CMO Challenges - from promoter to publisher

If, at heart, you are a true marketeer you will have embraced the move from aggressive brand promotions towards more meaningful and valuable content publication.

Gone are the days of relentless and repetitive campaigning about new services and products, harassing clients and prospects with yet more mail,  all based on the assumption that a message  only “sticks” when shared multiple times. The notion that you can build a brand by repetition and a matching big budget, has been put to bed with the rise of digitally connected and savvy customers. Nowadays, your customers are in the driving seat, and will determine your brand value based on their own personal experiences and feedback from their social networks.

Recent research carried out by LinkedIn shows that customers have read at least 8 pieces of valuable content and joined online conversations on the topic before engaging with a supplier. They are well informed and have already shaped their opinion before they come and talk to you. This has transformed the traditional linear sales funnel into a dynamic ellipse where touchpoints are multiple along the journey from first engagements and explorations to ultimately becoming your brand advocate.

CMOs increasingly need to act as publishing house chiefs, overseeing brand engagement, content creation, and improving the perceived value of digital interactions with customers and prospects. According to CMI, social media content is the most-used tactic among B2Bs (92%), while articles on a brand’s own website came in at 81% and blogs were used 80% of the time as part of the content engagement plan. 

Here are some tips on how to ensure effective content engagement :

• Know your audience. Make sure you have a clear understanding of who you would like to target. Publishing content without this knowledge will irritate those that receive your content and won’t give you the desired return on engagement.
• Listen first and do your research into the business interest areas of your customers. Follow online conversations and posts to understand what is trending, who is leading the conversation and where. 
• Connect with experts and influencers on key topics to learn what others are saying in order to improve your knowledge and understanding. You’ll also find interesting content you can curate and share.
• Create content that adds value. For instance, share your business insights, advice and tips on topics that are top of mind with your customers. Keep it short and easy to read, using a conversational tone of voice and add an image or infographic to illustrate your key points.
• Empower your employees to become socially engaged as your brand ambassadors and to help drive sales. 
• Engage with your audience. The clue is in the word “social” (media), so don’t hesitate to interact with your audience, raise questions, join discussions and thank your followers for their likes, comments and contributions. Relationships thrive on dialogue! 
• Monitor and measure. Without measuring content performance, content engagement will be simply content creation. This can lead to targeting the wrong audience and to creating content no one cares about. Wasting valuable time, effort and money. Measuring the impact and results of your content will give you insight into your customer’s preferences and behaviours and help you improve your engagement.

 What are your top tips to reach out and engage with your customers online?