson has made content marketing a cornerstone of how he connects with a sophisticated audience and business decision-makers. In recent years, Wilson has realized success by flipping the focus of his content marketing program from reaching the masses to more intimate conversations with small audiences — something he calls narrowcasting. 

CCO spoke with Wilson about why narrowcasting works in the noisy environment, what it takes to create a successful content marketing program for the complex B2B sales cycle, and why quality matters. Learn about narrowcasting and more, below.Continue Reading

[Editor’s note: Happy Holidays! This week, the editorial team at Content Marketing Institute wanted to share some of the best content marketing blog posts we’ve seen from our CMI Consultants. Today’s post originally appeared on the CMSWire blog on Oct. 25, 2012.]

If content marketing is supposed to support the sales cycle, why are so many businesses so bad at it?

Companies think the answer comes from the right marketing automation system or any other bit of technology that gets content in front of a customer or prospect. It’s not. It’s about sales and marketing not having walked the proverbial mile in each other’s shoes. Too many content efforts sink because neither side takes the time to truly understand the other. Continue Reading