The Value of Content Marketing for Tech Companies
11 Ways Content Marketing Drives Value for Technology Companies
Content marketing for technology companies continually achieves success, especially for B2B companies in highly competitive industries. The more tech companies launch and offer diverse products and services, the more the market gets noisier. Only companies that effectively communicate their value proposition will eventually meet their marketing goals, boost market share, increase revenue, and gain a competitive edge.
Although companies employ various strategies to communicate their value proposition and increase market share, content marketing has been recognized as one of the most effective strategies.
A Content Marketing Institute report showed that 73% of B2B and 75% of B2C companies use content marketing to show their expertise and authoritativeness, build customer trust, drive business results, and improve profit margins.
Before I explore how content marketing brings immeasurable value to B2B tech companies, the essence of a practical content marketing strategy, and the best way to win with content marketing, let me briefly discuss…
Why Content Marketing Is Key to Success for Tech Companies
Content marketing integrates with and powers all other marketing channels, which is part of why 22% of B2B marketers spend 50% or more of their total marketing budget on content marketing. It enables companies to educate and inform their target audience on diverse, relevant, and helpful topics ranging from the latest industry trends to best practices, client FAQs and pain points, etc. It helps smart companies to establish themselves as thought leaders and trusted advisors, increasing credibility and trust.
Customers are easily drawn to companies that share valuable content. Strategic content addresses clients' pain points and challenges, attracts and converts quality leads, and drives business results.
Furthermore, content marketing is crucial to achieving brand visibility, awareness, and a positive reputation, which is vital to every tech company's success.
It's non-negotiable if you're in business to make a profit. A Semrush survey of marketing pros showed that 91% of the respondents agreed that they achieved success with content marketing in 2021.
How Content Marketing Brings Value to Tech Companies
Content marketing brings overall long-term value.
1. Increase Brand Awareness
Content marketing is invaluable for building brand awareness and increasing visibility on a budget, as supported by eighty percent of marketers. Tech companies leverage content marketing to create compelling brand stories that induce an emotional connection in customers. Compelling brand storytelling communicates a company's mission, vision, and unique selling proposition, ultimately differentiating the company from competitors.
Furthermore, with billions of social media users available, an effective digital content strategy leverages social media platforms' potential for lead generation. Tech companies with effective content marketing strategies preach their products and services on social media, enabling them to acquire only quality leads.
2. Increase Website Traffic
Tech companies use content marketing to drive website traffic by providing valuable information that addresses critical clients' questions and pain points. According to Hubspot data, consistent content marketing yielded 55% more website traffic for the companies.
Excellent content marketing provides SEO-rich valuable content and promotes content through other content amplification channels. These increase content reach and drive more quality traffic.
3. Generate Quality Leads
Effective content marketing helps tech companies attract quality leads actively seeking solutions. HubSpot surveyed 1400 websites, and among other findings, it was revealed that companies that adopted content marketing gathered 68% more leads from blogging alone than customers without blogs.
Their 2023 state of marketing report, which included original data from over 1200 marketers across the globe, also supported that inbound marketing channels like content marketing drives 54% more leads than traditional marketing channels.
When you publish whitepapers, ebooks, blogs, webinars, and other informative materials packaged to deliver value, clients will trust you enough to drop their contacts, allowing you to follow up and move them down the sales funnel.
4. Establish Thought Leadership
Future-proof tech companies establish themselves as thought leaders by creating informative and insightful content and repeatedly addressing industry questions and concerns. This practice builds credibility and increases reputation and trust, as customers see such companies as reliable sources for credible industry information.
A 2020 study by Edelman and LinkedIn featured expanded insights from 3,275 global business leaders. It showed that nearly 90% of C-level decision-makers believed that thought leadership influences their opinion of a company.
Companies that successfully establish thought leadership easily convert their target audience into brand loyalists and advocates, increasing retention and profitability.
5. Build a Community
Customer-oriented companies understand the importance of a community of vibrant, happy, and loyal followers and leverage all available means to build one.
Content marketing effectively builds a valuable loyal community around a company, its products, and its services. Technology companies that create content that encourages discussion and engagement foster a sense of brand affinity that increase brand loyalty. A community of loyal customers increases brand visibility and reduces advertising and other customer acquisition, support, and retention costs, increasing profitability in the long run.
6. Enhance Customer Engagement
Content marketing improves customer engagement and service delivery.
Creating and effectively distributing valuable, shareable content is an excellent way to engage prospects across customer touchpoints. Smart tech companies use this approach to increase content reach, increase visibility for their products and services and generate more quality leads, conversions, and referrals.
7. Support Sales Efforts
Content marketing supports and enables sales to achieve more. A robust sales enablement strategy streamlines the collaboration between marketing and sales so that marketing qualifies leads before passing them on to sales. This relationship involves using content to attract, engage, and delight prospects before moving them down the sales funnel for conversion. Doing this reduces the load on the sales team, reduces customer acquisition costs, and boosts revenue generation.
8. Showcase Products and Features
As highlighted, content marketing helps companies showcase products, service features, and benefits. While providing information and addressing clients' pain points, tech companies can present their products and services as solutions to the challenges.
