Savvy B2B Marketing

Kate

Not having a plan

If you don't have a plan going in, it is easy to get overwhelmed, confused, burned out and basically let the whole plan go to seed within a very short timeframe.

What sort of content marketing efforts will you focus on? What outlets will you use? How often will you do it? Who will write the content? Who is in charge of the schedule? You need to answer all of these questions and get buy-in from the participants before you even get started. The plan doesn't have to be complex to be effective, in fact - the simpler the better!

Heather

If you love it set it free!

My biggest pet peeve in the content marketing space continues to be the number of white papers, case studies, etc that require registration to read.  The point of Content Marketing is to get your information out to as many people as possible.  If they like what they read they will then give you their information via a call to action.  Making people register first is like asking for the goodnight kiss at the beginning of the date.  I am not sure I even like you yet and you want to get personal?  Yuck!  Big turn off.

Trust your content is strong enough to generate the call to action on its own and I bet you get more second dates!

Michele

Trying to do too much

Once you see the value of content marketing, it can be tempting to want to try everything: blogging, eBooks, video, social media, etc.  Here's the thing: ideas are easy, but execution is tough, and I think that is where companies will be differentiating themseleves. 

That said, my suggestion is to start small. Pick one or two things and do them exceptionally well, from design to content to execution. From there, build out a plan to repurpose your content and continue from there.

Jamie

Content for the sake of content

Although some experts will tell you that the best content marketing  strategy is based in non-stop, pell-mell content production - more is better - I beg to differ.

When a company begins producing content just so they can put "something" out there, it erodes their credibility. Content marketing is about providing value, building trust, and earning affinity. Each piece you create needs to be part of an overall strategy that meets the needs of a specific audience. Choosing random topics and blasting out e-books, webinars, and blog posts is not a smart strategy. Listening well to your audience so you can understand their needs and then delivering quality content that meets that need and goes above and beyond with value, presentation, and personality ... that's what content marketing is all about. 

Stephanie

Keeping content marketing siloed

The most successful content strategies call upon contributions from all quarters, including a range of employees, partners, and even customers. So don't let content marketing get trapped in the marketing department. Instead, make sure this mindset takes hold throughout the organization so you can tap into a richer set of ideas and a more robust development arm.