How is your 2021 marketing planning coming along? Are you noticing any differences in your approach or assumptions compared to past years? 2020 has certainly taught us to be more flexible and innovative in many areas of life, and that is probably showing up in business and marketing planning as well. As you consider how your company can help alleviate customer pain points, reserve a bit of energy to consider your work pain points. After [...]
Ever had a last-minute request come in for written content and it's needed pronto? Or perhaps you spot a great opportunity that you need to address immediately. The panic that often comes with a sudden need like this can make it difficult to think and write clearly. When there's no time to get your writer involved, try this easy approach to speed writing! Brainstorm your message and jot down what comes to mind in the [...]
How would you describe a white paper? What is its purpose, voice, and length? How promotional should it be? I find there are nearly as many different answers to these questions as there are people to ask. And yet, there are a few qualities that a majority of marketers, including experienced white paper users and writers, use to describe them: An in-depth discussion on a specific topic Authoritative and fact-based Informative and useful, not sales-y [...]
I am certain there are many stories each of us could tell from the first half of 2020, both business and personal. Case studies are a story-telling tool for the business world. They are a memorable way to show how you use your expertise and resourcefulness to help your customers, your own business, and others. I encourage you to give some thought to your business stories from recent months. For example, how you: Adjusted different [...]
March is already upon us! Are you making the most of your first quarter marketing content? Each piece of content you create can be customized into multiple formats so that your message resonates with different segments of your target audience and sales cycle, such as: Different customer personas Different market segments Building brand awareness Securing, nurturing, and then converting leads Continuing to support your customers’ knowledge An attention-grabbing blog post or social media message can [...]
It’s a question every science marketer has to face: how promotional should my marketing content be, especially if I want to build lasting relationships with my customers? According to the B2B Content Marketing 2020: Benchmarks, Budgets, and Trends report by the Content Marketing Institute, 88% of top content marketers say they focus on non-promotional content. As the report authors point out, who do you know that says, “I don’t get enough pitchy product news”? No [...]
Have you heard the saying "your day begins the night before"? This wise adage can be applied to months and years as well as days. At the end of each calendar year, planning done in December can be pivotal to a strong January start to the New Year. Here are a few questions that I hope you find helpful as you evaluate your 2019 content marketing outcomes and plan your 2020 strategy. Look through the [...]