Has Google's Latest Algorithm Update Impacted Site Traffic?

Has Google's latest algorithm update impacted site traffic for you? Are you seeing your once-great traffic tank or your articles with no traffic suddenly zooming up in the SERPs?

Google's Latest Algorithm Update and Its Impact on Site Traffic

I've noticed a big shift in Google's algorithm since August. I own several sites, including this one, and provide content marketing support to numerous content entrepreneurs who own multiple sites.

Across the board, we've seen some sites suddenly surge in popularity with Google; traffic has more than doubled on one of my websites, for example, during a time of the year when it normally decreases abruptly (it's a gardening website and traffic generally peaks in April in accordance with planting schedules in the USA.)

On the other hand, sites that generally had strong traffic suddenly saw their posts sink a few positions or more in the SERPs. That may not sound like much, but it can result in drastic decreases in website visitors – and, with decreased site visitors, a decrease in monetization. In other words, those sites are making less money for their owners.

Ann Smarty, in her weekly newsletter, explained it brilliantly. I won't go into the details, but I do urge you to head over to Ann’s newsletter and read it for yourself.

Four Google Updates Since August 2023

Essentially, Google performed not one but FOUR updates since August 22, 2023:

Core Update – August 22, 2023
Helpful Content Update – September 2023
Spam Update – Early October 2023
Core Update (again!) – Mid-October 2023

What Is a Google Core Update?

This is a general algorithm update performed by Google to improve search results. As always, Google's goal is to improve the accuracy and relevancy of search engine results. Core Updates do not target specific websites or types of content.

What Is a Google Helpful Content Update?

The Helpful Content updates is the big one, in my opinion, impacting many bloggers. These updates DO target specific sites or content, downgrading those Google's algorithm deems "unhelpful" to the searcher and upgrading those it deems "helpful." This latest update is impacting mostly sites that did heavy keyword phrase tailoring to improve search engine rank without regard or with secondary regard to the helpfulness of the information.

What Is a Google Spam Update?

The Google Spam Update downgrades thin content (i.e., does not go into depth or detail on the searched topic) or is overly promotional. It also targets websites that are created merely to sell products through search opportunities – keyword stuffed sites filled with affiliate links or sales links.

What's Going on With Google and Your Content?

Now, given that Google had rolled out so many updates in just a few short weeks, what the heck is going on?

That's what's going on. AI is EVERYWHERE in content. It's not only being used to generate spammy content (i.e., the 'thin' content marked for downgrade in a Google Spam update), it is also being used to generate books, blog posts, websites, and anything else.

Google doesn't like AI generated content (probably because it has yet to crack the code on how to monetize it for its own gain). Therefore, sites that use it, or sites that sound like they use it, maybe at risk.

Unfortunately, that means a lot of sites that did nothing wrong are seeing their content sink a bit in the rankings. My site is often written in the first person, with original images showing my husband or myself performing a gardening task; this is one reason why the traffic has suddenly surged for us. The site offers actual people doing real things, and there is no way that an AI bot generated this content. Google is rewarding this and the work we did over the past year on UI/UX and search intent, an ongoing project for that website.

Recovering From Google Updates

If your website was impacted negatively by these Google updates, a few words of wisdom from someone who has been running a content business for over 16 years. “This too shall pass.”

I have seen it all, from the content mills keyword stuffing articles in the early days to this latest update, and you know what works? QUALITY CONTENT.

SEO Writing Tactics That Work for Long-Term Results

Write for search intent, not keywords. What does the person searching want to know or do related to a particular keyword phrase? Make sure your content addresses it.
Avoid overly promotional content or spam stuff.
Disclose affiliate relationships, ads, and sponsored posts.
Offer a fresh, unique perspective. If you're copying someone else, you won't do well in the long term.
Revise and refresh your posts. Don’t let them get stale.
Use your photos if you can, especially for how-to posts.
Write for people first, search engines second.
Ensure you always use your authorial voice. Google wants expertise, authority, and trust, not just any random stuff.

What’s your opinion? How has your content fared during these updates? If Google's latest algorithm update impact site traffic for you and you want to get more traffic, contact Seven Oaks Consulting. We can help. Share a comment or write to me at jeanne@sevenoaksconsulting.com, and let's strategize how we can fix it if your content's rank has tanked.

by Jeanne Grunert

Why Is Content Marketing Important for Technology Companies?

Why is content marketing important for technology companies? The unique nature of the industry lends itself well to marketing through the sharing of information, which is essentially the main purpose of content marketing. Here's why tech companies should consider using content marketing as a tactical channel

Why Content Marketing Is Important for Technology Companies

1. Simplify Complex Information

Many technology companies offer complex solutions. Decision makers don’t need to know what’s under the hood, but they do need to know how your product solves their business challenge. Focus your content marketing efforts on the purpose behind your platform; solve their problems and simplify complex information about your system so that you empower buyers with useful information.

2. Establish Trust

Businesses invest a considerable amount of money into their technology purchases. Before meeting with a vendor, the vendor must establish a level of trust with business leaders. Content marketing plays an important role in this process. Case studies establish a technology vendor as an expert problem solver; white papers and thought leadership articles position them as the go-to resource on a particular topic.