Effective content marketing involving practical content like case studies and visual content like webinars is so powerful that companies can make potential clients experience their products and services with detailed descriptions. This information eliminates conversion barriers and facilitates purchasing decisions.
9. Provide Customer Support
As clients seek more and more self-service support, content marketing makes it easy for companies to meet clients' concerns and questions even before the ticket reaches the CX department. Companies that provide detailed information on industry topics and answers to frequently asked questions about their products reduce the workload on customer support teams and improve customer satisfaction.
Savvy tech companies set up knowledge bases and provide product documentation to help customers solve problems and learn more about their products or service without contacting the support team. Even more, these companies use social media and email marketing to provide additional support and keep customers informed of new features or changes to their products or services, improving customer satisfaction and loyalty.
10. Provide Analytics and Insights
Customer insights are critical to the success of B2B tech companies. Content marketing analytics data provides valuable insights into customer behavior and preferences, helping companies improve their products and provide better customer experience.
Forward-thinking companies make data-driven decisions powered by metrics such as website traffic, engagement, bounce rates, lead generation rates, most visited pages, customer journey maps, most searched keywords, etc., that help them discover customers' preferences and refine their content marketing strategy to meet those preferences.
11. Support Recruitment Efforts
Content marketing is also instrumental in recruiting top talents. It helps a company showcase its culture and values and highlight career opportunities. Tech companies that create content around their company culture and work ethics and how it supports the comfort and growth of their employees attract the best talents.
A Content Marketing Approach That Yields Optimal Results
Content marketing is essential. So is having a robust content marketing strategy that yields optimal results at a minimal cost. A good content marketing strategy and execution is the key to staying competitive in a highly competitive tech industry.
According to the Content Marketing Institute, only 5% of B2B marketers don't plan to develop a content marketing strategy. Being a part of this minority automatically puts any tech company at a disadvantage, as 95% of others implementing content marketing strategies will indeed have a competitive edge.
Because adopting content marketing is a must for profit-minded companies, B2Bs are often faced with two options - hiring in-house content marketers and putting them on a monthly salary or outsourcing their content marketing needs to experts experienced in developing, executing, and managing content marketing strategies.
What a company will opt for depends on many factors, including budget, personnel available, experience level, company size, etc. Whatever you choose, your content marketing strategy must track the right value metrics that bring business to the company. That way, you're not chasing shadows with your content marketing.
Work with Experts that Maximize Content Marketing Value for Tech Companies
The value of content marketing for tech companies can't be overemphasized. A well-implemented content marketing strategy can move a tech company from zero recognition to becoming a trusted, reliable go-to brand for quality industry information. It increases lead generation and conversion, boosts revenue, enhances CX delivery, and yields long-term business value.
Seven Oaks Consulting provides content marketing for technology companies that achieve tremendous results with content marketing. We're a content marketing outsourcing company that can assist you so you can focus on other business processes and be assured of winning with content.
We have 15+ years of experience providing content marketing for technology companies. We invite you to reach out to discuss how we can help your company benefit from these values of content marketing for tech companies.
How to Build an Audience Through Free Content
You are undoubtedly familiar with the sales cycle, and it's normal for some customers to take time before deciding to buy. What do you do in the meantime? You do the following:
- Continue to be helpful to your customers by offering exemplary customer service.
- Establish yourself as an expert in your niche.
- Build an audience by providing prospective customers with free content they can use.
Why Would You Provide Free Content?
Why would you want to give anything away? Usually, that strategy flies in the face of what you have been taught to run a successful business.
In this case, we're talking about giving away content that your current and prospective customers can use. They will find it helpful and remember the company that provides valuable, free content when they are ready to make a buying decision.
How to Build an Audience Through Sharing Content Strategically
Your team can provide free content to your audience in many forms. Consider these options to develop a following, win loyalty, and gain a long-term customer base.
1. Offer a free report.
Offer a free report to those who sign up for your mailing list. It should be on a timely topic that prospective customers will find interesting. The three to five page report is something that readers can easily digest.
2. Write blog posts.
Ideally, a blog post should be more conversational than an article. Picture chatting in comfortable chairs with a few friends beside a roaring fire. They've asked you a question about a problem they are having. What tone would you use when responding to them?
Company blog posts should be warm but professional. You want to avoid using jargon or any language that is inflammatory or offensive. The goal is to bring readers in, not drive them away.
Consider that if online users like your posts, they will share them with others. If enough internet users "Like" your posts, there is a chance your free content will go viral.
Always include "Like" and "Share" buttons on your blog posts and invite your readers to use them.
3. Reply to comments on your blog posts.
Don't ignore comments on your blog post. Always respond to them; this is an excellent way to start an online discussion.
Not everyone will agree with your blog content, and even the naysayers can comment on what you post. Always start by thanking them for their thoughtful comment; then respond respectfully.
4. Speak at local business group meetings.
Local business groups are always looking for speakers to appear at their meetings. Contact the small business association in your city (and nearby cities) and the local chamber of commerce to volunteer your services.
