Is Content still the King? 3 Tips towards an effective content strategy

"Content is King" - a famous phrase in the Marketing world. The phrase was written by Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates in his essay by same name. As I was reading through his essay the below paragraph caught my attention:

"If people are to be expected to put up with turning on a computer to read a screen, they must be rewarded with deep and extremely up-to-date information that they can explore at will. They need to have audio, and possibly video. They need an opportunity for personal involvement that goes far beyond that offered through the letters-to-the-editor pages of print magazines."

Believe it or not it has been more than 23 years (Jan-1996) since this essay was published on Microsoft's website... and still it resonates with modern day Marketing, especially in B2B scenario.

• Need to be rewarded with deep and up-to-date information [High Value Content]
• Need to have audio, and possibly video [High Engaging Content]
• Need an opportunity for personal involvement [Personalized Content]

So is Content still the King? There cannot be a straight forward Yes OR No answer here. The real question we should be asking here is - what will make my content the KING?

3 Tips towards an effective Content Strategy:

#1: Create content that deliver Real value: Stop creating generic run-of-the-mill content. The purpose for your content is to make it worth reading. A unique perspective into a topic certainly draws attention...something where customers can relate to their business pains and quickly find potential benefits (or risks if overlooked). Playing safe may not be the best approach to get visibility in this content ocean...instead its worth making a clear point-of-view, which people will take a note of. Nearly 3 out of 4 executives say utility is the attribute that most attracts them to a content and also increases the likelihood of positive engagement. Let your content help Customers think different and better.

#2: Deliver right-sized Content via preferred Channel: You cannot plan to deliver content via a common strategy to a diverse audience... and still expect an awesome result. Content consumption pattern is not linear...it's a multi-variable equation that needs us to consider things like Channel-mix (Email Vs Social) + Content Size + Content Type (Video Vs Info-graphic) + Content Value . So, how do you tackle this scenario.

There is no one-size-fit-all solution. You have to understand Audience's content preference and tune the content strategy (across size + type + channel-mix). Content syndication strategy needs to be diversified keeping Audience preferences at the core. You will be surprised to note that most CEO still prefer traditional media (like WSJ) over Social Media. And if you are trying to reach a CEO the same way you want to reach a Director of Marketing...Good-luck to you !

#3: Content and Context must go hand-in-hand: Your Content can be great and may be supported with an excellent channel strategy...yet you may be disappointed. The reason here is a gap between Content's utility and Customer's buying stage (Context). Never forget, a Customer is on a mission and your primary job is to make their mission a success. Content must be capable of providing relevant/ useful information that helps the Customer progress further in the journey.

For example, sharing a Customer success story is very powerful during Awareness stage of a deal. The same content may be less effective if shared during the Decision-making stage. The tendency to re-use same content without consideration of buying stages is common and increases the Content-Context gap. Instead our aim should be to re-purpose existing content and enhance them with facts and numbers (like adding ROI and Cost-Benefit details) ... ultimately increasing content relevance and utility at different buying stages.

"Content builds relationships. Relationships are built on trust. Trust drives revenue." - Andrew Davis

So what is the takeaway here...Content is still powerful in today's marketing world. And it is every Marketer's responsibility to create content that helps Customer make decision better at each stage of a deal. There is a lot of hard work that goes into content creation and distribution. It involves coordination between Marketing teams, Industry Experts, Content Writers, Technology teams and many more. The point I want to make here is, Marketing teams must practice a Customer-focused content strategy. With Customer at the center, you have increased chances of getting noticed...which will help build long-term relationship + trust and ... will eventually drive revenue.

Subhayan is a Marketing Technology professional. In his current role he is helping Cognizant develop an integrated Global MarTech strategy connecting marketing efforts across channels, increasing engagement and generating demand.