3. Nurture the Buyer’s Journey

The buyer's journey in the technology sector can be time-consuming and research-intensive. Content marketing gently propels potential customers at every stage of this journey, from awareness to consideration and decision-making. Content tailored to each stage helps meet the consumer where they are in a low-pressure environment.

4. Address Pain Points

Technology products and services are designed to solve specific challenges. Content marketing allows tech companies to present real-world scenarios and how their products or solutions make tasks or workflow easier.

5. Attract Organic Website Traffic

Content marketing improves a search engine visibility in a cluttered market. Using relevant keywords can boost website ranking and organic traffic, making the business more top of mind.

Content Marketing for Technology Companies Offers Many Benefits, Few Drawbacks

Content marketing important for technology companies offers so many benefits for technology companies - thought leadership, trust building, awareness, presales information, and organic search engine optimization. There are a few drawbacks, however. Great content takes time to research and create. It takes time to rank and time to draw the right traffic to your virtual doorstep. However, once your ‘content marketing engine’ is revved, the results can be incredible.

The Best Content Marketing Agency for Technology Companies

Seven Oaks Consulting is a B2B content marketing agency that specializes in creating thought leadership for technology companies and general content marketing for technology companies. We recently generated several highly qualified (and lucrative) leads for our technology clients but it took time and steady, consistent effort to do so. There are some companies who promise you fast results, but in our experience, the best technology content marketing happens over time. It grows and builds a positive cycle of brand awareness, thought leadership, search engine traffic, and finally, highly qualified leads. If this is something you’d like help with please contact us.

by Jeanne Grunert

What Is Readability Score in SEO?

Readability Score

A readability score indicates how easy or difficult a text is to read. A passage that makes perfect sense to someone with a university-level education will be too complicated for someone in the fifth grade to interpret.

Flesch-Reading Ease

Readability scores are based on the Fleischman-Kincaid Ease. This test rates texts and gives them a score of 1-100, with 100 being the highest score. A score of 70-80 is equivalent to a grade 8 reading level. It should be relatively easy for an adult to read.

Rudolph Flesch, a consultant with the Associated Press, developed these methods for improving newspapers’ readability. Currently, researchers, marketers, writers, and many others use the Flesch Reading Ease. They use it to determine how easy or difficult a text is for a reader to understand.

Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level

The Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level is a commonly used readability formula that also assesses the grade level of a piece of writing. It was developed for use by the United States Navy, which worked with Flesch Reading Ease to find a more accessible version for the Navy’s technical manuals.

Today, the Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level is used for multiple applications. A Flesch-Kincaid readability score level 6 means that a text is at a grade 6 reading level. To understand it, someone needs to have achieved this reading level.

Texts geared toward the general public should be written at a readability score of about 8. A typical 13-year-old would readily understand this level.

SEO and Readability Score

Readability score matters when writing online content. If it is too difficult to read, visitors click away. It’s crucial to present interesting content that hits the right readability score level to keep site visitors interested in exploring your website further.

Posting content at about a grade 8 level also increases the likelihood that readers will want to share your content. You have a better chance of having an article or a blog post going viral online and attracting much attention from internet users.

Better Writing Starts with Seven Oaks Consulting

Seven Oaks Consulting offers search engine optimized writing services that include readability assessment. We work with business to business companies and offer SEO services, writing of all sales, marketing and online content, and content marketing strategy, planning, and services. Contact us or call 434-574-6253 for a free consultation.

by Jeanne Grunert

Why Content Marketing Works and Is Crucial for Marketing Success

Content marketing is much more than a digital marketing buzzword. It’s an age-long marketing approach that existed before the Internet and is a modern-day game changer. It has gained widespread acceptance and usage and is fast becoming an industry standard.

Customers are shying away from advertising and other traditional outbound marketing approaches and expecting more from companies. Many innovative businesses have shifted to content marketing to meet these expectations, develop a deeper relationship with customers, and boost sales and revenue organically.

In 1996, Bill Gates wrote a famous essay titled ‘Content is King’ and described the future of the Internet and marketing to be powered by content.

Before I elaborate on why content marketing is the king of marketing and why it works, let me briefly define what it means for B2B companies.

What is Content Marketing?

Content Marketing Institute defines Content marketing as a strategic marketing approach focused on creating and distributing valuable, relevant, and consistent content to attract and retain a clearly defined audience — and, ultimately, drive profitable customer actions.

Unlike outbound marketing, which involves pitching products or services, content marketing provides relevant and helpful content to prospects and customers, helping them solve their challenges. This allows the company to earn trust, build relationships and authority, and organically drive conversions.

Why Content Marketing Is the King of Marketing

Content marketing is often referred to as king because marketing is only possible with great content. It empowers other marketing channels – email marketing, social media marketing, SEO, etc. – and should be deeply woven into every company’s marketing process.

Strategically creating, distributing, managing, and marketing high-quality and relevant content via organic and paid marketing channels increases the chances of generating results.

If you generate results without consciously adopting content marketing, imagine the results when you intentionally power your marketing with strategic content marketing.

