Case studies on global brands and how they've created a story to support their content marketing strategies

According to a recent CMI survey, just 37% of B2B marketers and 40% of B2C marketers have a written content marketing plan in place. At the same time, content marketing continues to become more mainstream as a recognized channel to help brands communicate, story-tell and convince their own audience and prospects. [si_guide_block id="5676" title="Download FREE Resource – Digital marketing plan template" description="Our popular marketing planning template built on the Smart Insights RACE planning system."/] But there is a growing challenge - there appears to be a lack of true understanding as to what and how content can help meet the many different types of organizational objectives? In many examples, the reason why so many content marketing strategies fail is because there simply is no business case. Where a number of content strategies fall flat is that they run right into the…

Interview: Rachel Cooper, Director of Global Content Strategy and Editorial at GSK

Ahead of Digistrategy - London World Forum 2017 in December, we interviewed Rachel Cooper, Director of Global Content Strategy at GlaxoSmithKline, to find out how she manages effective content on a global scale and how she assesses ROI. Rachel one of many senior keynote speakers at Digistrategy 2017, London on December 14th. 

Effective content on a global scale

1. As the Director of Global Content Strategy & Editorial at GSK, how do you ensure the quality and effectiveness of different types of content at a business with your global scale?

The primary aim of our global content and editorial team is to simplify and strengthen our storytelling. We do this through building relationships and providing guidance on storylines and editorial development. Our global content flatplan – held by our team – outlines content priorities, themes…

How to get enhance your content marketing for higher engagement rates

As the tools and channels that make up the digital advertising ecosystem continue to evolve and grow more diverse, it seems many brand marketers and agencies are feeling left behind. A recent study by The Boston Consulting Group found that advertisers gave their own digital capabilities a 57 out of 100 on average. For context, that average score is exactly the same as in 2015. So what’s going on? Some advertisers who participated in the study blamed inadequate marketing technology platforms for their lack of results. Some pointed to the prioritization of other programs within their organizations as an obstacle. But there was one area where the majority of marketers felt especially lacking: their abilities to map consumer journeys and tailor content to match the various touchpoints along those journeys. That’s a problem. Above all else, the success of your digital strategy depends on…

Content creation ideas to boost your audience engagement

After all, that’s precisely why your brand should be investing in content marketing. Ask yourself and your wider organization -  is this why we’ve decided to embark on a content journey? It should be, it’s to build your own subscribed audience by researching, listening and creating or indeed curating content in whatever form that may take (blog article, graphics, video, presentation, slide deck) that answers the challenges to your particular audience.

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Something where perhaps your brand can differentiate, reinvent and create a new opportunity in a crowded marketplace. In fact, content marketing continues to gather pace and a recent article by the CMI suggested that: "Content Marketing will continue its epic rise as one of the most preferred options for both B2C and…

We talked to Michael Goldberg to find out how he ensures content quality on a global scale and its impact on ROI

We still often hear marketers say the truism "content is king". We know it is important to marketing and communications for many businesses, but there is the question of how it can be managed strategically, particularly in a large global business. In this interview, we're fortunate to be able to learn from Michael Goldberg, a marcomms professional who is responsible for content marketing strategy at Dun & Bradstreet, a global B2B Brand. We're featuring this interview from Michael, since he is a keynote speaker alongside other global managers implementing Digital Transformation at the Marketing Leadership Forum.  Content marketing can be one of the most powerful marketing techniques for online digital brands (organically or paid) if done properly and evaluated correctly. By…

How content marketing has evolved over the last decade

Content marketing has gone through a transformation over the past 10 years. As the pace of content marketing has grown exponentially, so too has the number of content marketing pieces being published online. This has led to a shift in the approach to content marketing and a continuous change of best practices. Taking cues from Google’s constantly changing algorithms, content marketers and SEO experts have changed their opinions on keywords, platforms, and the definition of quality. What started as a way to provide useful information to users slowly became a platform for link building and monetization. This has led to oversaturation and a generally lower standard of quality.

The current state of content marketing best practices advises against shallow and valueless content for the sole purpose of having content, opting instead for creating a content strategy which works towards…

How to better results from your content marketing

Content marketing has recently risen to a position of prominence within the industry. As the creator of what is viewed, liked and shared online, it is one of the prime movers of any brand or product. Filling up the voids around the all-important keywords, content adds substance to any marketing strategy and, therefore, it cannot be ignored. As content marketing has become essential, it has also reached a high degree of professionalization. Those who engage in it no longer dabble with words and information, but consciously create powerful cocktails of useful content and subtle advertising. The next 5 tips can be found in the arsenal of any efficient marketer.

1.    Content is re-shareable

One of the most time-consuming elements of content marketing is that it constantly requires unique and new content, even on topics that have been looked at and written about many times. While it should…

Putting content curation front and centre in your content marketing planning

I've been spending some time this week writing a content marketing plan for a client, at First 10. As a part of that plan, I've focussed on content curation as a major part of the program of activity over the next 12 months. In their case, the reason why they're investing is that it's right strategically and suits their budget. They're a commercial marketing team with minimal internal copywriting resource, and they're not creative enough to reliably originate a steady stream of ideas. So it made sense to centralize content curation in addition to publishing original articles and media as and when they can afford it. My sense is that most marketing teams are likely needing this approach, so I thought I'd distill and simplify what's in their plan, in case…

Doing content marketing right: Insight from running a successful content marketing operations

TL;DR: Why I am such a believer in content marketing and how I run the entire process. What is the real effort (time) I put into each stage and what professional tools I love using? I hope this article will help you build an efficient content marketing operation that will satisfy, and impress your managers! Writing intros is one of my favourite things, so, please, take a seat and let’s get started... Overseeing a wide variety of tech marketing activities for many of the startups and tech companies we support in G2Mteam, as well as being involved in immense efforts around increasing awareness, boosting conversions, and ROI, all the way to lead nurturing, has taught me a lot. One thing I’ve learned is that you can’t really become the world’s top marketing expert, though you can (and many of us do) die…

Chart of the Day: Analysis of 100 million headlines shows which are most effective

You've written a great article, but now you need a headline. It's got to tempt people to click, it's got to convey its value. It can't be too long. It's got to fit nicely into a tweet or an email subject line. It can't be too dull, or too complex. It is a tricky business this headline writing, isn't it? Luckily the good folks at Buzzsumo have analyzed over 100 million different headlines and how many Facebook engagements each has generated. This gives us a tremendous insight into what headlines are the most effective. One clearly stands out from the pack: 'will make you'. This may be so effective because it established that the post will impart value for the reader. E.g. 'This will make you the best at X' or 'This will make you the coolest guy in the room'. It…