Before reaching out, think carefully about the topics you (or one of your executives) could discuss and why they would interest local business owners. Ask how long the business group would like the presentation to be for its members. Bring plenty of business cards to hand out to the business group members. Ask whether you can bring brochures for group members if they wish to have more information about your company.
5. Offer to do radio and television spots on local stations.
Local radio and television stations may seek content that their listeners and viewers will find interesting. Contact producers at local stations and offer to provide some on-air content. You will likely score some points if you have a specific topic ready.
If the listeners or viewers like what they hear or see, you can turn a casual experience into a regular gig. The key is to be approachable.
B2B Content Marketing Doesn't Have to be Boring!
Ask your browser to provide a definition of business-to-business (B2B) content, and you’ll get an admittedly ... dry ... response: “... a form of transaction between businesses, such as one involving a manufacturer and wholesaler, or a wholesaler and a retailer. Business-to-business refers to business that is conducted between companies, rather than between a company and individual consumer. Business-to-business stands in contrast to business-to-consumer and business-to-government transactions.”
B2B Content Has the Potential to Fascinate
But B2B content has the potential to be downright fascinating.
Businesses do so many interesting things and communicating about each other’s products or services can enliven any effort at marketing.
Think about every business you use or work for. There’s more to it than being a simple provider of a thing — a product. A business is people, first and foremost.
There’s an owner, who might have spent years working for other companies to develop the skills needed to establish or overcome challenges to launch and maintain it. That’s good content.
That owner might have invented the product the business makes/sells/distributes. More good content.
The company might support community projects and charitable causes. That’s great content.
There are employees, some of whom might be in their first-ever jobs or been with the business for many years, have special skills, have gotten a first chance to show they can contribute despite a disability or health issue, or won awards. That’s good content.
The things a business produces, sells or distributes can save lives, make life more fun or interesting, educate people, bring people together, and more. More good content.
Businesses rely on each other; they are symbiotic. Every business needs to know, and show, how it fits with other businesses — how all of these aspects of what makes a business interesting can work together to enhance and support each other and the communities where they operate.
Content can focus on how one company supports or works with another through products, community service, materials, training or education, personnel, or professional services.
Before assuming that B2B marketing is “boring,” look for what makes those businesses interesting or important and use B2B marketing to connect them to each other for a stronger economy and community. Every business needs other businesses to survive and thrive.
Every business has a story, and B2B marketing can be a great way to relay those stories, in the business sector and to the wider world.
Is ChatGPT a Threat to Freelance Writers?
By now, you’ve probably heard of ChatGPT. ChatGPT is an eerily prescient artificial intelligence program that writes natural-language responses based on prompts typed in by a human user. Rumblings were heard in the marketing world about ChatGPT as far back as November, but few marketers took it seriously until it burst on the scene through demonstrations in December. By January, it was on the agenda for the world leader’s forum in Davos, Switzerland, and now the conversation around ChatGPT has escalated to a fevered pitch.
Here are our thoughts on ChatGPT and its future in marketing.
Will ChatGPT Replace Human Writers?
Not any time soon.
I admit it; I tested it. I gave it the same prompts as a client gave me to write articles for their newsletter, and while ChatGPT did write serviceable, grammatically correct text, the text itself was lackluster. It lacked personality. In fact, it read like a cobbled-together version of the top search engine results for that particular topic - and that’s because it did indeed pull phrases from top results, revise them a bit, and present it as fresh copy.
ChatGPT Cannot Reflect Brand Tone and Voice
The biggest limitation of ChatGPT today for marketing is its lack of brand tone and voice.
A fellow CMO and I sat down together on a zoom and tested ChatGPT. We tried to have it write sales copy for his company’s flagship software product. ChatGPT produced descriptions of the software, but it could not inject the quirky, specific language used by his target audience. He markets the software to a specific type of engineer, and the AI program did not have the wherewithal to change language, tone, and voice to reflect the language and vocabulary preferences of the target audience.
The other drawback was the complete lack of brand voice in the final document. Brand voice refers to the specific language used in marketing communications that enhances a company’s overall branding. What you’re reading here, on the Seven Oaks Consulting blog, reflects our tone and voice: authentic, expert, and warm. ChatGPT writes grammatically correct copy, but it lacks the nuances of expression of human-written content, and hence cannot encapsulate the brand tone and voice of any business (yet).
What Can Marketers Do with ChatGPT?
We’ve successfully used ChatGPT to write quick definitions of simple terms for glossaries and to write “prompts” for longer articles and blog posts.
For example, I asked it the question, “What is content marketing?” and this is its response:
Content marketing is a strategic marketing approach focused on creating and sharing valuable, relevant, and consistent content to attract and retain a clearly defined audience — and, ultimately, to drive profitable customer action.
The result is grammatically correct – and 97% plagiarized from The Content Marketing Institute.
We can certainly use AI for starting information, but trusting it to write original, unique, and correct copy is foolhardy.
It’s a smart machine. It can produce results from scouring the web, and it can display the results according to its algorithm, programmed with the rules of correct English grammar, but it cannot “think” through what the audience wishes to know, nor can it create engaging, original text like a good copywriter can create.
