Mark thinks the right power hat will help him sell his ideas to the big execs. That may or may not be true, but one thing is for certain: when it comes to the C-suite it’s important to deliver your content in the form they most appreciate.
In this episode of our Here’s Why digital marketing video series, Perficient Digital’s Mark Traphagen shares why this is the case, and provides some surprising insights into what type of content executives value most.
Don’t miss a single episode of Here’s Why. Click the subscribe button below to be notified via email each time a new video is published. Over a 700,000 views on YouTube!
Resources
- C-suite Reveals Surprising Insights Into Thought Leadership They Value Most
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Transcript
Mark: You know, Eric, if there’s one piece of conventional wisdom I buy into it’s that conventional wisdom isn’t always so wise.
Eric: It sounds like you’ve got a bee up your bonnet or something. What’s this about?
Mark: I see a lot of articles and studies out there about what kind of content performs best, but I think following those too strictly can get you into trouble.
Eric: And why?
Mark: Because different audiences have different needs and value content of different lengths or in varying formats.
Eric: So, it’s important to know your target audience and tailor the size and format of your content (and its depth) to that audience.
Mark: Exactly. And that’s especially important when it comes to the C-Suite, the top executives at large companies.
Eric: And how do you know that?
Mark: Fortunately, we have data. Thanks to a study by Forbes Insights and Deloitte. They found that many C-level executives buck the general trend in digital toward smaller bite-sized content.
Eric: What kind of content do they prefer?
Mark: They found that while executives will accept short-form content as a gateway to deeper information, they prefer longer-form, more in-depth content. Another surprise is that while they respect big data, 62% said they didn’t always find it useful. That means that when we do big data studies, we have to make sure it’s both applicable to our target audience and that we make it clear exactly how they should take action based on the findings.
Eric: Any other surprises in the report?
Mark: One is that while 75% are willing to read a lengthy report or study online, 84% said their preference would be to read it offline in printed form.
Eric: Truth be told, that’s me too by the way. But that means it might be a good idea to include a downloadable, printable version of your longer-form content.
Mark: Yes. In fact, we’re going to start doing that with our own long-form content.
Eric: Thanks for these insights, Mark.
Mark: You’re welcome, Eric. I think the main takeaway here is to always be sensitive to how your target audience likes to consume their content and never apply a one size fits all approach.
Don’t miss a single episode of Here’s Why with Mark & Eric. Click the subscribe button below to be notified via email each time a new video is published.
See all of our Here’s Why Videos | Subscribe to our YouTube Channel