9 Reasons Why Content Marketing Works

Content marketing works for many reasons. It’s at the heart of all marketing channels and is the hub that supports and connects every other aspect of marketing.

Consumer values and behavior have changed. Consumers are more intentional about interacting with companies and expect much more than the product they’re buying. Pull marketing now thrives over push marketing.

Here are the top reasons why content marketing works for every industry.

1. Content Marketing Drives Qualified Organic Traffic

This is a crucial reason why content marketing remains on many successful companies' lists. Companies that adopt content marketing, optimize their content, rank high on search engines, and drive highly qualified prospects actively searching for solutions.

According to Demand Metrics, content marketing generates over three times as many leads as outbound marketing and costs 63% less.

Here’s a practical example.

Someone searching Google for ‘the best software to execute a problem’ is ready to take action and is highly likely to do so after reading informative content.

Imagine such a piece of content generating at least 20 marketing-qualified leads a month for over seven years. That’s good business without extra investment.

2. Prospects Need Your Content

Several studies have shown that internet users spend a lot of their time online consuming content – 6 hours and 58 minutes per day, to be precise. These are prospects and customers consuming content related to their challenges and solutions.

According to the GE Shopper Research Study, 81% of consumers go online to find information and answer any questions about a product or service before heading out to the store to make a purchase. Google data supported this and highlighted that 53% of shoppers constantly research before buying to ensure they make the best choice.

B2B is similar. According to the 2022 Demand Gen report, 62% of B2B buyers read at least 3-7 pieces of content before they talk to a salesperson. If a piece of content from your company helps them solve their challenge, they’re likely to convert.

They can be searching for how to use a product or solution your company provides. Developing helpful content around these challenges or solutions is a great way to gain trust, confidence, and conversion.

3. Content Marketing Builds Trust

96% of consumers don’t’ trust adverts and are skeptical of taking action.

Intentional consumerism has gained wide adoption; customers now care much more about a company’s values and crave a deeper connection with the companies they patronize. An average of 20% of customers from 11 countries in a 2022 Statista report said they pay more for brands that reflect their values and can be trusted.

Companies that leverage content marketing to build trust and genuine relationships with prospects enjoy more sales. 7 in 10 customers buy from a company they trust and believe this trust is built through helpful content and effective content marketing.

4. Drives Customers Loyalty, High Retention, and Lifetime Value

The nurturing nature of content marketing makes it ideal for customer-centric, future-minded companies.

Customers are much more likely to stick to a company if they have a good experience with that company. Effective content marketing helps companies deliver exceptional CX and build emotional connections with prospects.

A well-nurtured prospect who stays with a company from the top to the bottom of the funnel trusts the company more and becomes a loyalist and advocate. If the content marketing and experience delivery level is maintained, the company will have a high average order value, retention rate, lifetime value, and referrals.

This, of course, significantly boosts the company’s profit margin.

5. Content Marketing Is Based on In-depth Understanding of Customers

To successfully market to a prospect, one must know the target audience inside and out.

According to Semrush Director of Organic Search Kyle Byers, “Understanding what your audience needs and values will be your key to content marketing success in 2023.”

The first step of content marketing is taking the time to research customers and develop customer profiles and buyer personas according to your company’s market segmentation.

A study showed that many B2B marketers conduct audience research for their content marketing. This is crucial to why content marketing works because this research gives insights into many factors that must be considered for conversion optimization.

Factors like demographics, occupation, income level, research avenues, pain points, blockers, and more are considered during content marketing strategy development.

This high-level understanding of the customer and their behavior helps companies adopt the right strategy, develop and distribute the right content, and generate high results.

6. Builds Relationships

Customer-centric companies build healthy customer relationships with quality content marketing.

Email marketing, social media marketing, community engagement, live interviews, podcasts, industry webinars, etc., show customers you care about them.

Companies that engage customers get feedback and leverage the input to improve personalized marketing and CX delivery, key differentiators in competitive industries.

7. Content Marketing Makes It Easy to Stand Out

In today’s fast-paced, highly competitive business ecosystem, serious-minded companies leverage content marketing to achieve marketing success through differentiation.

Companies adopt branding and content marketing approaches like storytelling to highlight their values and attract customers who believe in the same values.

This helps a company stand out and drive conversions from like-minded customers.

8. Your Customers Are Your Marketing Team

With strategic content marketing, customers take over marketing while you focus on product management.

For instance, a company conducts and publishes customer interviews on its website as testimonials, customer reviews, or expert insights. The featured customers will be proud to identify with the company and share such content with their followers.

Statistics from Bright Local’s Local Consumer Review Survey 2023 showed that 98% of customers read online reviews for local businesses. Northwestern MEDILL Spiegel Research Center’s data supported this by pointing out that the purchase likelihood for a product with five reviews is 270% higher. Also, customers are likely to trust an organization more and take the required action when they see a testimonial or online review.

This goes a long way to increase sales, company revenue generation, and the bottom line.

9. Consistent Content Marketing Generates a Compounding Effect

Content on the Internet doesn’t expire. This means that a piece of well-written, evergreen content can continue to generate traffic, leads, and revenue for a company as long as the content stays published.

