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A Contrarian View To Content Marketing

Forbes Agency Council
POST WRITTEN BY
Bill Carmody

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Having been in digital marketing since its inception in 1994, I’m recognizing a pattern that I’d like to call out. If you’re noticing a diminishing (or even a nonexistent) return on your content marketing efforts, you’re not alone -- and it may be time to pivot.

The promise of content marketing is so simple and appealing that it has attracted a tsunami of businesses and thought leaders who are investing substantial time and money in order to build their personal and professional brands. Back in 2008, Seth Godin notably claimed, “Content marketing is the only marketing left.”

HubSpot built a company worth more than $4 billion, primarily by selling the vision and the power of content marketing. And yet, in Dan Lyons’ tell-all book, Disrupted, Lyons points out that, prior to going public, HubSpot’s primary sales growth was not based on its own content marketing but rather on a 100-person call center using, “low-paid kids calling thousands of people, day after day.”

Quality content is being drowned out by volume of content.

Research by eMarketer shows that 87% of U.S. business-to-business (B2B) companies plan to use content marketing strategies this year. The report states that these strategies will require more mature efforts as content marketing is reaching a saturation threshold.

When you combine the accelerated growth of clickbait with the volume of content shared on Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter (with or without advertising support), there appears to be a lot of talking going on and not a lot of listening. While quality content is still very much in demand, eMarketer is pointing out that, in order to succeed in 2018 and beyond, more content refinement is needed. I take that as the need for a better understanding of what customers really want versus a continuous stream and volume of content.

As the number of content distribution channels grow, so does the trap of wanting to be everywhere.

It’s also easy to get lost in the content marketing vortex. Today, you provide your content in any form and in any length. Do you shoot videos for Facebook and YouTube? Or should you record and publish a podcast? Perhaps you’d prefer to post pictures on Instagram or write short content for Twitter or long-form content for your blog or LinkedIn. Perhaps you have even more depth you’d like to share? Then consider self-publishing a book, and be sure to go on the speaking circuit to share all your insights and knowledge from the stage.

And we’re just getting started. As more and more channels open up, there’s more audience fragmentation and a desire to post the same content on multiple channels.

Content marketing may have reached a saturation point.

All of this content was intended to fuel the growth of your sales pipeline. And yes, the value of content marketing is still clear. According to the Content Marketing Institute, for example, 79% of business-to-consumer marketers see an increase in audience engagement and 65% see an increase in their number of leads from their content marketing efforts. Before anyone wants to buy from you, they first need to discover you and get to know you. Quality content delivers on that promise and encourages potential buyers to reach out and connect with you.

The problem shows up when more and more content contributors decide to join the party. As is the case with anything, the first movers have the advantage. I believe that content marketing, as we have traditionally defined it, is reaching (or has reached) a saturation point, and investing more time and money into it will no longer yield better results.

My point isn’t that content marketing doesn’t work. My point is that content marketing has reached a point of diminishing returns and may no longer be a competitive advantage.

Consider an alternative: shift more attention to creating advocacy.

I see a much bigger opportunity around creating customer loyalty and advocacy instead of investing more time and money generating more content. When I say “loyalty,” I don’t mean a loyalty program. I’ve amassed nearly 1.5 million miles on United Airlines, and yet I have no advocacy for this company. What I’m talking about is getting back to the basics of truly listening to your customers and building in more surprise and delight into their lives.

Content marketing may still be the only “marketing” left, but there’s a greenfield opportunity to better understand, anticipate and overdeliver for your customers. I’m still a fan of net promoter scores, but beyond asking if a client would refer you, I’d like to know what you’re doing that your current customers can’t shut up about.

For example, on the West Coast, you may be familiar with In-N-Out Burger. Their advocacy is driven by their not-so-secret menu. Before social media tipped their hand, customers who were “in the know” would take pride in ordering items that they had discovered from a previous visit (e.g., a Triple Triple or a Quad Quad). Or in New York City, you may have heard of a secret bar aptly called “Please Don't Tell,” located behind an old-fashioned phone booth inside Crif Dogs restaurant. And Zappos blows their customers away with their obsession with delivering happiness (versus selling shoes), while still, other businesses take the time to send handwritten thank you notes (even with cookies) to new customers. These are the kinds of things that let your customers know that you care about them and that you go beyond the initial transaction in an effort to build a long-term relationship.

While a ton of resources and attention continue to be invested in attracting new customers, keeping our current customers truly happy is what will keep us in business for the long term. Imagine how large your business would be if you never lost a customer. Yet, how much time and energy do we spend there versus the battleground of content marketing? Hence, my contrarian view of content marketing.

Forbes Agency Council is an invitation-only community for executives in successful public relations, media strategy, creative and advertising agencies. Do I qualify?