Thanks for the Turkey, Stuffing, and the Content Marketing

We all know that this is the holiday of giving thanks — for family, for that delicious dinner, for all the great things that content marketing brings to our lives. Huh? Well, admit it. All modern marketers should give some thanks for the bountiful glory that content marketing has bestowed upon them, right?

This year, I’m giving thanks that I work with a group of people who appreciate (or at least tolerate) my fanatical zeal for correct grammar and quality content. Keeping the content pipeline full day in and day out is a tough job. In fact, according to B2B Content Marketing Benchmarks, Budgets & Trends — North America, B2B marketers consistently cite producing enough content and producing the kind of content that engages as their top challenges, behind lack of time. I appreciate the great content creators we’ve found to help us do remarkable and engaging work for our clients, and I’m so happy we have tools like DivvyHQ to keep our content organized and on track.

Maybe not all content marketers realize they should give thanks, but here at Right Source, I’m not the only one who knows to be thankful for what the marketing pilgrims put on my table. The Right Source gang of modern marketers is truly thankful for all the things that content marketing brings into our lives, whether directly or indirectly. Here is what some of the rest of the Right Source team offered when asked what they were thankful for on this content marketing Thanksgiving:

Dov Hoffman, Marketing Manager:

As a content marketer, I’m thankful for today’s rapidly expanding social media channels, email marketing, and other distribution channels. Content marketing has revolutionized the way we as marketers engage with our customers in the digital space, which is why you may have heard the term  “content is king,” but I must point out that “distribution is queen.” Without the “big four” of Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, and Google+, your remarkable content wouldn’t get the exposure that it deserves. The same goes for email marketing and other distribution channels, but I’d like to take it one step further to show my appreciation. Nowadays as modern marketers, we’re exposed to new technology including CRM platforms, marketing automation, and web analytics that provide the data we need to improve our marketing efforts and become more effective, strategic content marketers. That’s all in addition to being thankful for working with such a great team of like-minded content marketers

Alecia Farley, Project Director:

I’m always thankful that we have such great partners to work with, especially for website work. We have produced many great websites for our clients, and none of them would have been possible without creative, efficient, and talented partners like the folks at Drexler. When remarkable content and remarkable design meet, the results are outstanding.

And having an editorial team that just “gets it” is also on my list. I can say to them, “This is not quite right, but I’m not sure how to fix it,” and that’s enough. They just fix it and it turns out great.

Emily Gaines Buchler, Senior Writer/Content Strategist:

I’m thankful that marketing has moved beyond one-line zingers to tell the stories of the people, places, circumstances, and events behind the products and services of today’s businesses. Content marketing humanizes business. It answers the why. And given the amount of time content marketers spend in front of a computer, I’m also thankful for the ergonomic options I have for getting my work done that are now on the market, especially stand-up desks. I’m also thankful for the articles/studies coming out now that explain why sitting all day isn’t so good for our health, some of which are discussed in this TED Talk by Nilofer Merchant, “Got a Meeting? Take a Walk.”

Will Davis, Chief Marketing Technology Officer & Managing Partner:

I’m thankful that more brands seem to have turned the corner and are finally valuing planning as the first stage of the content marketing process.  While many will still take the “ready, fire, aim” approach and eschew planning, we’re seeing more and more marketers who realize the value of a well-developed plan.

According to the 2014 B2B Content Marketing Benchmarks, Budgets and Trends report, of the marketers who consider themselves ineffective at content marketing, 84 percent have no documented content marketing strategy, so clearly the warning bells are starting to ring.

A key part of planning is also identifying the metrics for success.  I’m thankful that more companies are starting to understand the need for tools to measure bottom-of-the-funnel conversion and tie activities to dollars rather than only looking to boost top-of-funnel vanity metrics like page views, likes, or follows.

Michael Teitelbaum, Chief Growth Officer & Managing Partner:

I am thankful that many of our clients utilize marketing automation, allowing us to build well-thought-out campaigns that move prospects from the top to the bottom of the buying funnel. No company is too big or small to take advantage of marketing automation, but truly engaged clients realize that marketing automation really only works with a smart content marketing strategy. I’m thankful for clients who are embracing strategy and marketing automation together, and partners like Pardot who offer great solutions (and will present an informative webinar on demand generation with us next month).

Mike Sweeney, Chief Content Officer & Managing Partner:

I am thankful for all of our clients, but in particular the clients who understand that a single, high-quality, well-marketed piece of content will always trump 10 pieces of mediocrity. Always. Every single day, 2 million blog posts are written, 294 billion emails are sent, and 864,000 hours of video are uploaded to YouTube alone. And those are old numbers.

Content marketing shows no signs of slowing down. You know what else shows no sign of slowing down? Google. Of the myriad benefits of content marketing, improved organic rankings via SEO is certainly near the top of the list. The days of, “but my prospective customers don’t use Google to search for solutions like ours” are over. Marketo tells us that 93 percent of business buyers use search to begin the buying process. That, coupled with the fact that Google’s recent algorithm changes clearly favor quality content and penalize weak or duplicate content, should tell you all you need to know about scrapping the high-volume factory approach to content production.

Here’s to remarkable content, and those who embrace a quality-over-quantity mindset and approach.

What are you thankful for as a content marketer this Thanksgiving? Let us know in the comments below — and Happy Thanksgiving from all of us at Right Source Marketing.

About Yvonne Lyons:

Yvonne Lyons is Right Source’s vice president of creative services, overseeing content and design for all of our clients. She ensures that all creative produced at Right Source is of the highest quality and is aligned with our clients’ business strategy and goals. Yvonne received a bachelor’s degree from the Johns Hopkins University in writing and literature and has more than 20 years of experience in marketing, branding, and communications.