Much better, the more the content ages, the more backlinks it attracts, which is the more it ranks and drives more traffic. The more traffic it gets, the more the readers will continue to refer back to it and share it with their friends, family, and followers, who will also share with theirs.

The chain continues, and the content becomes a passive income avenue for the company.

There are many instances where a piece of content has generated so much leads and revenue over a specified time.

Statistical Evidence of Why Content Marketing Works and Why You Should Invest in It Today

Being one of the first in your industry to adopt content marketing for lead generation and conversion can benefit your company in many ways.

If you or your C-suite and high-level managers are yet to realize its effectiveness, here is a comprehensive list of statistics showing the importance and effectiveness of content marketing.

Approximately 83% of purchase decisions occur before a buyer reaches out to an organization, and between 70% and 80% of purchase interactions now happen in the digital sphere. Many decision-makers are embracing this change – 2021 B2B Thought Leadership Impact Study by Edelman and LinkedIn, supported by data from Gartner and McKinsey.
According to Semrush Global State of Marketing Report, out of 1700+ marketers and business owners surveyed, 97% said they had some degree of content marketing success.
The 2022 B2B Content Marketing report by CMI showed that 73% of marketers have a content marketing strategy.
56% of marketers who leverage blogging say it's effective, and 10% say it generates the most significant ROI.
82% of marketers actively use content marketing, and 60% of the surveyed marketers measure the success of their content marketing strategy through sales.
Marketers today create content for multiple audience segments – marketing to three audience segments being the most common – Hubspot 2020 State of Marketing.
Nearly 40% of marketers say content marketing is essential to their marketing strategy.
69% of marketers invested in SEO in 2021, according to Hubspot State of Marketing Report for 2021.
On average, companies with blogs generate 67% more leads than others. They also earn 97% more inbound links, 55% more site visitors, and 434% more indexed Google pages. – Hubspot.
According to the 2022 PageFair Adblock Report, 290M monthly active users globally have their adblock on, and 94% of global publishers say they cannot precisely quantify the revenue loss incurred due to adblocking.
70% of people would instead read an article about a company than see an ad.
54% of decision-makers say they spend over one hour reading and reviewing thought-leadership content weekly.
65% of consumers immediately feel a brand is positive and trustworthy after reading a piece of that brand's educational content.
When deciding between 4 brands, 6% of consumers who read a piece of educational content by a brand chose that brand when prompted to purchase.
Immediately after reading a piece of content by the brand, consumers were 131% more likely to buy from that brand than consumers who did not read any content.
According to Hubspot State of Marketing, 2020, 60% of marketers said their CAC has increased in the past three years.

Boost Business Outcomes and Future-Proof Your Company with Content Marketing

If you’re a B2B marketing stakeholder, now is the right time to dive into content marketing. It’s the present and future of marketing, and those who invest today will remain top in revenue generated, profit margin, and overall market share.

Content marketing is cost-effective, sustainable, returns high ROI, builds loyalty, and is precisely how customers expect marketing.

If you need help figuring out where to start or adopting content marketing but not getting the desired results, we'd be happy to walk you through some of our tried and trusted marketing strategies for B2B companies.

Don’t limit yourself to just publishing blogs and posting on social media when you can develop a robust content marketing mix that includes everything you need to achieve marketing success.

Seven Oaks Consulting has extensive experience executing content marketing for B2B companies. We can be your content marketing partner to help you optimize your marketing and generate the positive business outcomes you deserve.

by Jeanne Grunert

What Are Keywords?

What are keywords?

Keywords are specific terms your target audience searches for online. When they search for a particular word or phrase, ideally, you want your website to be the first link that appears in the search results. (Alternatively, you want your website to appear on the first page of search results.) Choosing the right ones for your web pages and blog posts is how you get ranked in search engine results.

Composition of a Keyword

A keyword can be one word. It can also be several words. When two or more words are used to make a keyword phrase, it is known as a "long-tail keyword."

Example

For example, if your company sells sewing machines, you'll want to create engaging, helpful content based on your customers' interests. Your keywords could include "quality sewing machines," "best sewing machine," and affordable sewing machine."

Benefits for SEO

Why should you be concerned about choosing the right keywords for your website content? Here are some benefits of using them correctly:

Find ideas for content marketing
Tells you what they are interested in learning more about
Increases organic traffic to your website
Helps you understand your target market
Bring the right customers to your website

High-traffic numbers don't mean a thing if they don't convert into sales through your site. When you use words targeted toward your customers, you attract site visitors who are already motivated to buy from you.
Focused keywords help you build expertise in your site visitors' eyes.

When internet users click on their search results and find the information they need on your website, it establishes your reputation as an expert in your niche.

by Jeanne Grunert

Content Marketing vs Brand Marketing - Similarities, Differences

Content Marketing vs. Brand Marketing – Pros, Cons, Differences, Similarities

Content marketing and brand marketing are two different yet complementary marketing strategies. While both are vital parts of a holistic marketing strategy, they serve distinct purposes to meet specific marketing goals.

