Michael Brenner, NewsCred’s newly appointed Head of Strategy, spoke on the company’s behalf for the first time last week at the New York City meeting of the Argyle Summit. "One common theme of this event has been change,” said Brenner. “We all know the world has changed due to digital, mobile and cloud technologies. Our customers are tuning out ineffective marketing content. Content marketing is an imperative because it represents the biggest gap between what brands produce and the content our customer actually want."
Below are some ideas and highlights from his presentation, “The Content Marketing Imperative.”
"Ask most people what they think Marketing is and they will tell you it is an ad, a banner or some form of promotion,” said Brenner. “Marketing has a marketing problem."
It’s true. The word “advertising” has become something that leaves a bad taste in your mouth. And with all the digital distractions offered by mobile life, just because your ad is on or in front of someone doesn’t mean they’re paying attention. As a society we have learned to tune marketing out.
Digital media offered the promise of reaching consumers with what they wanted, when they wanted it. But by far the worst offenders in the digital ad world? Banner ads.
That’s right. Worse news? All the Budweiser Frogs and Geico Geckos in the world won’t save you.
Think that hurts? Well, here's another one for you.
"Content Marketing and Storytelling are the fuel that ignite the fire that allows you to get found, get shared and get new customers."
Think of it this way. Since the beginning of time, the human race has used their communication skills to pass on stories of survival. When we evolved away from being in fight or flight mode on a daily basis, we used stories to entertain and create a shared knowledge base. But the best stories are not about the information they convey, but the emotional connection they create.
Today your customers expect you to care. They expect something in exchange for their time, attention, and loyalty. If you tell a story about your brand and your customers through great content, then deliver that content in the right moment in a valuable way, while continuing to go above and beyond for your audience – that will create brand loyalty and content strategy success.
But you also need to think like a marketer and act like a publisher.
"Content is not a campaign,” said Brenner. “It needs to be managed like an asset, with a strategy to generate an ROI. Effective content marketing is a combination of original created, licensed, and syndicated content."
For an actionable Content Marketing strategy, Brenner says: "There is no debate between quality vs. quantity of content. Focus on setting the quality bar and then build a platform that allows you to scale at that level.”
Check out Michael's full presentation on Slideshare, and follow him on Twitter @BrennerMichael.
