Need easy ways to fix your content problem and get content chaos under control? Join the club! Not familiar with the term content chaos yet? In a nutshell, it’s when marketers struggle to efficiently and effectively execute a marketing strategy that aligns with the customer experience and appeals to a diverse target market’s needs and pain points.
To get a handle on the mayhem, many B2B organizations are attempting to shrink or streamline the content development timeline without losing quality, and while keeping a cap on ever-expanding marketing budgets.
But is it enough?
It’s time for brands to admit when content chaos is a way of life rather than the exception, and do something different.
When organizations shift how they view, produce, and utilize content, they discover the goldmine that’s been hiding in plain site. Content is as valuable an asset as equipment, inventory, and staff. If the “mining process” is refined to produce high-quality, polished marketing material, content can be leveraged in very powerful ways.
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So here’s the million-dollar question: are you ready to do more than produce content for the sake of it, and embark on a fruitful marketing content journey that produces gold?
Taking the Pulse of Content Development
If your B2B organization is battling content chaos and marketing fatigue, don’t panic—there are easy ways to fix your content problem. The first step is to get out of the tactical weeds so you can take a big-picture look at current content processes. The next step? Being willing to commit to content rehab.
When marketing teams are proactive rather than reactive with content development and have a clear process for creating materials that incorporate input from all departments, something interesting starts to happen. Not only do they develop materials that are timely and serve a specific purpose, but they also naturally reduce content chaos by clarifying content inventory versus need.
Ninety-five percent of organizations “struggle to manage the overall content process,” according to The $958M Marketing Problem, a report co-created by Gleanster and Kapost.
In order to ditch that $958 million content problem once and for all, start thinking about the marketing content you create as having a life cycle of vitality. Here are three essential ways to transform your content into gold.
Awareness
Content is something that needs to be an organization-wide effort, not just a task completed by marketing teams. It also requires hard numbers: data, metrics, and specific examples of what’s really going on with content performance. Often, B2B organizations in content chaos don’t have systems in place to measure these essentials.
Why is this so important? Well, the metrics are useful tools for developing buy-in from strategic and tactical job roles within the company, and for naturally crafting a one-team mindset focused on how to improve the customer experience. When the “why” is clear, it’s easier for people to step up to the plate and support the group effort through their special skill sets.
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To build better internal awareness and buy-in, use one “marketing champion” to rally internal stakeholders from all departments. Then present the long-term vision of content efforts while actively demonstrating how to execute the content plan through small, successful steps.
Nothing builds awareness faster than examples. When people can see that things are working as planned, they understand the value of working differently.
Visibility
“An average B2B firm spends an extra $120,000 per year on headcount to produce the same volume of content as a firm invested in content efficiency.” —The $958M Marketing Problem
When teams have an awareness of what’s needed and expected, the content development process can be better and easier. That means it’s time to focus on visibility. How can the B2B organization craft a more mature process of content management? Are calendars and documents stored in a central repository with free access for everyone? What relevant tags or filing systems make sense so people can stay updated on marketing campaigns and assigned tasks in a timely way?
Streamlining these elements of content development enables marketers to implement new practices that allow teams across the organization to collaborate more effectively and access materials already created to support specific needs of customers as they move through the buyer’s journey. Cross-functional content development encourages collaboration and strengthens attention to customer needs while achieving overall business objectives.
As a result, marketing can plan ahead and pull from materials that have already been created to maximize investment while reducing content waste and duplicated efforts across teams.
Alignment
“The top three areas where marketers are the least efficient: meeting task deadlines (92%), redundant content creation (90%), and coordinating the people contributing to content (81%).” —The $958M Marketing Problem
Nothing is more frustrating than trying to collaborate with people who don’t have the same tools. More often than not, the people within an organization are expected to get work done using disparate tools and processes and no clear way to share insights or communicate plans.
Think of how chaotic a football game would be if there were no clear plays to follow. The same goes for content development in B2B. Handoffs between teams are inconsistent and sloppy, deadlines come and go without being met, and key messages are fragmented between teams, across marketing channels, and throughout the sales funnel. This is a guaranteed recipe for frustration.
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To keep the buyer experience consistent and fulfilling, develop feedback loops focused on shared objectives and data exchange to help content creators and consumers can align efforts. When there is one consistent game plan, everyone knows and understands their role and can execute it with finesse. Employees are also more invested in the big picture because they know what’s coming ahead of time.
The best part about internal alignment as it relates to content is the lasting impact it has on the customer experience. Every channel and customer touchpoint echoes the same aligned brand message, making content the shining star of your sales funnel.
So there you have it—three easy ways to fix your content problem. Time to get started!