We hope you enjoy this handy recap of the B2B content marketing articles that caught our attention this week.
- How a Ticked Off Client Forced Us to Get Real About Content Marketing Tactic Overload: If you’re drowning in the pool of new, “must do” marketing tactics you think you need to execute ASAP, you’re not alone. Let this Business 2 Community article by Stanford Smith serve as your lifeline. Above all, it reinforces what we all know but often forget: Quality is more important than quantity. If you’re biting off more marketing tactics than you can chew, you’re just going to keep treading water — and you probably won’t see much success from your exorbitant efforts. But Smith goes further, sharing some great ways to “get real” about your marketing plan with some diagnostic questions, a checklist to help you regain your focus and some smart time-saving habits for content leaders. Reading this post is time well spent.
- The Podcast Option: How Audio Content Can Help Build a B2B Business: The success of blockbuster podcasts “Serial” and “S Town” have placed a valuable spotlight on a medium I’ve loved since I discovered “This American Life” with my first iPod. So of course marketers are ready to step up to the mic and reap the benefits of the newly popular channel. Before you join them, check out this MarketingLand piece by Megan Hannay on the ups and downs of podcasting. Hannay does a great job suggesting who is and isn’t likely to succeed with a marketing podcast, and explains what you must be prepared to invest in terms of time, money and equipment. If you think you want to start podcasting, this post is a great place to start learning the ropes.
- Email Subscribers Are Not Turning Away From Brands, But Increasingly Clicking to Open: In our ongoing quests for the latest and greatest in digital marketing, it’s important that we keep our eyes on the prize, even when the prize is hidden at the bottom of one of the least sexy marketing tactics we’ve got. (Sorry, email!) The fact is, email open rates are at 16% — their highest in four years. And however B2B buyers may protest that they’re not interested in personalized content, data tells us that it’s seen the highest spike, with a 19.3% CTO rate in the past quarter. That’s too big an opportunity to squander, so dive into the tips for implementing trigger campaigns to boost engagement, and how and when to deploy a successful campaign. Do you know what day of the week delivers the highest engagement and conversion rates? You will if you read the article.
- The Best Advice for Marketers in 2017: Insights from 11 Experts: As much as many of us loved to watch him onscreen, we know that thinking like Don Draper won’t get us very far in 2017. But just how current are your tactics? How agile is your plan? What do you know about the way your customers have changed in the past year? Sure, it’s a lot to think about. Hubspot asked 11 marketing experts and influencers what advice they’d share with marketers, and their responses are likely to inspire you to meet your next marketing challenge head-on. I’m keeping it bookmarked for future “online mentoring.”
- 5 Massive SEO and Content Shifts You Need to Master Right Now: You could argue that SEO is the one place that marketers can least afford to miss the writing on the wall when it comes to trend forecasting. When Google changes algorithms to accommodate changing customer tides, anyone who’s behind the eight ball stands to lose big. In this Search Engine Land article, Jim Yu covers five important SEO shifts that marketers need to plan for as 2017 unfolds, complete with valuable tips on how to use the shifts to your advantage. It’s a fast read that’s so absolutely packed with useful information, you’ll finish feeling excited to evolve from SEO to SEO and content convergence, from mobile to mobile-first, from local to hyperlocal, from text to voice and from data to machine learning.
And for now, it’s time to transition from work week to weekend. Have a great one, and be sure to drop us a line about your favorite B2B marketing podcast in the comments section below!
