91% of B2B and 86% of B2C companies use content marketing, 84% of firms currently use or prepare for implementing Marketing Automation. Obviously these two are crucial trends in B2B as well as in B2C marketing. Nevertheless, strategic implementation of both procedures causes a lot of trouble. Content marketing specialists feel alarm for possible sacrifice quality for quantity of content and aggression in communication. Marketing Automation evangelists on the other hand would demand more measurability. So how to combine these two into most efficient strategy?
Perfect content supported by automation
Under perfect circumstances joined forces of content marketing and marketing automation take customer for a magnificent journey – information adjusted to his level of interest and engagement, served in manageable portions, leading consequently to bigger knowledge and purchase. Posts are brilliant, infographics catch eye. Customers see brand as an expert and appreciate convenience of personalized content.
Or, in another version of the dream: content is well-optimized for search engines, so more and more visitors come to website from organic search. They immediately fall into carefully designed Lead Nurturing Program, which noninvasively yet persuasively introduces them into the brand world. They become loyal customers.
But in reality things aren’t so idyllic: between MA and CM strategies often happens to be a gap because of disproportion in investment: favoring former or latter. In both cases consequences are severe.
Symptoms of imbalance between content production and automation
- Texts aren’t popular among readers.
- Texts doesn’t encourage to some other action (filling in the form, opting-in for newsletter, regular interactions with brand, purchase)
- The role of content is detached from customer’s purchase path and Lead Nurturing
- You don’t measure effects.
- You don’t promote your content apart from social media
- You write a lot, but quality is contestable
- Texts don’t vary (e.g. according to customers’ knowledge or engagement)
- You don’t have a strategy of content publication.
- You don’t care for SEO.
- You are sometimes accused of spam.
Content Marketing and Marketing Automation: how to combine?
If you have an impression that your idea of combining content marketing and automation needs some rethinking, here are our suggestions.
1 Your piece is read: so what?
Ask yourself: What role does content play in purchase process? What purpose does it serve? Imagine yourself that your customer reads your post/ ebook: what should he do? Has he learnt something? What have you achieved?
2 Write down your strategy
Include:
- aims
- how much time and money do you want to invest in content delivery
- publishing plan
- reader’s persona
- indicators of success and failure
- plan B
3 Your content and Lead Nurturing
Try to take into consideration difference between your customers’ knowledge and engagement. Try to deliver content for readers on all stages of interest. Divide it and use your data on clients to know which pieces to highlight for them on the website or in emails.
4 Social media
Social media are means of communication: not a content, not a strategy, so don’t assume that social media will just do content marketing thing. Their purpose is distribution of material and to discussion. You still need material to distribute and discuss!
5 Are you a spammer?
Maybe there is a mistake in your rules of automation. Maybe there is something wrong with your scoring – you transfer customers too fast on higher level of interest in the funnel. Try to do some small corrections – how decrease in frequency affects sales?
(Note: some of your users will call you spammers and other bad names, but they will still buy your products/ services, so don’t panic when you’re labeled that way. Do tests and remember that your ultimate goal is to sell something, not to get award for never being called a spammer).
6 Try less
What would happen if you sent less but more valuable content? How would your readers react to such a change? Don’t speculate, just run tests. (Yes, even if you’ve tested that 3 years ago.)
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Good strategy of synergy between content marketing and automation can change your customer’s experience into something amazing.
And what are your ideas on combining these two?
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