Last updated on November 23rd, 2015 at 03:53 pm
Content marketing is essential for almost any business these days, but marketing teams have to be smart with how they organize their campaigns, starting with that integral first planning session.
Inefficiency comes with a heavy price tag. A recent study done by Gleanster in partnership with Kapost found that in the US B2B companies spend $5 billion a year on content marketing, but $958 million is wasted on ineffective efforts.
The same study found that the areas which suffer the most in terms of efficiency were: meeting deadlines, redundant content creation, and coordinating the work of various people involved with content creation. There are some hurdles to overcome, but they can be managed in content marketing meetings that hit the right notes, and sharpen your focus on areas that turn up results.
How do you conduct content marketing meetings that keep all staff motivated and on track? B2Bnn did some digging to offer these useful tips that should help B2B firms take their content from the conference room to the customer, and back to the company thanks to some solid ROI.
Get the Right People Involved
Content marketing meetings require everyone involved in the content production process to be present, and ready to share, listen, and participate.
“Time is precious and people are always busy, so invitees to meetings need to be considered carefully and I don’t invite anyone unless there’s a clear purpose for their attendance,” Jason Boyer, national director of marketing and sales support at Deloitte says in an interview.
All the bases must be covered. That means you need to have the project leader, a subject matter expert, personnel from the data analytics team, the writer or editor who will be producing the content, and a marketer with a clear understanding of the channels and strategies used to push the content.
Keep It Organized
Of course, every meeting has to be structured and organized. Boyer finds it’s best to keep it simple with this general format:
A briefing on why the meeting has been called, and what they’re trying to achieve. This includes identifying the target audience and desired results.
A briefing on the subject matter. Here is a good place for the subject matter expert to take over for a bit. You’ll also want to look at what the competition is doing, and how successful they’ve been.
A brainstorming session. It’s important to reserve judgement and let everyone freely submit whatever ideas they have no matter how unusual they might seem.
Make a resolution and decide what the next steps should be as a result of the discussion.
Encourage Fresh Ideas
It can also be helpful to send out an agenda before the meeting so people in attendance will know what to expect, and they can even prepare some of their own ideas or talking points beforehand.
Anne Thibault, social media strategist at Montreal-based marketing agency OVRGRND, highlights the importance of bringing fresh ideas to the table.
“It’s more of an open conversation,” she says. “You want to make sure everyone feels comfortable enough to come with ideas and it’s not just the creative team. Everyone needs to contribute. When it comes to social, everyone’s on it, so it’s nice to get everyone’s input and make sure it’s an open conversation rather than just you giving a presentation.”
State Clear Objectives
Content marketing has to produce results, otherwise what are you investing all that money in? During the meeting, specific goals must be laid out and this should be done early in the meeting. Things can change overnight sometimes, so goals should remain somewhat flexible and not set in stone.
“The most important thing is setting the goals of what you’re trying to do on social, whether it’s for everyday content or a short term campaign. It’s all about assessing why you’re even doing this, what are you trying to get out of this,” advises Thibault.
The objectives that your company have in mind can come in various sizes. Building awareness, generating demand, building the profile of one of your subject matter experts or thought leaders, and generating new leads are some goals that you might focus on.
Quality over Quantity
More isn’t always better. Investing in a few pieces of high-quality content that produces results is far better than a dozen pieces of mediocre content that don’t generate any shares or conversions.
“The only thing I’d add is that the market is saturated with content and “thought leaders”, so it is important to focus on quality over quantity,” Boyer writes. “By leveraging analytics and other data sources, it is possible to develop targeted, personalized content pieces that will have a strong impact on your audience.”
Any other tips we missed? Let us know in the Comments section!
