Last updated on October 23rd, 2016 at 02:57 pm

The two sessions I especially want to share with everyone today are on an important topic for many marketers; content marketing (of any kind) on a shoestring budget.

Content Marketing Strategy for Any Size Budget

Michael Brenner, from Marketing Insider Group presented “Content Marketing Strategy for Any Size Budget”.

He started with a bit of advice on Marketing as a subject in general. It is essentially a two way communication between a company, and their customers. AND, we should stop interrupting what people are interested in, and BE what people are interested in.

Marketing doesn’t need to be a logo on a stadium. It doesn’t need to be that big of an effort. We can build a foundation of success, on even a tight (or sometimes non-existent) budget. When 60-70% of content produced goes unused, it’s smart to focus on those that will be, and will return the best ROI.

The link he gave for the entire presentation will be included as well, but to recap Michael provided 17 Tips to get anyone started:

1. Focus on your audience.
2. Answer your buyer questions.
3. Create the content your buyers want.
4. Create content that your audience shares.
5. Cover content from top sources.
6. Build an army of volunteers. Get your employees, your partners, and even your customers, to contribute.
7. Turn executive presentations into articles.
8. Turn speaker notes into articles.
9. Use Slideshare and speaker notes to create YouTube videos.
10. Turn prospect FAQ’s into articles.
11. Turn Sales FAQ’s into articles.
12. Turn your email outbox into articles. Every email answers a question!
13. Turn YouTube videos into articles.
14. Turn white papers into articles (and link to specific landing pages).
15. Create a list of top influencers, predictions, tools, books, apps, or events into blog posts.
16. Write about your competitors. Do you do something similar? Better?
17. Cover other people’s research, infographics, and videos.

Repurposing existing content into other formats is the simplest thing you can do.

If you want to read the rest of his sessions, the slides are here: Content Marketing For Any Size Budget

…and then follow him on Twitter for more insightful thoughts @BrennerMichael

Teach Me How: B2B Video Marketing on a Shoestring

…but what about video, you ask? There was a session for that today too.

Ed Rusch, who heads up Marketing at Elemica, delivered an insightful case study, on how they grew their video content library from 7, to over 300 videos in 3 years. Sounds expensive?

Gone are the days when you had to hire a production company and crew to produce videos for you. All you need really is a smartphone, laptop with editing software, a GoPro, and maybe a small video camera.

74% of all internet traffic in 2017 is forecasted to be video (source: Invodo). Over 100 million people watch video on their smartphones every month.

So how do you tap into this market with a limited budget? Ed provided the 7 Essentials for Quick Success:

1. Identify your viewers, their personas, and focus on a specific target.
2. Get your message across with a beginning, middle and end.
3. Write great titles, labels and descriptions, and deliver what you promise.
4. Eye Candy. When capturing footage, make sure you have movement, great visuals, and sound all in one. Be entertaining and memorable.
5. Help Google Help You. Use effective tags and SEO like you do with the rest of your content. Be sure people can find you.
6. Go Beyond YouTube. There are video rich capabilities everywhere. Embed videos wherever possible.
7. Get to the Point. Length is critical. Short and sweet are quick wins.

Ed and his team are inspired by true events, and he shared one quick video they did:

Ed also provided 6 Hacks to Help You Get Started:

1. Hire an actor. This doesn’t need to be costly. You can ask someone from an acting school.
2. Or record a video conference. This is where comfort levels are high.
3. Sit down with your fellow employee(s), and get them used to being in front of a camera.
4. Change locations. Get out of the office.
5. How-To Videos. It’s as simple as doing screenshots with basic narration.
6. Answer a Question. What do you get asked most often?

Want to start? It’s as simple as turning your smartphone on yourself, and saying, “Hi, my name is___. I want to tell you about____ so you can ____.” You can practice and watch it as many times as you like to get it right.

Start creating!

Related posts:

Live at MPB2B: First Day Keynotes SnapApp, Terminus Take Aim at Gated White Paper Approach to Lead Generation A bigger content marketing budget comes down to one question LinkedIn exec says B2B firms should take a Disney-like approach to thought leadership