What Is the Future of ChatGPT for Marketing?
Microsoft hopes to disrupt the search market by rolling out ChatGPT as an alternative to Google Search. A subscription-based model is the most likely revenue source, but will users be willing to pay for ad-free ChatGPT results to avoid the ubiquitous phalanx of ads in Google search?
For marketers, I believe ChatGPT has a place within your content marketing team.
- Use ChatGPT as I did, above, to find the best definition. Run the definition through your favorite plagiarism-detection software (we used Grammarly) to find the source, and then cite the source of hyperlink to it. It’s faster than reading through multiple web pages.
- Create prompts by using a question generator such as “Answer the Public” and then use these in ChatGPT to build out a starter prompt for your content writing team. Such prompts are useful to help writers conceptualize a topic. They can then add their own unique spin or research to the topic to build the appropriate content piece.
Despite the hoopla and jitters among many writers we know, ChatGPT is nowhere near ready to take over our work. There’s still work aplenty for skilled writers, copywriters, and editors. Only we can infuse words with brand voice, tone and style; only we can creatively spin a tale that engages and inspires readers to take action. Machines may, someday, be able to do this, but that day has not yet arrived.
Content Creator Success
Our thoughts on being successful as a freelance writer, content creator, or independent contractor.
Being a full time content creator is hard work. If you imagine that content creators sit around all day in their pajamas binging on Netflix, think again. Whether you’re a freelance writer, an independent contractor, or run your own content platform - content creation is hard work!
Most Businesses Fail Within the First Five Years
It’s a sad fact of life, but statistics show over and over again that most startups fail within the first five years. The main reason cited: lack of capital. But a lack of capital always points to deeper issues: high costs, not enough new business, lack of repeat customers, and so on.
Our business is content creation. And, we’ve been successful at it for over 15 years. This October, Seven Oaks Consulting celebrates this milestone with a series of posts, articles, and more sharing the lessons that we - the entire freelance team - have learned from our combined years of providing freelance services.
In this post, I asked each of our contributors to share their thoughts. Everyone participates differently as a freelancer with Seven Oaks Consulting. Some are marketing analysts (Katie), editors (Kathleen), executive assistants (Atricia), or web designers (Zachary). The majority of our team, however, consists of freelance writers. Whether that’s your interest or other independent contractor or freelance work, we hope that these thoughts inspire and motivate you so that you too can celebrate 15 years of successful freelancing!
Successful Content Creators and Freelancers: Thoughts from the Team
Aditi Chordia (Freelance Writer)
I have been freelancing for over two years and writing for 4+ years. I don’t see myself as successful yet; I have a long way to get there, but what I learned in the last couple of years is that as long as you’re working on your skill, honing and sharpening it, and chasing projects that make you grow as a writer, the more ‘success’ or ‘value’ you can attach to yourself as a freelance writer. To be a successful freelancer also means to be a good entrepreneur. Set up solid systems and processes for onboarding new clients, hiring subcontractors, accounting, project management, client communication, etc. Lastly, don’t be afraid to burn some cash in the beginning. Whether it’s to run ads, get a website done, hire subcontractors, or pay for tools, you will have to risk spending money for long-term gains.
Atricia Doyle-Plummer (Virtual Assistant)
Although I am not a content creator, I’ve been a full-time freelancer for about 1 year and 9 months. I’ve learned that as a freelancer, it’s always good to be open to learning new skills as well as improving on the ones you have to offer to clients. Always ensure that you communicate with your client so they can be up to date on the progress of their project. Always ensure that you understand what the client wants you to do before you agree to take on a project. It’s also good to be organized so you can ensure that you are completing the client's work on time. Do not be afraid to network and surround yourself with like-minded people who are in a similar field or are on the same mission as you. In the same way, Amazon, Aliexpress, eBay, and other large companies promote their business daily, don’t be afraid to promote yours.
Christopher Iwundu (Freelance Writer)
I have been a freelance content creator for about 5 years. I would say that continually improving your craft and building a network are critical to success. Freelancing is not a solo journey. The people in your network will help your journey through motivation, collaborations, information exchange, outsourcing etc. Also, freelancing can be a full-time job and is overwhelming. You’ll end up handling marketing, accounting, client management etc. Set up processes and systems to help better manage your business while keeping you healthy mentally. Furthermore, build a personal brand. It can be having a personal website or building on LinkedIn, Twitter, or any other platform of interest. Discover where your ideal clients are and build there. Finally, always ensure project details are clearly communicated and documented (a brief) before starting on the project and always revisit the brief to ensure you’re on track.
Katie DeVries (Marketing Analyst)
As an independent contractor, I believe it takes self-motivation, discipline, and setting boundaries in order to be successful. I’m also a strong advocate for overcommunication - rather than assume, it’s always best to kindly confirm what task is being requested. You’ll never regret double checking but chances are, if the final product doesn’t land correctly due to miscommunication, you’ll always regret asking a few additional clarifying questions. And lastly, it takes time to build trust between co-workers—regardless of whether it’s remote or in person—and part of building that foundation is being responsive, completing tasks on time, and having the willingness and patience to learn as you go.
