Is your content marketing campaign naked?

Don't get caught without content marketing No one wants to get caught in their birthday suit (well at least not at work)! TSL recently wrote a whitepaper around the importance of content marketing, and what happens when you don't pay attention to this SUPER important marketing tactic within your business. Yes, we had fun with the topic (some of us here still have a case of the giggles) but in all seriousness this is a very important topic that shouldn't be looked over. Check out How great content dresses your company for success and why you shouldn't go to a meeting naked. Aside from the literal sense of course.

Through all of our marketing training we are always taught about the importance of speaking to your target consumer, your persona, your prospect, your marketing evangelist. Whatever you call them, they are important. But what are you sending these people that will capture their attention? Bad or good, anything you put forth in front of your consumer is content. If you think about it, every piece of marketing material... or better yet everything you have EVER read is some form of content. The internet itself is a beacon for content and would not exist without it.

I recently read The B2B Social Media Book which had an extraordinary statistic in it. Here is an excerpt from the book:

"According to Google executive chairman Eric Schmidt, more information is created on the Internet in 48 hours today than was created by all humankind from the beginning of time until 2003."

When I read that I was so impressed I read it over again, and then read it to my husband. That is an extraordinary statistic, and one that cannot be ignored. It is for this reason alone that we wanted to put together a whitepaper to share some best practices in content marketing and why it is so crucial for B2B Marketing agencies. Companies today really can't ignore the fact that their competitors are developing thought provoking content, that is driving more sales and more business their way. If you aren't developing content, your competitors are. And while many companies today are still able to make it work without strategic content marketing initiatives, the rise of social media and inbound marketing is only getting higher.

So where do you start? With the various levels and types of content that can be created it can be overwhelming to get started with your content marketing initiatives. You can always start with a content repository to determine what you already have internally that can be leveraged in different ways. For example, take a look at this B2B content barometer that I recently ran across that gives a great overview of the different types of content you can create and where it impacts your readership:

You can also download our whitepaper for more tips and information on how to get out of your birthday suit and into digital Armani. Some key highlights from this whitepaper that you will learn:

How lacking in content marketing could impact your bottom line by 25%
5 sure ways to keep your customers returning
Why 1/2 your time should be spent on writing headlines
Why 60% of the sales cycle is over before your customer has the chance to speak with you
How 78% people believe that organizations providing custom content are interested in building good relationships