Skip to main content

Where your content marketing strategy might be falling down


Content marketing involves connecting with buyers through unique, consistent and genuinely useful content. It taps into the idea that buyers no longer follow a linear journey to purchase and instead value an engaging, relationship-based approach. Marketers regularly debate the value of content marketing but there’s no doubting its popularity. Found in 88% of B2B marketing strategies worldwide, it’s lauded for being efficient, effective and highly adaptable to almost any business and industry.

Some common mistakes

A 2014 survey by Forrester found that more than half of B2B marketers rated their content marketing strategy as ‘very mature’, yet 87% also admitted that creating engaging content that connects with buyers is a significant challenge. This reveals a disconnect between the perceived potential of content marketing – and the reality. The same survey revealed three main mistakes marketers make – which may be why they value the techniques but undervalue the results of content marketing:

1.     Focusing too much on the channel

Around 60% of marketers admitted producing content only on a campaign-by-campaign basis – which is a method that fails to tackle the whole customer experience. Just under half focused solely on ‘owned’ channels (their website, email and corporate social media profiles). Overall, the data showed that marketers hone in on acquisition over the rest of the customer journey.

2.     Failing to make content a priority

If marketing’s job is to communicate with customers, advocates, influencers, and the wider world, content must be its principle vehicle. However, 72% of marketers surveyed said that less than half their department was devoted to content marketing activity. It follows, therefore, that marketing ends up revolving around more traditional techniques, and fails to make the most of content marketing’s potential for reaching and engaging target customers.

3.     Breaking the connection between content and return on investment

Almost every marketer surveyed by Forrester said that content marketing was a priority, yet a staggering 85% ranked it as only somewhat effective – or less – at generating revenue, retaining customers, or creating lasting loyalty. When asked to evaluate their last 12 months of content marketing activity, less than 15% gave their strategies and practices good marks for return on investment.

Diversifying your strategy 

Gartner predicted that, by 2016, gamification would become the norm for marketers looking to generate brand engagement and customer loyalty. Gamified environments may have one up on other types of content in that they drive customer motivation. If designed and delivered well, gamification could lead to empowered, educated customers who will want to engage with you and your products time and time again.

That’s why we developed Simulcation Datacenter. Connect with your customers at every stage of their lifecycle by becoming an advertising partner. Through unobtrusive native advertising and featured products, new customers will experience your offerings as a natural part of their virtual experience, clicking through to learn more and purchase. You’ll also get a set number of ‘sponsored users’, depending on your subscription tier. These are accounts you can assign to your staff, partners and customers, together with a custom leaderboard to foster even greater engagement and lasting loyalty.

Experience the power of a new form of content marketing – contact us about becoming a partner.


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Simulcation Datacenter launching to selected IBM employees and Business Partners

I’m very proud to announce that Simulcation Datacenter will launch this Wednesday May 17 th at an IBM TSS education event in Radolfzell, Germany. It marks the culmination of all our efforts as a team, and I couldn’t be more excited to see the first users create their own virtual datacenters. It’s been a long road that’s brought together an incredibly diverse team, in close collaboration with our partners IBM. The first users will be a small group of IBM employees and Business Partners who will experience a sneak peek at our technology before we go on to roll it out to more Business Partners and – later this year – the general public. It’s all part of our ambition to transform professional education for datacenter managers and IT staff, allowing them to safely model their complex purchasing decisions to find the right mix of hardware, software and services, whilst also having fun. Learning doesn’t have to be laborious, and technology has advanced to the point where we’re a...
Post a Comment
Read more

For the win: Why gamification and game-based learning are the future

A quick google of the terms ‘gamification’ and ‘game-based learning’ turns up a surprising lack of clarity about what these terms mean – and, crucially, whether they work. They’re real buzzwords of the moment, and share the common ground of implementing the mechanics of ‘gaming’ to enhance learning, or encourage changes in behavior. Used in everything from marketing strategy to HR policies, various studies have shown the benefits of using ‘gamified systems’. IT staff are perhaps closer than most to the technology that’s shaping how game design and game interaction is revolutionizing professional education. So, what is it, and can these concepts help to cut through some of the current problems with learning new systems and processes for datacenter managers and CIOs? What’s the difference between gamification and game-based learning?   ‘Gamification is using game-based mechanics, aesthetics, and game-thinking to engage people, motivate action, promote learning, and so...
Post a Comment
Read more

Why sales contests really work

Sales force compensation takes up the single biggest portion of marketing spend for most B2B companies, according to the HBR . Together, US corporates spend more than $800 billion on motivating their sales teams each year – that’s three times their advertising spend. Contests buck that trend by offering tangible, meaningful rewards that may, in some cases, beat cold hard cash. Whether it’s simply to drive revenue growth, encouraging new software adoption, or getting buy-in on changing processes, competition always breeds results. But the world of sales is changing. Now, managers need to look beyond motivating the individual, and devise contests that boost problem-solving and collaboration: the hallmarks of modern sales representatives. Keeping sales teams inspired, not just informed Where do you rank motivation in your list of factors that impact sales? Are raw sales skills more important? The truth is, motivation is the driving force behind all of your team’s ...
Post a Comment
Read more