Understanding these strategies, how they compare, and their differences and similarities is essential for companies looking to gain long-term visibility, build profitable relationships, and drive business results.

What Is Content Marketing?

Content marketing involves developing and distributing valuable and relevant content to attract, educate, engage, and convert a target audience. It’s a valuable tool for companies seeking organic sales while building trust and credibility.

With customers constantly seeking solutions, only companies that position themselves as industry authorities by answering customer questions via quality content will earn trust. That makes content marketing the go-to strategy for companies looking to build credibility without sounding desperate or salesy.

What Is Brand Marketing?

Brand marketing refers to the process by which companies define themselves and create memorable experiences in the eyes of their customers. Companies use this strategic marketing approach to create a strong positive brand perception and ensure instant recognition among customers.

For instance, people can easily differentiate Amazon from eBay, even though they’re both online marketplaces. This is because Amazon has established itself as a brand that sells products while also allowing third-party sellers to list and sell products. On the other hand, eBay positions itself as an online marketplace, with both auctions and set-price sales, that facilitates retail transactions by connecting buyers and sellers.

Brand marketing benefits companies in different ways - building a strong brand identity and reputation, turning prospects into loyal customers and brand advocates, sustaining long-term growth, and many more.

Content Marketing vs. Brand Marketing – Detailed Comparison

Here’s a detailed comparison of content marketing and brand marketing.

Core Purpose

Content marketing: The core purpose of content marketing is to build trust and credibility and drive organic sales through content that informs, educates, and engages the target audience. Each piece of content published aims to address a need, interest, or question the audience may have.

Brand marketing: On the other hand, the core purpose of brand marketing is to build and maintain a brand’s identity and image. It connects with the target audience, pointing them towards the brand and all it stands for, ultimately winning their loyalty.

Content Type

Content marketing: Content marketing incorporates blog posts, images, infographics, white papers, videos, podcasts, etc. All content pieces are created to inform, educate, inspire, or engage an audience.

Brand marketing: Brand marketing incorporates slogans, visual elements, advertisements, and storytelling. The focus is to highlight a brand's unique qualities and values, thus establishing its identity and building loyalty.

Timing Strategy

Content marketing: Content marketing incorporates both short and long-term strategies. For instance, video content and blogs can be created to drive conversions in the long term. Similarly, a company publishing a press release, news article, or any other content to pass urgent information is adopting a short-term content marketing strategy for that particular goal.

Long-term content marketing strategies often involve educational content focusing on evergreen topics or questions customers may have at various stages of their buyer journey.

Brand marketing: Brand marketing focuses only on long-term strategies, as it consistently reinforces the brand’s identity. All brand marketing efforts are geared towards one goal – the brand identity; there’s no short-term fix.

Goal Measurement

Content marketing: Content marketing goals are measured using metrics like engagement rate, click-through rate, website traffic, lead generation, or conversion rates. Because companies use content marketing to promote specific products and services, they expect increased leads and sales.

Brand marketing: Brand marketing goals are measured by brand perception, which can be accessed through surveys, interviews, focus groups, or polls.

Examples

Content marketing

A manufacturing company publishing educational blog posts and videos about its products’ features and uses.
A real estate company publishing articles on how to spot valuable real estate.
A skincare company posting tutorial videos on the perfect skin maintenance routine.

Brand marketing

A mobile phone company running TV ads that show the organization’s commitment to innovation.
A beverage company using an emotionally connecting slogan and logo in its ads.
A chef showcasing their culinary processes, emphasizing neatness and attention to making healthy food.

Content Marketing vs. Brand Marketing – Pros and Cons

Pros of Content Marketing

Increases audience engagement.
Boosts website traffic and conversion.
Cost-effective marketing approach.
Enhances target content delivery.
Enhances credibility and helps companies showcase expertise.
Provides data-driven insights on customer behavior and preferences.
Enables websites to rank high on search engine result pages (SERPs).

Cons of Content Marketing

Requires long time commitment to see results.
Fierce competition due to lesser financial investment.
Content creation requires a certain level of skill set.
Content creation is time and capital intensive.

Pros of Brand Marketing

Ensures consistency in marketing efforts.
Gives a brand a positive public perception.
Enhances brand recognition.
Creates a deep emotional connection with the target audience.
Fosters customer loyalty gained from a well-established brand identity.

Cons of Brand Marketing

Cost-intensive.
Difficult to measure results.

Content Marketing vs. Brand Marketing – Differences and Similarities

Differences between content marketing and brand marketing.

Content Marketing	Brand Marketing
Focuses on promoting brand products and services.	Focuses on building and promoting brand identity.
Publishes targeted content focused on a specified buyer persona.	Publishes generalized content focused on a wider audience.
Incorporates traditional and digital media.	Works best with digital media.
Targets a select group of people.	Targets a wider audience without considering demographics.
Content types include blog posts, infographics, images, videos, and podcasts.	Content types include brand slogans, logos, visual elements, and advertisements (billboards, TV, and radio ads).
Works best with a long-term plan.	Incorporates both short and long-term plans.
Measured with engagement rates, click-through rates, lead generation, lead conversion, etc.	Measured with surveys, interviews, and focus groups.

