Page 9 - ENGAGE -- Issue #10 -- Fall 2017

Q: You started working in what is now content marketing strategy around 2008. That’s a lifetime ago in the world of marketing. How has it evolved?
Kristina Halvorson: I came into the field through user experience design, so I was very focused on websites and how companies use them to serve customers. I was keenly aware of the content marketing movement early on, and a huge problem we saw was that clients had
so much content that it was almost getting in people’s way. I’ve watched marketers get really excited about content but not know exactly
what they are getting from it or why they are doing it. Research is now showing that people
are developing it and spending money on it, but
a low percentage of companies can demonstrate that it’s working. Recently, people have become disillusioned with content marketing as something you have to do, and instead they are becoming more focused on what they produce and why.
Q: So, how are people approaching it now?
KH: Certainly, some marketing higher-ups are interested in the traditional sales funnel, so they are still excited by what they get from an exposure
Recently, people have become disillusioned with content marketing as something you have to do, and instead they are becoming more focused on what they produce and why.
perspective—shares, time spent on-site, sales, and other metrics. But more-mature companies want to see why they are doing the content work. Most of it is to drive leads and then plug that content back into the larger sales cycle in a measurable way. Of course, ad agencies create content that wins awards, and brands love to win awards! But smart companies are looking at ways to be more judicious in how they spend money, and content marketing might be a part of that mix, or it might not. Now they are asking, Does it make sense for my strategy and purpose? You have to avoid the trap of the marketer’s ego.
Q: Do you have an example of this?
KH: I recently saw a woman from Allstate give a speech at a conference. She explained how Allstate was doing content around the aspects of owning a home and had produced a video about raising chickens in your backyard. The video went viral, so they were excited and wondered
if they should do more stories about raising chickens. But they weren’t able to vet whether that was getting them qualified leads. So you have to be careful about ego metrics. As a company, you can use brand perception-shaping content, but you also need to put consideration into the part of the customer journey where they want to learn about the products.
Q: It seems nowadays if you are playing catch-up on content marketing practices, you’ll be behind again by the time you catch up. How important is it to make it
a priority to keep up with content marketing evolutions?
KH: We are all catching up all the time, but not everything that is new is for you. I tell people
to slow down and set strategy. Some people think their strategy is to become a world
4 Pillars of E ective Editorial in Content Marketing — Kristina Halvorson
With my clients, I tend to differentiate between a content strategy and an editorial mission. If you decide that content marketing is the right call, you need to decide how you will differentiate between them. That’s where an editorial mission comes in—who are you going to be as a content organization? There are content-promoting activities and SEO tactics that have to accompany that editorial mission. That, to me, is what content marketing is—the creation and promotion of editorial marketing. To be effective on the editorial side, you need to have these four pillars in place.
1 The user experience — How are people able to make contact with your content? How are they interacting with it online, and how will they move through it? Are they reacting to it? What are we asking them to do once they leave that marketing content? What is the presentation and role of your content within a larger online experience? You can have the most beautiful content marketing site in the world, but when someone gets into it and then clicks into your website, it has to be the same experience.
If it sucks, all your work is lost.
2 Editorial approach — This is what shapes the substance of your content: topics, voice and tone, how you’re addressing your customer throughout their journey. Your editorial approach should be one that differentiates you in the marketplace. Even if it’s just a commitment to using simple, plain language in a highly regulated industry, it’s important to know it and commit to it.
3 Architecture — This is how your content is organized and categorized throughout the customer journey. Content structure powers things such as personalization, dynamic content display, and efficient content management (including enabling content reuse across multiple channels).
4 The process — How do you connect the dots? How does
it all get done? This is the infrastructure you might have in place, the roles and responsibilities, and even how
you measure things.
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