Kathleen Marshall (Editor)
I’ve been freelancing since 1996, and in that time I have found that to be a successful freelancer, you need to continually sharpen your skills and have no fear of learn new ones. The marketplace is constantly changing; things you specialize in now may be less relevant in a few years. And being irrelevant as a writer is a death sentence. Flexibility is vital, and isn’t just limited to your skillset. You also need a degree of flexibility with your clients. Don’t be a doormat, but be open to new things and new types of clients. Twenty-five years ago, I never would have dreamed of working with the types of clients I have now, and they continually challenge me to keep growing.
Jodee Redmond (Freelance Writer)
I’ve been freelancing for more than 20 years. I’m not an “arteeste.” My job is to give my clients what they want. I check my ego at the door when I’m at work. That doesn’t mean that I’m a pushover, though.
There are no “big” clients or “small” clients. All of them are created equal. I give each assignment I’m given my best effort. If the topic doesn’t seem interesting at first, I find something interesting about it so the reader will be able to find something interesting in the content, too.
Laura LaFrenier (Freelance Writer)
I have been a freelance long-form content writer and short-form copywriter for over two years now. I do not consider myself to be an expert by any means and I am always looking for ways to improve my craft. Networking is an important step for any freelancer or solopreneur, as it allows you to connect with and learn from others with similar interests and ambitions. Freelancing is never one-size-fits-all, and it is important to do what you feel is best for you. Don’t be afraid to try new things and always make a continuous effort to work on your personal growth.
Lucy Klaus (Freelance Writer)
I am new as a content creator and writer but I enjoying the challenge. I draw on my years of experience to write about topics that mean something to me. The best part is being able to write when I feel inspired. That is the key to success, writing from experience and inspiration.
Sharon Wu (Freelance Writer)
After freelance writing for 8 years, I’ve learned the importance of clear and timely communication between all parties for a successful partnership. A writer is only as good as the client makes her - the client must equip their talent with what they need to produce stellar content so they aren’t in the dark wondering how to meet expectations. I also discovered that it’s much easier to become an expert in something when you niche down. When I first started, I would take on any and every writing job thrown at me. This ranged from blog articles, to website content, to social media copy, to product descriptions. After dabbling in all of these, I found that I excel in and enjoy blog writing. Crafting long-form articles comes more naturally to me. So, I decided to grow my freelance writing business capitalizing on this.
Zachary Keys (Web Designer)
I have been a freelancer for 4 years. One of the biggest lessons that I have learned is to accept and welcome critiques. In order to improve and get the job done right, I’ve had to learn to take a step back from my work and encourage criticism from clients to help fine-tune projects and accomplish goals. Another thing that has helped me is using tools to keep track of communication and projects. Since a majority of the work is remote, it is important to stay in touch with clients and team members and I had to adapt and start using different tools in order to do so. The last lesson that I’ve learned is to network! I’ve been able to grow as a freelancer through referrals and connections and it is important to always priorotize each client to keep up good relations.
What Do You Think It Takes to Be Successful?
What qualities do you think it takes to be a successful content creator, freelance writer, or independent contractor?
Content Marketing KPIs: An Introduction
The first step to ensuring that your marketing efforts are successful is understanding content marketing KPIs (Key Performance Indicators) and how they can help you assess your progress towards business goals. In this series, Seven Oaks Consulting’s writing team will help newcomers to content marketing KPIs better understand:
- What content marketing key performance indicators are, and how can they be used
- Metrics to measure for specific content types
- Specific metrics for blog posts, social media posts and more
- How to assess the significance of your metrics against KPIs
What Are Content Marketing KPIs?
Content marketing KPIs are measurable data that indicate the success of your content marketing strategy. If you have an effective campaign, it will populate positive data, which means you can replicate and scale that strategy.
But what if your content marketing campaign is not working? The negative data will help you understand where it is falling short so that you can fix the problem and improve ROI.
Key Performance Indicators Explained
A Key Performance Indicator (KPI) is a quanitfiable measure that businesses use to gauge the success of your content marketing efforts. KPIs can be specific and narrow, like “increase conversion rates,” or broad and wide, like “generate leads.”
As you’re defining KPIs, keep in mind that some are better than others. While it’s important to have goals, they should be realistic and measurable, so they can tell you whether your content strategy is working.
Measure performance at different scales: micro-level (keywords), macro-level (posting cadence), competitive level (benchmarks for competitors), as well as intermediate levels between these three extremes. This allows for a more granular analysis of how different types of content perform under different circumstances based on your audience size and industry type (B2B vs B2C).
How to Create Good KPIs
To come up with solid KPIs, businesses must determine and decide:
- The goals of your content marketing campaign.
- What success looks like.
- Which metrics to measure.
- A frequency for measurement (i.e., daily, weekly).
- A period for measurement (i.e., monthly, quarterly).
- The source of data and how often you will update it (i.e. social media channels).
The Different Types of Metrics
Metrics are a powerful way to measure the performance of your content marketing. There are two distinct metrics:
- Attribute Metrics measure the power and authority for specific actions. These include click-through rates, bounce rates, conversion rates, and more.