Similarities Between Content Marketing and Brand Marketing

Brand Promotion: The end goal of content and brand marketing is to promote a brand and its products. While content marketing does this by educating and informing an audience about the brand’s products and services, brand marketing does it by promoting the brand directly.

Audience Focused: Both content and brand marketing are focused on delivering value to an audience. While content marketing does this by focusing on an audience with specific demographics and interests, brand marketing focuses on a wider audience, hoping those with whom their brand resonates will show interest.

Long-term Strategies: Both marketing approaches have a long-term end goal - aiming to build long-lasting relationships with customers and increase brand awareness.

Emotional Appeal: Both content marketing and brand marketing are structured to create an emotional connection with the audience. Brand marketing does this through the visual elements, core values, and brand story, while content marketing does this through storytelling and engaging content.

Storytelling: Content and brand marketing leverage storytelling at some point to drive home information, create emotional connections, and sustain relationships.

Trust and Credibility: Both content and brand marketing aim to position a brand as an authority in the industry, helping it earn customer trust.

Content Marketing vs. Brand Marketing – Which One Should You Adopt?

Content marketing and brand marketing are complementary strategies. All companies should have a brand strategy as part of their marketing plan, but how they deploy it through content marketing varies considerably. While they’re distinct marketing approaches, both work together toward achieving the same goal – brand recognition and revenue generation.

At Seven Oaks Consulting, we recommend companies adopt a marketing mix that involves both and focuses on a unique promotional approach to your audience, products and services. The best result is achieved when traditional marketing, content and brand marketing are integrated. It’s crucial to put structures in place to help maintain a healthy mix of both strategies, as negligence on one might impact business results negatively.

Our team of content marketing experts can help you cut through the confusion and complexity and build a solid brand that resonates with your target audience and generates business results.

by Jeanne Grunert

a desk with flowers and a turquoise notebook

What Is B2C Marketing?

Business-to-consumer marketing, or B2C marketing, is a term used in the business world to describe the tactics and strategies a company uses to promote products and services to individual people. Think healthcare, health and beauty products and tourism. Both brick-and-mortar and online retailers can have B2C target audiences.

Similarities and Differences Between B2B and B2C Marketing

While there are similarities to B2B marketing, B2C marketing is its own discipline. That’s because consumers have different needs and expectations than people who make purchases for their employers. For instance, consumers often want to act quickly on a purchase and they tend to not research to the extent that someone would when representing a company’s interests. This means B2C marketers don’t have as much opportunity to influence consumer behavior. Depending on the product, the sales cycle may be shorter, with fewer touchpoints and it can be more challenging to get the timing right.

B2C Campaigns Evoke Emotion to Sell Products

With this reality in mind, successful B2C campaigns typically evoke emotional responses, while the B2B model speaks to logic and reasoning. Grasping these differences and implementing changes to your B2C marketing strategy can help you lead with the right message at the right time.

Simple B2C Marketing Funnel

That said, B2C marketing success begins with a simple marketing funnel that helps you connect with consumers strategically. For instance, you might:

Introduce the prospect to your company
Encourage them to engage and interact with you
Guide the potential customer towards a purchase that fits their needs

For more information on marketing funnels, see:

by Jeanne Grunert

Creating Video Marketing Content on a Budget

Creating Video Marketing Content on a Budget: A Beginner's Guide

Creating video marketing content on a budget is easier now than ever before! In this guide for beginners, we'll walk you through how to create impactful video content with simple tools and equipment

A Guide to Create Video Content on a Budget

In recent years, video marketing has become a powerful means for businesses to engage with their community and drive traffic. However, only some companies have an in-house marketing department or generous budget to execute expensive video marketing campaigns.

The good news is that you can produce results without spending a fortune or knowing how to use a fancy camera, studio lighting, or sophisticated software. You might be overlooking assets right in front of your nose. You can produce high-quality videos from your phone or computer. Here's a guide to creating video marketing that connects and converts by leveraging the basics.

Pick Your Platform(s) for Cost-Effective Video Content Marketing

Before getting too invested in a creative concept, forcreating video marketing content on a budget, knowing where to devote time, energy, and resources is essential. With that in mind, here are the platforms where video can pay off the most:

TikTok: TikTok has been fertile ground for Gen Z and Millennials to create and share short-form video content. Creativity is front and center here. With this in mind, businesses can showcase their products or services in unconventional ways that humanize their brands.

YouTube: YouTube, with its longstanding history, is a popular platform for video marketing with a robust creator community. Many brands have found success here with how-to's, product demonstrations, behind-the-scenes footage, and general branded content that invites customers and prospects into the conversation.

Facebook: Facebook has made video marketing accessible with its high engagement rates. You can use it in the same way as YouTube, but keep in mind platform users tend to respond better to shorter content here.

Instagram: Instagram’s user base and interface with features like Stories, IGTV, and Reels make it ideal for brands to push out product promotions and storytelling with little or no financial investment.

