Risk & Business Magazine General Insurance Services Magazine | Page 24

3 CONTENT MARKETING TRUTHS UNIVERSAL TRUTHS ABOUT CONTENT MARKETING BY: LEE ODDEN , MARKETING STRATEGIST, AUTHOR, SPEAKER I n 2019, marketers are just as overwhelmed with tactics as buyers are with content. This paradox of choice at scale incurs costs that range from dissatisfied customers to ineffective marketing programs. With increasing demands, fewer resources and greater complexity in marketing that now includes smart speakers, VR/AR, IoT, AI and all forms of disruptive technology, marketers are looking for the universal truths that will keep them on track and effective. In my book, Optimize, I talked about a customer centric approach to digital marketing that emphasized search, social and content. The truths about how customers engage content to make decisions outlined then are equally true in 2019 and for nearly any kind of platform. Those content truths are: discovery, consumption, and action. DISCOVERY: Where do buyers look for solution information? What do they say to their Echo or Google Home device? What do they search for on their phone or tablet? What sources do they subscribe to for updates on their smart watch? Of course laptop, tablet and mobile search, and social media behaviors are still relevant. CONSUMPTION: What are your buyers’ preferences for engaging with the content they find? Do they read/watch/listen on the discovery platform or save/subscribe for later? Are there preferences for experiencing or interacting with content vs. simply read/watch/listen? Images vs. videos vs. audio vs. interactive on various devices is still relevant. ACTION: What triggers will inspire action? Do buyers need content personalized on the fly or are they willing to exchange contact information to be fed personalized content? What will it take to motivate share, subscribe, inquire, transact, or refer? All still relevant. Marketers in tune with truths about how customers find, engage with and take action on information will reveal whatever technology, platform, media format, and experience buyers need. As part of an ongoing effort to optimize marketing with a customer focus, these truths can help architect successful marketing programs for years to come. Lee Odden is a marketing strategist, author, speaker and bearded world traveler. He’s also CEO of TopRankMarketing.com, a digital marketing agency that serves top B2B brands with “best answer” marketing strategies that integrate content, search, social, influencer marketing, and online advertising. Cited by The Wall Street Journal, The Economist and Forbes for his marketing expertise, Lee has evangelized a customer-centric approach to marketing at over 200 events in 17 different countries, through numerous industry publications and an award winning blog. TOPRANKBLOG.COM 24