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December 12, 2012 by Marc Hausman

The 3 Hallmarks of Exceptional Content

The cliché “content is king” is missing an important word:  exceptional.

Most corporate marketers are sold on the opportunities that come with publishing their own content.  It helps with awareness and credibility, and enhances organic search engine optimization.

Plus, when content flows from a defined strategy and is aligned with sales outcomes (i.e. lead generation, prospect cultivation and deal capture), it can produce a measurable ROI.

Some refer to this as branded journalism.  Others called sponsored content.  And some tag it as content marketing.

Ultimately, it doesn’t matter much what it is called because the failure of content-rich communications typically can be attributed to a glaring fault – the content sucks.

Customers, prospects, partners, investors and employees do not want to read, watch or listen to promotional schlock.  They don’t care about corporate messaging and they’re adverse to spin.

And they don’t need a company to aggregate content from different sources and spit it back out to them under a corporate banner.  There is little value in content aggregation.

Exceptional content can be categorized into three areas:

1.  A unique perspective or opinion on a timely, relevant and meaningful topic.  Many executives love the concept of thought leadership; few embrace its responsibilities and potential liabilities.

2.  A great “get.”  I’m referring to exclusive content that readers can only find from you.  Why did this Q&A receive so much readership and social sharing?  It’s because I was the first to profile Eloqua CEO Joe Payne after the company’s successful IPO.

3.  Brilliantly constructed prose.  Regardless of the environment (i.e. consumer, business-to-business or public sector), people desire to be engaged and entertained.  Consider this essay on global soccer sensation Lionel Messi.

NY Times' essay is as brilliant as Messi himself.

There is a reason why people read and, in some cases, pay for the New York Times.  Their writers know how to write.

Did I miss attributes of exceptional content?

Filed Under: Articles, Uncategorized Tagged With: blog, blogging, branded journalism, communications, content marketing, corporate journalism, deal capture, Eloqua, Joe Payne, lead generation, lead nurturing, marketing, New York Times, prospect cultivation, public relations, social media, social media marketing, sponsored content, thought leadership

September 12, 2012 by Marc Hausman

3 Considerations for Your Next Blog Evaluation and Refresh

Like all dynamic and interactive Web-based communications, it is important to consistently revisit and refresh a corporate blog.

This evolution process allows an organization to derive more significant and meaningful ROI from its investment.  For starters, the blog can be evaluated based on any shifts in corporate strategy or sales/marketing focus.

Plus, a study of reader interaction gleaned from analytics facilitates key decisions about the blog’s structure, organization, presentation and promotion.

At Strategic Communications Group (Strategic), we’re in the process of comprehensive updates of blog sites we work on for Pitney Bowes Software, Polycom, British Telecom (BT), Decisiv and Blue Coat Systems.

Here are the three core areas we’re focused on as part of the refresh:

1.  Design, Layout and User Interface:  ensure the content presentation, flow and cross-promotional activities facilitate readership and an increase in page views per visitor.

2.  Editorial Strategy and Its Connection with Key Sales Benchmarks:  drive key sales metrics related to lead generation, lead introduction, prospect cultivation and deal capture.

3.  Social Promotion and Key Word Tagging for Organic SEO:  appeal to a broad community of readers for awareness and credibility.

Filed Under: Articles, Uncategorized Tagged With: blogging, content marketing, corporate blog, deal capture, lead generation, lead introduction, lead nurturing, sales, search engine optimization, SEO, social media, social media marketing, Strategic Communications Group, thought leadership

February 2, 2012 by Marc Hausman

Three Questions For: Meredith Lawrence, Director of North American Federal Field Marketing, Polycom

Like all good clients, Polycom’s Meredith Lawrence has high expectations of her vendors.  Know her company’s products…understand the market and its trends…be proactive in making recommendations…and then execute effectively.

Strategic Communications Group (Strategic) has worked for Meredith for more than three years.  Under her guidance, we’ve been innovative in the use of social media by defining priorities, scope of work and success benchmarks based on the unique needs of a field sales organization.

It is for this reason that I asked Meredith if she’d be open to being the first corporate marketing executive profiled for my new “Three Questions For” series.

 

What is the role of a marketer who is responsible for supporting the needs of a field sales organization?

Companies like Polycom invest considerable time, effort and resources to develop innovative technologies, which then serve as the foundation of our full suite of products.  The corporate marketing team is focused on how this translates into a compelling brand positioning and set of messages.

I have a deep understanding of the company’s brand, and in crafting communications to the federal market I start with the customer’s needs and challenges.  We talk about how we understand the unique requirements of federal audiences and then articulate how our solutions help customers rise above challenges, using key messages to drive the point home.

Last year I also focused on helping Polycom solidify its federal brand.  Even though this was more of an awareness and credibility-based communications requirement, my foundation point is always customer needs.

 

When it comes to social media, can you separate the hype from what is practical?

Social media is a cumulative process in which awareness, readership and online following is cultivated through market-relevant content.

It’s all about drilling down to communicate the value of our solutions to the customer.  For instance, Polycom’s FedUC blog focuses on the high value applications of unified communications and video teleconferencing, rather than merely hyping our products.

I measure success in a couple of important ways.  We have established awareness and credibility benchmarks, and these are very much connected to how are message is being received and embraced by our customers and partners.

We’re also testing the direct impact of the social media program through the integration of tactical sales activities, such as events, Webinars and thought leadership content.  Every activity and action we take on though is evaluated by how it will be perceived by our federal customers.

 

Please finish this sentence:  I have been successful in my professional career because…

OK, this answer may surprise you.  I believe my achievements at Polycom and in general are very much tied to my current and past volunteer work with charitable organizations.

I’ve gained invaluable perspective working with women and families struggling with abuse and poverty.  It’s taught me immense gratitude – for my job, my family and for the opportunities afforded me each day.   It has helped me approach all work situations calmly and with the knowledge that nothing is bigger than we can handle.

I’m fortunate to be part of an excellent company that shares this sense of commitment to community participation.  These factors combined have led to a great outcome for Polycom in government.

 

Hear more from Meredith Lawrence in this video of her speaking at an event entitled “Social Media in the Public Sector.”  It was hosted by Strategic Communications Group and Market Connections in October 2011.

 

 

Filed Under: Articles, Uncategorized Tagged With: field marketing, Meredith Lawrence, Polycom, social media, social media for lead generation, social media for sales, social media marketing, thought leadership

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