Easy Video Creation

Savvy marketers know how to use tools to their advantage to help their cause. For instance, you can research software and hardware designed for this purpose and use case. A few ideas include:

Built-in Software: Apple products come installed with iMovie. This is a user-friendly option that puts video editing within reach. Similarly, Windows Movie Maker also level the field. You can find tutorials online to get a command of the basics.

Third-party Tools: Products like Lumen5, Animoto, or Adobe Premiere Rush are a step above the standard, helping you produce content of a higher caliber.

Smartphones: The advent of the smartphone has been a great equalizer in the video marketing landscape. You no longer need expensive equipment or a studio to get the job done. You have a total solution in a camera and apps that allow you to capture and refine content on the go.

Ideas for Creating Videos

Creating video marketing content on a budget requires some study. There’s an art and science to getting results. However, you don’t have to reinvent the wheel. Here are a few concepts to consider when formulating a video marketing plan:

Product Unboxing: This approach is an opportunity to break down your product's features, benefits, and functionalities in ways people might not encounter in their regular interactions with your brand. For inspiration, study Apple’s approach to product packaging and marketing.

How-to Tutorials: As the name suggests, instructional videos can educate your user base on how to use your product or solve challenges they might face on the job. These can establish your expertise, bolster credibility, and create top-of-mind awareness.

While B-to-B marketing requires a different, less familiar approach than B-to-C, you don't have to be stuffy or corporate. Jasper Engineering & Equipment Company has found a way to present its products as a solution while communicating in a way that doesn't use a lot of jargon. A good example of B2C video content marketing is Gerbils on a Train.

A 'Day in the Life': Do you have employees who go above and beyond to meet customer needs? Give them a shoutout and allow them to share what they enjoy about their jobs or present details about their personal lives. This humanizes your brand and engenders trust. People do business with people, not companies, after all.

Customer Testimonials: Ask loyal customers for video testimonials. These first-person accounts don't have to be polished or scripted. Sometimes, the best product reviews are casual. Just be sure to get their permission before sharing anything in any context.

Educational Content: Share industry news, events, or anything your customer base might find helpful or interesting. This positions your brand as a thought leader rather than just sales-driven. Thermon Manufacturing offers an example of how to leverage YouTube to educate technical and non-technical audiences alike.

Live Q&A Sessions: Go live on platforms like Facebook or Instagram to answer customer questions in real time and create a sense of urgency. When done right, these videos can build a sense of community.

User-Generated Content: Encourage customers to create videos of them using your products on the job or whatever the context. You can repost these to diversify your video marketing mix.

Video Success Starts with Consistent Content Creation

Ultimately, the most important factor in successful video marketing is consistency. Regularly create and share videos to stay connected with your audience and position your brand as the industry leader. You don't need a whole team of marketers behind you. All it takes is a vision, the right mix of tools, and a growth mindset.

After you've made the foray into video marketing, how can you take your efforts to the next level? At Seven Oaks Consulting, we help brands level up and continue their upward trajectory. You don't have to go it alone or feel like you're spinning your wheels when you have a partner in your corner.

Seven Oaks Consulting Offers Video Scripting and Consulting

Need help in this area? We’re an expert content marketing agency offering content marketing solutions to B2B companies. We can serve as your content marketing team, pushing out your video marketing content while you focus on your business, or we can be your go-to company for outsourced content. Either way, we align our goals with yours to achieve marketing success. Reach out to learn how we can help.

by Jeanne Grunert

Is Social Media Content Marketing?

Is social media content marketing? Are they one and the same?

Content marketing and social media marketing are not the same pursuits. They can and do play off of each other, however. It doesn’t have to be complicated. Here’s a look at the key differences and share how they can enhance each other.

What Is Content Marketing?

Blogs, images, infographics, videos, e-books, white papers and more are used to attract, engage and retain consumers and ultimately convert them into buyers. Sometimes, one solid piece of content can be the lynchpin of an entire marketing campaign. That’s where social media can add fuel to the fire, so to speak.

What Is Social Media?

Social media is a tool or suite of tools that enables brands to share content and connect with others. Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, TikTok and LinkedIn are a few of the most popular. However, being active on social media isn’t enough for longevity or relevancy. Brands should aim to have a social media marketing strategy through which they filter posts.

Social media often works as a content amplification channel, that is, to help content reach a wider audience.

How Do They Work Together?

While content marketing and social media are unique activities, they work together. For instance, brands can get more shelf life out of a long-form piece — like a whitepaper — by breaking it up into more bite-sized posts, infographics and even videos — and sharing them on the brand’s social media accounts periodically.

Social media can also be used for content amplification, to share good content to a wider audience and gain search engine traffic, readers, and site visits.

What Does This Mean for Brands?

Social media marketing supports content marketing because digital assets can lead to conversions when strategically promoted. This plays a significant role in helping a brand capture and hold the attention of its target audience. Savvy marketers know they need both to achieve their goals. Understanding the parallels and synergies between content marketing and social media marketing can help you gain an advantage over other brands that don’t put in the time and effort.

by Jeanne Grunert

Content Marketing vs Traditional Marketing

Content Marketing vs. Traditional Marketing: Navigating the Modern Marketing Landscape

Content marketing vs. traditional marketing is the most recent debate in the evolving marketing landscape. Some argue that content marketing is merely a tactical channel rather than a strategy. In contrast, traditional marketing, with its emphasis on the four Ps of marketing (product, price, place, and promotion) as the fulcrum of lead generation and sales, is the only valuable marketing approach. The truth is that either approach can be effective if chosen wisely. Here, we dive into content marketing vs. traditional marketing, and why a modern marketing plan may include both rather than focus solely on one.

