Just returned back from Online Marketing Summit 2010 where the statement “brands as publishers” almost seemed overused. Although we’ve been talking about that on this blog for three years now and in more detail in Get Content Get Customers, this is the first time I’ve heard this type of statement in force “out in the real world”.
It started with John Batelle from Federated Media. John might be most well-known for being one of the creators of Wired magazine. In the opening keynote, John stated that for brands to stay relevant and develop a true online experience for their customers, brands must master the art of content creation.
Later in my session on content marketing strategy, we talked about the fact that any online marketing, whether social media, email marketing, search engine optimization, landing page conversion, etc., does not work without first having content strategy.
Need more proof? Check out this excellent content strategy post from Kristina Halvorson. Specifically, I like this line from Kristina:
Let’s not gloss over content strategy by focusing solely on what we should be doing; let’s also focus on the why and how.
I couldn’t say this better myself – and this point was evident at the OMS conference. The brand marketers there were so focused on SEO and social media and all the content tactics, but they have never taken the time to ask the question why? – what are the informational needs of my customers? – what is our brand story, our brand voice?
Want proof? Of the room of 300 marketing professionals we were speaking to at OMS, only four people raised their hands that they actually had a documented content strategy.
Where’s yours?
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