Erika Heald Marketing Consulting

Content marketing that drives results

Content Chat

#ContentChat is a weekly twitter chat that brings together content creators and content marketers to share their challenges and best practices for solving them.

I took over hosting duties from Lucy Rendler-Kaplan on June 13, 2016. The chat was originated by Jenise Stout Fryatt of Smarter Shift who built up the community over three years.

Check out these recaps from recent chats and join us on Mondays at 12 noon Pacific/ 3:00 p.m. Eastern to join in the conversation.

 

April 29, 2019 Content Chat Recap: Learnings From The Recent Content Marketing Institute Technology Content Marketing Research

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B2B technology has one of the most complex customer journeys.  With the ever-changing tech landscape, marketers in the space need to stay on top of their game to cut through the buzzwords and deliver content that helps to win or renew business.

In this #ContentChat, Lisa Murton Beets (@LisaBeets), research director at the Content Marketing Institute, and Kim Moutsos (@KMoutsos), VP of editorial at the Content Marketing Institute, discuss the Institute’s recent Technology Content Marketing 2019 research, and the community weighs in on additional trends they’re seeing.

Q1: What are the top challenges technology content marketers are facing this year?

Survey says: Pros are having difficulty creating content that pleases their various stakeholders.

Understanding the difference between TOFU and BOFU content could solve this pain point…

As well as precision targeting and creating buyer personas to laser-focus the direction for any content.

The community shared other hurdles, including attribution….

The complicated MarTech landscape and selecting the right solution for your organization….

Finding ways to break through the noise and demonstrate why your company is the best choice for consumers today and tomorrow…

Keeping content relevant, accessible and jargon-free…

And navigating new tech that changes how we market, like voice SEO.

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May 6, 2019 Content Chat Recap—Community Conversation: The Importance Of Going Outside Your Comfort Zone And How To Do It

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It’s human nature to seek order in this chaotic world, especially when it comes to work. Professionals in any industry develop routines that bring stability their day-to-day work, creating a comfort zone.

The problem for content professionals, though, is that staying in this comfort zone can stifle creativity and limit a professional from finding the best way to engage their audiences.

In this #ContentChat community conversation we explore ways and reasons why to break free from these molds. Don’t worry, it’s not as scary as you may think.

Q1: Raise your hand if you sometimes get into a bit of a rut when it comes to having creative content ideas.

All of our voters experience hurdles in generating creative content ideas. The specific reasons may vary, but it’s often because we develop tunnel vision and focus on completing tasks in tried and true ways.

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April 15, 2019 Content Chat Recap: How To Create Interesting Content On “Boring” Topics And For Conservative Industries

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Every marketing or content professional has faced the dreaded task of exploring a topic that they consider to be “boring.” Regardless of skill or industry experience, it is incredibly onerous to discuss something that feels so innately unimportant, and it’s easy to get caught up in negative emotions against said topic (and whichever boss or client suggested it).

The thing is, very few topics are actually boring. It’s the way that professionals approach them that makes the topic boring.

In this #ContentChat, Caitlin Kinser (@CaitlinMarie89), social media and digital content manager at the American College of Sports Medicine, discusses how you can turn any “boring” topic into something fun for your audience (and also protect your mental wellbeing in the process).

Q1: What makes for a “boring” content marketing topic?

Boring is in the eye of the beholder. Anything can be seen as boring if you don’t think your industry, product or service is entertaining. Or, you may find something boring if you’ve been in a certain role or industry for a while.

Content can also seem “boring” if it is written for internal stakeholders and their needs/vision for a piece, instead of written for the target audience and their actual needs.

Other red flags include a lack of direction, examples or imagery, or if the content does not provide anything new or unique.

But, as we’ll explore today, almost any topic can be entertaining if approached the right way.

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April 8, 2019 Content Chat Recap—Community Conversation: Keeping Up With The Expanding MarTech Landscape

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The marketing technology landscape is full of awe-inspiring newcomers and tried-and-true incumbents all promising to be the best for your organization. But with tight budgets and the need to quickly demonstrate ROI on any tech investments, marketers need to be strategic with their investments.

There are only so many hours in a day to demo new vendors, so in this #ContentChat community conversation we share our MarTech must-haves and trade tips on how to cut through the buzzwords and stop chasing the shiny new objects to find solutions that will actually help your company.

To kick things off, we started by sharing one piece of MarTech we can’t do our job without.

Check out some of the community’s favorites below, there’s suggestions for tasks like keyword planning, graphic design, email marketing, social media, and more!

Q1: The good news is, this year’s graphic only showed a 3% increase in new vendors, versus last year’s 23% increase. That said, it’s still a pretty overwhelmingly large pool. Are there any categories you see that are new to you/your MarTech stack?

20 years ago, the list was a mere fraction of its current size.

Some categories and solutions will be tailored toward specific business functions, so as pros switch roles (or their companies invest in new spaces), more of the vendors will become relevant.

Digital asset management is one area not all companies will be involved with.

Personalization is an interesting space to watch, considering how impersonal so many marketing messages can feel.

Conversational Marketing & Chat vendors continue to grow, and may signal the power of chatbots in buyer enablement.

Content & Experience vendors help to illustrate the critical role that a content can have on business success.

The sheer volume of vendors helps justify companies that assist with integrations to piece all your solutions together.

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April 1, 2019 Content Chat Recap—Community Conversation: Is The Brand April Fool’s Joke Played Out?

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Every April 1, people worldwide brace themselves for trickery from their friends, family and even their favorite brands.

While some brands take immense pride in crafting their jokes (see also: Google), others haphazardly throw something together in an attempt to be relevant. Often times, they fall flat.

In this timely #ContentChat community conversation, we discuss if and when brands should partake in April Fool’s jokes, or if the tradition has played out.

Q1: As a content marketer, I’ve been strong-armed into some pretty meh April Fool’s jokes over the years. Have any of you found yourself in that position? And if so, how’d they turn out?

Last-minute campaigns rarely are worth the scramble. Pros should question why their brand wants to engage on such short notice, and assess whether they will be able to drive value from the efforts.

April Fool’s jokes in general are a risk, and many companies have shifted away from them for legal reasons.

Everything depends on your audience and brand voice. Some external audiences do not want jokes, but jokes could resonate with an internal audience (if any higher-ups are itching to pull a prank). Just don’t send a box of donuts filled with health foods.

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March 25, 2019 Content Chat Recap: Improving Content Marketing Performance Through A/B Testing

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Basing marketing decisions on your gut and hoping for the best is one approach, but most pros know that using data is the best way to guide a successful strategy. If you’re torn between two approaches, or want to test how different elements on your marketing collateral may impact your audience, A/B testing is the way to go.

In this #ContentChat, community staple Patrick Delehanty (@MDigitalPatrick), marketing manager at Marcel Digital, gave us the 101 on A/B testing and explained how it can improve your content marketing performance.

Q1: What is A/B testing? And why should I be using it as a content marketer?

A/B testing involves testing two versions of some marketing collateral (web page, newsletter headline, email subject line, social content and imagery, etc.) with a segment of your audience. Part of your audience sees version A, part sees version B, and the rest will see the version that performed best (based on your goals for the content).

A/B testing allows you to collect data on different approaches to see which performs better.

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