- Outcome Metrics measure how well your content has performed against its goals. They can be used to determine if it was successful or not, which is useful for determining future actions based on that information.
How to Pick Which KPIs to Measure
As you begin to measure the success of your content marketing efforts, it is crucial to choose KPIs that are appropriate for your business and audience.
These tips will help you decide which KPIs are right for your business:
- Be sure the KPI is relevant to your content strategy. For example, if you are focusing on converting visitors into leads and/or customers, then conversion rate as a KPI isn’t right for you because it doesn’t measure this. Instead, consider analyzing page views or click-through rates as KPIs.
- Focus on what matters most to customers—not just what matters most internally at a company (i.e. revenue). If visitors are not finding value in what they are seeing online, they will not convert even if a company sells its products at a discount price point!
Determine KPIs Before Starting a Marketing Campaign
Before you can set up a content marketing campaign, identify your business goals and how they align with those of your target audience. Then, decide which KPIs will help
you gauge whether you have achieved these objectives. Without these metrics in place and organized by category—for example, social media engagement and lead generation—you will not be able to determine what is working in each area of your marketing strategy.
The first step is determining which metrics are important for measuring success (and failure). Determining this requires some structuring and evaluation of the following:
- What is the desired result from running a content marketing campaign?
- How much traffic should we get?
- How many leads should we aim for?
- What kind of customers do we want?
- What content tactics do we need to achieve our marketing goals?
- Which content marketing statistics should we focus on and why?
These answers should come from research before starting a new campaign, so there is no guesswork later when it is time for analysis.
Why Content Marketing KPIs are Necessary
Content Marketing KPIs are necessary for every business because they clearly show whether campaign goals are successful over time. Businesses can track if they are getting their desired results. This measure also lets you know if your target audience is seeing, engaging, and resonating with what you are putting out there. Finally, content marketing KPIs help brands understand if they are using the right channels to reach people.
Content Marketing KPIs are Integral to Business Growth
Many businesses are still hesitant to invest in content marketing. Without any kind of metric on which to base the success or failure of a campaign, it is tough to justify the investment.
But the truth is that content marketing KPIs can be extremely beneficial for businesses of all sizes and industries. They provide an understanding of what consumers want from you and how they perceive your brand. By showing what is and is not working, content marketing KPIs guide future marketing efforts so you are not operating in the dark.
With various content marketing KPIs available, it is essential to choose the ones that are right for your business objectives. Not sure where to start? Seven Oaks Consulting is here to help. Contact us to talk about your goals and how we can assist you with content marketing needs.
The Dangers of Article Spinners and AI Content Generation
There are many dangers of article spinners that the average small business owner may not realize.
Article spinners are artificial intelligence or AI platforms that imitate the techniques of human copywriters. Instead of creating fresh content, article spinners copy work from another source. They change words, sentences, paragraphs and even a whole article with synonyms and similar phrases to make it look like another person’s work is technically a new copy. For instance, a sentence like this, "I was extremely exhausted at the end of the day,” could be interpreted by an article spinner as, “I was very depleted by the day’s end.”
Dangers of article spinners - Bots Can't Write
From the above example, it’s clear that the quality of article spinners doesn’t compare to well-written human copy. These AI-based tools produce work that doesn’t read naturally due to poorly constructed sentences and lots of grammatical errors. But that doesn’t stop content creators from using the multiple rewrites from article spinners to try and build as many backlinks as possible and outrank their competition in SERPs.
Reduced Visitor Conversion Rates
Article spinners look like the perfect shortcut for people who'd rather not put in the work and develop unique content for their websites. But these AI software tools create low-quality articles that are often unreadable. With such poor quality, spun content can increase the bounce rate on a website and reduce conversion rates.
Spinners Are Automated Plagiarism
Using article spinners is like duplicating another person’s material, which is unethical.
Free article spinners heavily plagiarize original content. That’s because these tools pull existing work rather than creating content from scratch. Plagiarism is a serious red flag in copywriting. Once your audience discovers you duplicate content, their trust in you and your brand quickly goes down the drain. And so do promising leads for your business. Worse still, it’ll only be a matter of time before Google catches up with you.
Google penalties for duplicate content include burying your search rankings. Given that most internet searches happen on Google, it’ll be hard, if not impossible, for customers and prospects to find your business online. And with your sudden online disappearance, consumers looking to purchase the goods or services you provide won’t hesitate to go to the competition.
Why Article Spinners Can Never Replace Actual Content Writers
Understandably, there’s been concerns that AI will fully replace human writers at some point. AI can do incredible things, such as mimic copywriting skills and churn out content fast. However, it can’t master the art of emotional storytelling. Article spinners are simply unable to create conversational, funny, engaging, and relatable content. These, among other limitations of artificial spinners, make them less effective than real copywriters and gives humans a huge edge.
Given all the dangers of article spinners mentioned in this article series, what's your take on AI content writing and AI writers?
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Why Article Spinners Will Never Replace Writers
AI-generated content is increasing in popularity, as more companies are now using article spinners to create content faster and in a shorter amount of time. This number is bound to grow, as per Statista, and the global AI software market will reach $126 billion by 2025.
