Here’s what top-performing enterprise marketers do differently.
1. They measure content performance (and do it well)
Ninety-three percent of top performers say they measure content performance, and more than half (61%) say they’re doing an excellent or very good job at it.
Why is that remarkable? When you look at the responses from the entire group of enterprise marketers, the measurement picture looks different. A still high percentage (78%) say they measure content performance, but only 36% say they’re doing a very good or excellent job with it.
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Measuring performance is hard. But it’s one of the most important things content teams must do in 2022, according to CMI chief strategy advisor Robert Rose.
After all, without measuring performance, you’ll struggle to understand what’s resonating and what needs improvement. And you’ll never be able to prove the value of your content marketing program.
2. They take advantage of content marketing technologies
Top performers had higher adoption rates for nearly every content marketing technology. The biggest differences came in three kinds of technology: content creation/calendaring/collaboration/workflow, customer relationship management (CRM).
Eighty-nine percent of top performers use content creation/calendaring/collaboration/workflow tools versus 77% of all enterprise respondents.
I’m not surprised to see top performers are more likely to use these tools. Calendaring is an essential part of content marketing strategy. Top performers tend to have larger teams, and tools for organizing processes make collaboration easier and more efficient.
Sixty-two percent of top performers use CRM systems versus 50% of all enterprise respondents. Top-performing businesses tend to be laser-focused on customers. CRM systems provide a central place to manage contacts and the sales process, streamline processes, and improve workflow.
Content performance/recommendation analytics
Forty percent of top performers use content performance/recommendation tools versus 26% of all enterprise respondents. That’s the widest gap we observed (14 percentage points) between top performers and the total set of enterprise respondents.
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I see a link between success and measurement. If you can gauge content performance, you can tune and adjust to continue to improve.
In a sea of sameness, differentiation gets your content noticed.
Successful enterprise content marketers know this: Seventy-two percent of top performers say they always or frequently differentiate their content from their competitors’ content. But among the general pool of enterprise marketers surveyed, only 49% do.
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Top performers seem to differentiate their content not because it’s harder to capture attention but because it gets them results. Only 37% of top performers say it has gotten increasingly difficult to get attention over the last year compared with 49% of all respondents.
How do these top performers differentiate their content? We didn’t ask that directly, but we did find a clue. Top performers attribute their overall content marketing success to “the value our content provides” (70%). And it’s safe to say that valuable content can be a differentiator.
Spend some time figuring out that special content or content experience only your organization can provide.
Top performers are more likely to see the full journey of buyers. Seventy percent strongly or somewhat agree their organization provide a consistent experience across the engagement journey. About the same percent (69%) crafts content based on the stages in that journey.
In contrast, only half (51%) of all enterprise marketers indicate they provide a consistent experience and/or create content for the stages in the buyer’s journey.
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Top performers also are more likely to prioritize their audience’s informational needs over their organization’s sales/promotional message (79% vs. 61% for all).
The bottom line? Top performers know the true value of content marketing is realized when the customer is put front and center – from content planning through their content experience.
Even if you can’t secure a bigger budget or more full-time staff, you can still take steps to improve the performance of your content marketing program. Consider the success differentiators you can change. Can you put the audience at the center of the content experience? What about analyzing your available metrics to see what’s working and what isn’t? Are you doing the most with the tech you have?
If your content marketing program isn’t as successful as it could be – even if you already consider it a top performer – you can take steps to make it great or even greater.
What are you doing to propel your content marketing forward in 2022?
Get all the results from Enterprise Content Marketing: Benchmarks, Budgets, and Trends with Insights for 2022. Click here to download.
Want to learn how to balance, manage, and scale great content experiences across all your essential platforms and channels? Join us at ContentTECH Summit this March in San Diego. Browse the schedule or register today. Use the code BLOG100 to save $100.
Cover image by Joseph Kalinowski/Content Marketing Institute
Ads are coming to Netflix, and Google and NBCUniversal are fighting for the lucrative right to provide them.
Why it’s happening. Until recently Netflix’s position as the dominant streaming service allowed it grow revenue without advertising. A subscription price increase earlier this year led to a loss of about 200,000 subscribers. The first loss in more than a decade. Despite this, Netflix says its user base continues to grow. One explanation: Password sharing. That would explain why there are fewer subscribers but more viewers
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The company is now also facing serious challenges from other streaming providers. So, even though its revenue continues to grow, it is looking to bolster them with a lower-priced, ad-supported subscription option. Bringing in Google or NBCUniversal, could make this happen much faster, though it could still be a year or more before it becomes a reality.
The case for NBCUniversal. It’s likely that a partnership with NBCUniversal would be exclusive. Their ad unit, FreeWheel, would provide the necessary technology to deliver the ads. The NBCUniversal sales team would help to sell the ads across Europe and the US.
The case for Google. Google brings its own ad platform, which Netflix is currently a customer of. An agreement with Google could mean an exclusive arrangement, but it hasn’t been confirmed.
Both competitors are currently working with other large brands. A potential deal with Netflix could mean sharing access to its tech partners and audiences. NBCUniversal is the exclusive reseller of ads for Apple News and Apple Stocks since 2017 and has recently expanded into the UK. Google had been providing ad service to the Walt Disney Co. (a previous FreeWheel customer and current Netflix competitor) since 2018.
What Netflix is saying. Netflix hasn’t provided any details of its plans, how many ads will run, ad targeting, or reach.
Read the announcement. You can read the article from the Wall Street Journal here.
Why we care. From outside, Netflix’s subscription price increase, the fourth since 2018, seems an odd choice. It was announced at the end of January when inflation was already a growing concern for consumers. Also, viewers were already complaining about decreasing quality in new content while old favorites were no longer available. People are cutting spending and may turn to one of the emerging high-quality, lower-cost competitors.
Those competitors are also either ad-free or offer an ad-free version at a low cost. So an ad-supported Netflix tier may not be all that appealing. It’s rash to second guess a company as successful as Netflix, but this doesn’t seem to be a well-thought-out plan.
Nicole Farley is an editor for Search Engine Land covering all things PPC. In addition to being a Marine Corps veteran, she has an extensive background in digital marketing, an MBA and a penchant for true crime, podcasts, travel, and snacks.