Three hard messages about content marketing

More market authority, better findability, more customers with whom you also have better interaction; content marketing delivers quite a lot. In a previous blog, we wrote about the many benefits of blogging and other forms of content marketing. More and more organisations are discovering its value and often use it in a targeted way. They often hire freelancers or an agency to do this for them. They can do marketing themselves, but producing content is a different matter. Not everyone can write (or film, or design a web page, or create an audio podcast) and even if this quality is 'in-house', they often lack the time to do it themselves. By bringing in 'outsiders', you manage to make quick metres in this area. But then the problems start...

Three lessons about content marketing

Anyone who has ever had a bathroom remodelled or electrics installed will find the following familiar: you usually have no idea what to expect from the plumber or electrician in question. What a good solution is, how much it may cost and how long the job will take - for the customer, it remains guesswork. You are largely at the mercy of the professional's expertise. Logically, this quickly leads to discussions, or at least a nasty feeling that keeps gnawing. After all, are you getting value for money? In content marketing, it is often no different. Usually, expectations are also often wrong and, as a content marketing specialist, you have to deal with this. We give you three messages you can share with your client.

There is no 1-to-1 relationship between content marketing and sales

This is perhaps the most important tip of all. Many organisations see their marketing department as a machine that has to provide colleagues in the sales department with a continuous flow of leads. Especially in B2B marketing in smaller companies, this idea is prevalent. The better the content marketing, the better the machine runs. Now, the success of content marketing can also be partly measurable, for example in a marketing automation campaign to collect e-mail addresses, but never completely. There is no 1-to-1 relationship between content marketing and sales. By explaining this clearly in advance, you avoid this 'measurability' becoming a headache afterwards.

Use 'employee advocacy'

Content specialists can never do it alone. Good content that is not shared/distributed does not achieve anything. It is important that the client also activates the internal organisation and that content is also shared in their own networks. It has to resonate with employees. Emphasise that it does not have to be difficult at all. With a tool like SoWorker, for instance, sharing social posts with links to, for instance, a blog is a piece of cake for employees. And it makes a world of difference to content marketing success.

Expect unexpected effects. And not necessarily tomorrow.

Many organisations stare blindly at sales, but employer branding is also an important issue. Especially when good staff are hard to find, companies need to know how to present themselves as a challenging, attractive employer. Content marketing also contributes to this. Moreover, in content marketing it is the perseverer who wins. Who knows, today's blog post might not yield a lead, a new employee or another 'fan' with a positive effect on the organisation until next year (and perhaps very indirectly).