Jodi Harris is director of content strategy at Informa Connect. She describes her role as a combination of strategic alchemist, process architect, and creative explorer. Jodi previously served as director of editorial content at Content Marketing Institute and spent over a decade developing and managing content initiatives for clients in the entertainment, CPG, health care, technology, and biotech industries, as well as agencies and media brands. Follow her on Twitter at @Joderama.
Updated January 20, 2022
Why does your company create content? Who is it for? What will it do for them?
If you don’t know the answers, you need to figure them out. And you should do so before you create anything more for the company blog, website, newsletters, or any other content platform.
Why? Because if you don’t know what someone will gain from consuming your brand’s content, your audience won’t see a compelling reason to engage with it.
On the surface, content marketing seems straightforward: Create great content, publish it on channels popular with your audience, and reap business benefits from their attention and interest.
Of course, we all know there’s a lot more to it. But it can be hard to dive into the nuances, complexities, and conditional decision-making when struggling to understand the basic principles, techniques, and tactics. Even seasoned veterans can interpret key terms differently, leading to challenges in communicating and implementing strategies.Continue Reading
Content marketing work hasn’t slowed down – and it’s not likely to anytime soon.
Yet content marketers have adapted admirably to constant disruptions and changes in direction.
Many of you have explored newer content platforms (metaverse anyone?). Many have built a presence on new channels like Clubhouse and those that have entered the mainstream like Discord. And some have experimented with content formats like NFTs and pushed the envelope in AI, AR/VR content experiences
What’s even more impressive? Two-thirds of B2B marketers say they made these strides without additional budget resources or team support, according to CMI’s 2022 B2B Benchmarks, Budgets, and Trends report.
We’re all doing more with less. A new year is a great time to flip that script. So, I’ve pulled together a collection of tips and resources that will help you do less heavy lifting and get more value from your effort.Continue Reading
Happy Thanksgiving to all who celebrate! Even if this U.S. holiday isn’t really your thing, it’s a great time to think about all we have to be thankful for.
Despite all the compounded challenges of the past 18 months, brands have risen to the occasion, innovating their approaches to forge stronger audience connections.Continue Reading
Your videos can’t just sell and tell. They need to resonate on a human level – reflecting your audience’s personal perspectives and real-life experiences, speaking to them as humans, and giving them a sense of belonging and community.
The increased demand for video and other visual content that communicates both clarity of purpose and authentic compassion was a hot topic of conversation at Content Marketing World 2021.
The advice shared by our expert speakers is worth seeing for yourself – there’s still time to catch these sessions on demand. I’ve gathered some highlights here.Continue Reading
You might not consider customer retention the primary goal in your content marketing strategy. After all, you can’t retain customers if you haven’t acquired them, and no business can reach future revenue targets with nothing but last year’s receipts.
But you may want to think again. As CMI founder Joe Pulizzi says, it makes sense to make your current customers’ informational needs and pain points your top content marketing priority: “Only after you perfect the loyalty experience and turn customers into evangelists should you look at other parts of the buyer’s journey.”Continue Reading
Most of the work we do as marketers is focused on the future – predicting it, transforming our businesses to succeed in it, and helping our customers solve their expected challenges.
Yet, the overarching theme at Content Marketing World (among the many takeaways around innovative technologies and practical guidance) sprang from something powerful and ancient – the emotions, experiences, and need for personal connection all humans share.Continue Reading
No matter how successful your content is, you can always identify and pursue optimization opportunities and use your analytics data to guide you.
Unfortunately, even the most experienced content marketers struggle to track the most helpful metrics and access, organize, and interpret the data. Even minor miscalculations can take content performance in the wrong direction.Continue Reading
People are innately wired to connect and develop relationships – it’s one of our most fundamental needs as humans.
Face-to-face networking at industry events is fundamental for professional survival. (And advancements in virtual events mean face-to-face is no longer synonymous with in-person.)
Whether in the same physical or digital space, you can gain valuable contacts at conferences.
Of course, not everyone is a networking natural; and even the most socially adept conversationalists can struggle to find the right people to talk with, strike up and sustain useful conversations, or turn sparks of interest into solid business opportunities after the event is over. Continue Reading
When your content marketing program is starting, almost anything is likely to make a positive impact on your audience and your business goals. With minimal effort, you might see new consumers engaging with your business, brand conversations picking up speed, website visits increasing, or even more leads and sales inquiries rolling in.
As time goes on, you may find progress slows or stops altogether. Some of the causes may be things beyond your control, such as the competition for audience attention, shifts in consumption behaviors, or evolving consumer trends and needs. But some of the reasons are within your control. Even minor mistakes and missteps can throw your entire content program out of whack.
Here are four common mistakes often made by content marketing teams, along with signs, symptoms, and corrective actions to put your content engine back on course.Continue Reading
