Who even knew content marketing would be a thing?
So said Julie Fleischer Director Data + Content+Media at Kraft Food on the first day of Content Marketing World, the biggest content marketing event on the planet.
It’s definitely a thing. It’s attracted 2,500 marketing professionals to Cleveland, Ohio for starters. But for those who still think content marketing is a nice, fluffy ‘thing’ that the people in the marketing department do, here’s the other thing: you don’t get all that love for something that doesn’t have an ROI.
Content Marketing World is overflowing with case studies. Just what you need when you’re trying to convince your boss of the need to invest in content.
If you’re making a case for content marketing read on to discover two compelling case studies from Content Marketing World 2014.
How a start-up drove $5m sales in 8 months through content
“Content marketing is the thread of the marketing department and the fuel to ignite every other marketing decision”, says Shafqat Islam, Co-Founder & CEO, of Newscred.
Newscred delivered $5m in revenue in the first 8 months of 2014 through content. That’s 70% of their revenue. And in case there’s any doubt of just how powerful that is, Islam says: “Content is the fuel for revenue growth. Content is a profit centre”.
He advises companies not to build on borrowed ground. By all means use social media channels as part of a content strategy, but build your content assets on your own site and draw your prospects in. That way you build your list and get to ‘own your audience’.
The trick, he says is simple. To have impact you have to be consistent. Quoting a case study from The Hartford insurance company he says they grew from 1,000 page views a month to 200,000 in just six months by nailing their colours to the content mast. “Publish daily, distribute broadly’, is the mantra of the successful content marketer. “You build ‘fanship’ through consistent investment in quality content".
Brands should act like a publisher for content return on investment
“Brands literally need to act like a publisher”, Islam says. So how is Newscred practicing what it preaches? It looks like this…
- 4 x blogs/day
- 2 white papers/month
- 1 webinar/month
- I thought leadership event/month
Not that difficult when you see it in a list. Of course having the right technology helps. And Newscred is using its own content marketing software. Obvs.
Content creation strategies that deliver ‘face-melting’ ROI
Content marketing has also transformed LinkedIn. Once seen as a ‘place to upload your CV’, LinkedIn has transformed into a powerful content hub.
Jason Miller, Head of Global Content & Social Initiatives, LinkedIn, says that content marketing offers a ‘face-melting’ ROI. You don’t need 15,000 blogs a day. You just have to look on content like a turkey. You start off with one big bird, or Big Rock, as the folks at LinkedIn call it. Then you ‘carve off the turkey slices’.
“Start with a big piece of content (Big Rock) in an area where you want to ‘own the conversation’”, Miller says. Then you carve off the turkey leftovers into lots of other pieces of content. “Create the all-encompassing guide to whatever the hell conversation you want to own. Act like a publisher”, he advises.
So how did LinkedIn do this? They rolled out the Sophisticated Marketers Guide to LinkedIn and then carved off 28 pieces of content out of this Big Rock. “We lifted them out of the rock and into channels, e-books, interviews with experts, 15 blog posts. We got 28 different pieces of content from this one Big Rock”, Miller says.
If you take the Big Rock approach Miller says you just need one Big Rock per quarter. “Turkey slices are the fuel, (to get people to the content) and Big Rock is where you send them”.
This focused approach is what delivers the face-melting results: LinkedIn got an 18,000% ROI from this one piece of content. That’s a lot of Sophisticated Marketers for sure and even more content love.
Thinking of getting started in content marketing?
If you’re a brand looking to get smart about content marketing, get in touch with our award-winning team at 256 Media and we can help. In the meantime, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest to keep up with all things content and digital media.
