Content Marketing Today

Their first effort tried to play the cute, sympathy card with an actual card. Now they imply its my fault that I bailed on them and trash the company they wrongly assume got my business. 

I wrote recently that Embarq could have saved a lot of marketing moola by providing great customer service in the first place: The Huge Marketing Reality That EMBARQ Forgot. I, along with a likely heard of horses had already left the Embarq barn so it was too late to whistle us back.  But, did they give up? No, now they are starting to sound irritatingly desperate.

If you don't get good answers, keep looking.

If you are a big corporation, you may have plenty of in-house talent or can afford to spend a lot of money to outsource the rebuilding of your website.  Even if you are a small organization with a limited budget,  there are lengthy of technically and graphically talented folks who would love to work with you. Even so, you may not get what you need: A website chock-full of relevant and compelling content.

Before you choose the organization based on their technical competence or creative genius, be sure to ask of these five questions because, in the end, it's all about your content:

Think of yourself as the ultimate knowledge resource like those concierges serving fine hotels such as the Ritz-Carlton or the Four Seasons—But Available 24/7.

When you find yourself in a new town but are blessed to be staying in a hotel with a knowledgeable and caring concierge, you've got it made.  Any reasonable request you make for help--and perhaps even some not so reasonable or a bit off the wall requests --will be greeted with prompt and enthusiastic action by the concierge.  The very best of the breed combine encyclopedic knowledge, extensive connections, and an innate desire to look after their customers.

Those hotels whose concierges solve their guests’ problems successfully time after time will be rewarded not only with return stays but with unbeatable word-of-mouth as stories are told about the unbelievable lengths to which the concierge went to solve a problem.

When your customers come to your website, they are similarly looking to you to solve their problems.  If you can succeed at providing plenty of substantive information that addresses their biggest problems, you are beginning to play the role of content concierge in their lives.  You have an advantage over a typical hotel.  Your content is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week.  And, like a hotel, you can provide round-the-clock telephone or chat support that takes your problem-solving to the next level.

Just Like Toyota’s Famous 5 Whys, Here’s a Way to Drill Down to Pay Dirt

It's not enough just to ask questions.  We need to ask questions that will get us to the root of a problem or that will deliver an in-depth understanding of the soul of our product.  In a wonderful recent article by Philly Wordsmith, we are treated to a unique approach to understanding the essence of our customers’ concerns and of how our products should meet them.

It boils down to asking the same question, "And then what?," iteratively until we get to that fundamental understanding.

Out with Seinfeld and Gates and in with a real computer buyer.

There were lots of problems with the short-lived Bill Gates Jerry Seinfeld ad campaign.  In fact, we had a lot of fun trashing it last year.  Fundamentally, they did nothing to address the concerns of Microsoft customers or to solve their problems.  Basically, they featured two wealthy guys engaged in a meaningless dialogue that appeared to be complete self-indulgence on the part of Microsoft and its agency.  Fortunately, that ad campaign was put out of its misery quickly.

Their new campaign couldn't be more authentic or more effective.  The campaign is designed to counter the very effective Apple Mac versus PC commercials which positioned Microsoft as uncool and Apple as hip and happening. I think it works like gangbusters.

Marketing experts shared invaluable insights about how to market in turbulent times through the effective use of content online, in print, and in person.

Custom publishing has gone from being an ancillary, add on component of marketing strategies to becoming a vital ingredient.  Why?  Because content marketing is so important to an increasing number of marketers and companies of all sizes.  Therefore, creating custom content is no longer a nice to-do, if you have the money.  Rather, it has become an absolute must-do as part of an integrated content marketing strategy.

The strategic importance of content marketing, and of its first cousin, social media, was front and center at this year's Custom Content Conference. 

Here are 8 great takeaways that I brought home with me from the conference:

Of course, I'm assuming that you already have a website and are probably doing some business blogging.  You may also do a regular eNewsletter to inform your customers and prospects about the great content you have created recently online.  Your next step is to create an e-book that targets your ideal customers.

Joe and I learned this lesson with the e-book that preceded the print version of Get Content Get Customers.  We were able to distribute our content marketing message to thousands of folks from around the world who took the time to download our e-book.  We got plenty of positive and helpful feedback.

The power of e-books hit me again while I was reading David Meerman Scott's new book, the World Wide Rave.  He wrote about an Australian company the RPO group which is a recruitment outsourcing firm.  Although David covered their website and their blog, I was particularly impressed by their e-book, 5 Secrets of Talent.  It's only 23 pages long, but conveys critical concepts clearly and compellingly. 

Their e-book works for them.  E-books can work for you as well. Here are five reasons why:

Great New Book from David Meerman Scott Delivers All the Tools You’ll Need

David is a content marketing pioneer who realized early on how important it was to create relevant and compelling content for your customers.  And, in his earlier book, The New Rules of Marketing and PR, he explained clearly why both marketing and public relations professionals needed to change the way they operate based on new Internet realities.

His newest book, World Wide Rave, as the subtitle explains, is all about, "creating triggers that get millions of people to spread your ideas and share your stories." Although you may have a stack of books waiting for you to pick them up, I recommend that you get this one and start reading it immediately.

A Length of Wire, a Bunch of Sticky Notes, and a Red Marker Tell an Appealing and Amusing Story

Evernote is a cool web-based application that lets you save notes, web links, webpage clips, documents, images, and even iPhone  phone voice notes. Because the application is both versatile and unique, Evernote requires a bit of explaining.

Most of their explanation takes the form of short videos which illustrate the wide range of capabilities to which users can put Evernote.  In fact, they lead off with a video on the home page.

But, my favorite is a very brief video that uses stuff all of us would have at home to tell the Evernote story in just 44 seconds.

Yes. Absolutely, yes!

I was reminded of the importance of small business branding when I read a recent post on Duct Tape Marketing which asked the question in preparation for a March 18 webinar. (Click here to get the archived webinar)

Your brand is a vital part of your business even if you are a one-person shop. Your brand is the sum total of what you and your company represent to the world.  Thus, when we hear Coca Cola or see the NIKE swoosh, all of our experience with those brands flood into our brains.  So, it is with you and your company.

You need a brand. To build your brand, you must understand the most important problems you can solve for your customers—and how to position your company as the ideal solution provider.  You can’t do everything to help your customers, but you can do one thing—or a few things—brilliantly. That’s the essence of your brand promise: “What problems can our customers expect to solve by working with our company?”