Various software programs in the market can help you create content quickly; some can even rewrite or paraphrase text, such as article spinning tools.
Are Article Spinners Useful For Content Marketing?
An article spinner is a software tool that rewrites or paraphrases the input text while keeping the original meaning intact. This results in a distinct article with the same meaning as the existing text.
While article spinners can be helpful to ramp up content production and meet the continuous demands, they don’t come close to the original, research-backed, and comprehensive pieces that are written by a demonstrated expert.
Here are three reasons why article spinners will never replace creative content writers.
Article Spinning Tools aren't creative
Creativity is inherent to us. It comes from our experiences, memories, and emotions and cannot be replicated and automated by software. Content written by humans has the power to inspire, motivation, and entertain, which is difficult for AI.
At best, the automated software programs can take a chunk of text and convert it into a semi-coherent and legible piece of writing. Still, they cannot duplicate the way writers process the language and come up with ideas or words that strike resonance.
Article spinners Cannot Write A Lengthy, Coherent Piece Of Text
Article spinners can do a decent job producing short-form pieces, but they cannot create cohesive, engaging, and meaningful long-form articles that are often used in content marketing strategies.
A good long-form strategy involves neck-deep research, laying the groundwork, composing sub-sections, and ensuring structural flow in the article. AI struggles to connect the dots and often does not have the required knowledge on various topics to build a solid, valuable piece of writing.
Definition: Article Spinner
An article spinner is software that paraphrases or rewrites the original text often by substituting synonyms for words.
Article Spinning Tools Cannot Add Variety
Sometimes short sentences work better. Sometimes longer sentences establish a better flow and rhythm to keep the readers hooked. The automated rewriting tools cannot vary the sentence length or change the flow to make the article engaging.
Of course, you can program style guides and tone into AI tools, but for that, too, you need a professional writer.
AI Cannot Replace Marketing Writers
While AI has come far and is now integrated into all spheres of our lives, it still has a long way to go in replacing the originality and creativity of experienced writers.
Rather than looking at AI as a replacement, it’s more useful to look at it as a guide or aide that can help marketing writers to research faster, structure sections based on SEO suggestions, and automate repetitive tasks in content marketing as and when required. But the actual job of writing should be left to the experts in the field.
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A Creative Content Writer Is Irreplaceable
Nothing can replace a creative content writer, a marketing writer who hand-crafts unique content.
In a world where we are used to shortcuts, it’s no surprise that article spinners exist. While they can save users time writing fresh content from scratch, they don’t come without drawbacks. Even with innovative technology coming out in efforts to make life easier, creative copywriters are here to stay for the long haul.
How Do Article Spinners Work?
An article spinner repurposes existing content without paraphrasing. For example, you may have an article for your company blog that you want to publish on other mediums to increase traffic to your website. Using an article spinner to recreate a similar piece is an inexpensive way to achieve this. If not done right, though, it can get you into big trouble.
Search engines punish websites with cross-published identical content. The problem is, most businesses don’t want to spend time rewriting articles. They want a shortcut - and an article spinner is just that.
Article Spinners Ruin SEO Efforts
Though made to be time savers, article spinners come with a host of problems. They produce low-quality content that is difficult to understand. The whole point of search engine marketing is to provide quality content with which visitors can engage. Article spinners do the exact opposite. Low-quality spun articles will not hold a viewer’s attention, resulting in increased bounce rates.
The Verdict: You Need a Creative Content Writer
Marketing writers are here to stay, no matter the AI-driven technology. Creative, relevant content is irreplaceable because:
Every Brand Is Unique
Article spinners don’t take personality into consideration when refreshing articles. In contrast, a skilled copywriter produces content that is natural and conversational, rather than robotic and monotone. This is crucial for search engine optimization. A well-written article encourages an audience to interact. In turn, businesses reap the benefit of more organic traffic and sales. Establish authority and get on Google’s good side by sharing made-from-scratch content.
Quality Content Drives Better Leads
Word of mouth has been one of the most effective ways of marketing. When people like what they see, they’ll spread the word to their network. Similarly, top-notch content marketing encourages high-quality clients and sales. If visitors find your article easy to understand and packed with value, they may share it on their social channels. These shares are powerful because they could reach prospective clients.
According to a study by BrightEdge Research, 65% of online experiences start with a search engine. This is impressive, considering HubSpot reported an average of 2 trillion Google searches each year! It has been proven that going the extra mile to make sure your content is unlike any other pays off.
Invest in the Best Content You Can - Because It Pays Off in ROI
In life, you get what you pay for. If it sounds too good to be true, it most likely is. Poorly written content is more detrimental to your brand than having no content at all. Instead of spinning content with software, hire a marketing writer to create authentic content. It goes a long way in sparking discussion and building a community!
At Seven Oaks Consulting, we curate top-notch content that will boost your search engine ranking and drive new traffic to your website. Our team of creative content writers offers unique, search engine optimized B2B content. Contact us to learn more about our copywriting services!