Content Marketing vs. Traditional Marketing: Understanding Traditional Marketing

Technically, the definition of traditional marketing is marketing offline – that is, non-digital media. Think direct mail, print advertising, television, or radio commercials. It’s the kind of marketing that’s been around for decades since the first business published a newspaper ‘advertisement’ touting hair tonic, ladies’ dresses, or the latest shows or entertainment. Even as far back as ancient Rome, people used advertising – for example, bread preserved in the volcanic ash in Pompeii displays a maker’s mark on the top. It was a form of advertising used by bread makers to distinguish their product from another’s bread, similar to how we might use a wrapper or label on products today.

The Evolution of Web Marketing

Because I am as old as dirt (well, not that old), I remember the early days of internet marketing. Just as the first automobiles were called ‘horseless carriages’ because the carriage was all people understood as a conveyance, marketers transformed print ads into digital formats. Behold: the banner ad.

The banner ad appeared in the early days of the internet, like a print advertisement in a magazine. Static, except for this incredible thing we called click-through. You could click it and be taken directly to the product page. Wow!

You are probably laughing at this mental picture, but I assure you, back in the late 1990s, it was the 'right' way to advertise. Of course, we still have some static ads – my blog, Home Garden Joy, displays two in the sidebar for affiliate programs we belong to. I do this for a simple reason: I am very choosy about my advertisers, and so are my readers. I was unhappy with the quality and quantity of ads displayed by Google's algorithm technology, so I switched to tightly controlled advertising. It works for me, and my readers seem to appreciate it.

Evolution of Digital Marketing

That brings me to my next point. The evolution of traditional marketing into digital marketing is more complex than one might assume. The two areas overlap. Like content marketing vs. traditional marketing, digital vs. traditional marketing is a false dichotomy. There's no need to choose between them. Instead, finding the right blend of online and offline advertising and incorporating successful content marketing strategies and tactics into the overall marketing plan may be the best way for your company to obtain leads and sales.

The Right Marketing Approach Depends on Target Audience

Choosing the right marketing approach, whether it’s traditional marketing, digital marketing, content marketing, or a combination of all three, depends on one thing: your audience.

Advertise Where Your Audience Is

You must fish where the fish are biting. This means you must market to your target customers in ways that appeal to them and in places where they are spending time. Depending on your target audience, this may mean:

Print advertisements in magazines or newspapers
Radio commercials on traditional local radio, national radio, or digital broadcasts
Google advertising or other search advertising
Social media advertising
Direct mail
Outbound calling (“cold calling”)
Events and conferences (attending, presenting, a trade show booth or sponsorship)
Sponsoring the local sports team
Billboard ads
Become part of a trade organization (chamber of commerce, etc.)
Affiliate marketing
Content marketing, including case studies, white papers, videos, and more
Coupons, sales, and rebate programs

I’m sure I have forgotten traditional, digital, or content marketing methods, but the point is that the list above is not a ‘one size fits all’ list.

The Best Marketing Plan Is Created Just for Your Business

The best marketing plan is one that suits your business. It is a plan created by researching the product, its place in the market, and its competitors. It is a plan that draws from market research into what your customers – not your competitors, not anyone else's, but YOUR customers – want and need from the product or service. A good marketing plan charts a roadmap to position your company among a sea of competitors so that it stands out and helps develop recognition, awareness, leads, and sales.

Content Marketing vs Traditional Marketing: Let Common Sense Be Your Guide

So, regarding content marketing vs. traditional marketing, here are the similarities and differences.

Content Marketing:

Focuses on awareness, education, and sharing information to empower customers
Does not overtly ‘sell’ with a call to action
Provides useful, desirable information
Meets the consumer need at the point of interest

In sum:

Educates customers on how to use products or services
Provides increasingly detailed information to bring customers to the point of sale
Highly targeted to specific customer groups called "personas."

Traditional Marketing

Focuses on generating awareness and a desire to own a product
Does “sell” or calls to action: buy, call, click, etc.
Motivates through emotional appeal
Promotes to a mass market or large targeted market to generate interest

In sum:

Generates interest to generate leads and sales
Appeals to emotions (keep up with the Jones, look better, feel better)
Often mass market or to a large audience, but can also be targeted

Content Marketing vs Traditional Marketing: We’re All About Content Marketing

At Seven Oaks Consulting, we have over 20 years of experience in all aspects of marketing: content marketing, traditional marketing, and digital marketing. We specialize in business-to-business content marketing and can provide this service to your company. If you feel content marketing is a helpful adjunct to your marketing program, call us, and let's discuss your ideas. We're honest. If we think we can help you, we'll tell you. And, if we believe content marketing isn't helpful, we'll let you know that, too.

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by Jeanne Grunert