So it probably seems kind of odd that a portal and collaboration blog would blog about using a blog post for content marketing. In a way it almost seems crass. But hear me out, Tom Pisello mentions various ways to get the most bang for your buck which includes the use of content derivatives and using social media.
Content Derivatives
An executive writes a compelling blog article based on new research from a survey of customers and prospects. The blog post explains how the research findings uncover an important buyer issue, validates the market need for the vendor’s solution, and highlights that solutions exist to address the issues identified in the research.
A research-focused post helps in the early stages of the buying cycle to inform buyers that solutions are available to make improvements. In this scenario, marketers can develop content derivatives such as:
1) Research White Paper: The marketing team develops additional content based on the original blog post to create a white paper. However, keep in mind that research indicates buyers prefer shorter white papers; the recommended length is four to six pages.
2) Infographic: Research and best practices recommend converting content into an infographic to illustrate data that can be quickly understood and enhance a call to action. The elements of an infographic can be weaved into the white paper and other materials to make the data “come to life.”
There’s more at the article. What’s interesting is that this highlights the content lifecycle. Only this particular content is being leveraged for wider consumption. Tom’s example is actually less about marketing and more about the fact that a particular blog post has value and others might find it valuable if they knew about it.
Content in Motion with Social Media
Tom actually uses more examples than social media in his article. I just choose to focus on what interests me in my blog. I like that he recognizes how cynical we have all become with traditional media channels like traditional advertising, websites, banner advertising, and paid search. Do you like how we just used the term “traditional” for four out of the five examples come from the web?
The one issue with these traditional channels is that they are paid advertisements and have a low trust rating. However, social content placement is often earned and is trusted more than traditional advertising by today’s skeptical buyers.
Using social media-focused channels, marketers connect and engage with influencers and the buyers’ communities via:
1) Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn Posts and Links – Beyond just links to promote the content, marketers post key excerpts of compelling findings and advice. These posts are liked and forwarded by other members.
2) YouTube & Slideshare Posts: Based on the type of content, the marketing team leverages specific social channels for sharing content such as YouTube for videos and Slideshare for PPTs and PDFs.
3) LinkedIn Discussion Groups and Quora: Marketers determine what key questions would be compelling to discussion groups to attract group members’ comments on the research and findings as well as to collaborate on additional opportunities, best practices and solutions..
Again, there’s a more complete list at the original article. I like the example of Quora and LinkedIn discussions groups as I use both.
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