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Digital Content Strategy Hacks
Your digital content strategy doesn’t have to reinvent the wheel. One of the most persistent fallacies in content marketing is the belief that a website always needs a ‘steady stream of new content’ in order to educate, inspire, and motivate customers to take action via a content marketing campaign.
While it is true that frequent website updates appeals to Google’s search engine algorithm, that does not mean continually searching for new ideas and creating brand-new, from scratch content each time you wish to publish. To create a digital content strategy, you need one solid idea that supports your marketing goals and appeals to your target market.
Reuse, Repurpose and Recycle Your Best Ideas
Reuse, repurpose, and recycle applies to content marketing as well as to thrifty living. Here’s how “thrifty content marketing” can transform your approach – and significantly reduce your workload.
One Idea Can Generate Multiple Marketing Pieces for a digital content strategy
Most ideas can generate more than one content marketing piece. In fact, one idea can usually generate at least four or five.
One large topic often has multiple smaller topics hidden within it like gems in a mine waiting to be picked apart from the rock.
Let’s take a recent topic I that came my way through my bank’s weekly email to their business customers: How to Boost Business Credit. The original article published by the bankfocused on the steps a small business could take to improve its credit rating and, by extension, borrow more to fuel business growth. It was a well-written 500–700-word article, but that was it – it was one article.
It could easily have been seven different content marketing projects, each appealing to the same audience but shared through multiple marketing channels.
As a small business banking customer, it’s easy for me to slip into the mindset of their target market. This makes it an idea sample to show you what I mean by one idea fueling multiple content pieces to achieve the client’s objectives.
One Idea – SEVEN Content Marketing Pieces
Using the method my team at Seven Oaks Consulting and I use with our B2B content marketing clients, one idea can be spun into multiple content marketing pieces for a digital content strategy. One idea can be used to generate multiple content pieces along the content marketing continuum, helping to generate awareness, support customer education, and nurture the connection into a lead for business credit.
The Seven Oaks Consulting Content Marketing Process
We consider the persona, or target market, for the client’s services, asking ourselves, “Where do they go for content? Which social media platforms do they visit? How do they prefer to consume information: video, audio, or text?”
Next, we look at the tactics available to the client. Some client have multiple touchpoints established with their target market: a blog, a website, social media channels, emails. We leverage these touchpoints and may suggest additional ones for content amplification.
For the content creation process, the bank has several steps to generate a lead for its credit (loans) services:
- Education
- Awareness
- Motivation
Education comes first because most small business owners desire to learn more about the entire credit process. And, because credit is a complex and often new subject for business owners, the educational phase is crucial to the lead process. The bank wants their potential loan applicants to understand the process well before they apply for the loan. This helps the bank by saving time with customers and helps customers find the right credit source.
Awareness moves people from education (this is what business credit is all about) to “Bank XYZ offers such services.” It is moving people from the understanding of the topic into understand that Bank XYZ offers the service.
Lastly, motivation comes into the picture – motivating customers to take action and apply with Bank XYZ for credit and loans.
From our one idea, I’ve generated seven content types:
- Microblogging/social posts
- Multiple blog posts – small business credit, credit cards for small businesses, how businesses can check their credit rating, how credit ratings for businesses are calculated, what can help or hurt your credit rating etc.
- Infographics showcasing any of the ideas from the blog posts
- Case studies showing how the bank’s consultants helped small businesses improve their credit, fight credit fraud, or obtain credit
- A video of a bank manager explaining how the bank makes their credit decisions, key concepts in small business credit, etc.
- A gated white paper or longer position paper on small business credit: what businesses need to know/do
- Newsletter content based on the blog posts
Of course, the actual content deliverables depend on the desired budget, staff availability, and timeframe. Perhaps the bank wants to create all the pieces with their own marketing team. The list of suggested content pieces must be pared down to encompass the team’s strengths and bandwidth. Also, if the bank managers aren’t comfortable going on camera, the seventh idea needs to be adapted or changed. And of course, if clients don’t wish to be identified in a case study, that can limit the ability to create them.
These 7 content types can now be divided into each phase of the content marketing process:
Education
- Blog Posts
- White Paper
- Infographics
Awareness
- Social Media Posts
- Case Studies
- Videos
Action
- Social Media Posts
- Emails
Come up with one topic per month or quarter, then work it to the best of your ability. It will generate more momentum through repetition of concept and ideas. This momentum typically outweighs whatever organic SEO boost a site gets from adding unique ideas by building content clusters. Linking among similar topics on the site boosts organic SEO better than generating dozens of new ideas in the same amount of time.
With this method, executed by professionals such as my team at Seven Oaks Consulting, you can accomplish the following marketing goals:
- Build and sustain organic SEO traffic
- Build awareness for your company as an expert in a topic
- Educate potential customers
- Nurture customer relationships
- Augment and support paid lead generation campaigns
- Generate leads
Content marketing takes considerable time and effort to do right. Generating fresh ideas is one of the most challenging aspects of the content marketing process. But who says you need to have a fresh idea every day, month, or week? One idea can generate multiple creative concepts that supports marketing goals and sustains the lead generation pipeline for many B2B businesses.