Here are the big throughlines running across the sessions I attended at Content Marketing World in Cleveland earlier this month:
Hire professional reporters. Trained journalists (like The Word Factory team) are vital for deeper, more credible content that includes authoritative and trusted external sources.
After two days at #CMWorld it's clear that former journos with storytelling chops are in demand by big brands.
— Jay Hansen (@JayHansen73) September 7, 2017
Focus on inspiring, not coercing or converting (per Jay Acunzo). True believers buy more, recommend more and influence more, creating more ROI for you.
“Content marketing is about inspiring your true believers, not convincing your skeptics.” @jayacunzo #CMWorld pic.twitter.com/BRNLeJdwpF
— Lorraine Thompson (@WritersKitchen) September 6, 2017
And a corollary from Tequia Burt:
.@TequiaBurt issues a challenge to all #contentmarketing pros at #cmworld. pic.twitter.com/ehjThUg4Ku
— The Word Factory (@Word_Factory) September 7, 2017
Stop creating content for personas and start creating content for people (per Bryan Kramer).
There has never been a better time than now to humanize your business #CMWorld #CMWorld2017 #H2H pic.twitter.com/HdvHHKPQ7b
— Bryan Kramer (@bryankramer) September 6, 2017
Get beyond easy labels and demographics, says Ardath Albee, to buyer's every-day behaviors, needs and feelings.
@ardath421 says it's okay to have personas without "40 years old, has a dog, drives an SUV..." nonsense and I couldn't be happier ? #CMWorld pic.twitter.com/sjXZfdT4UD
— Bryony Dent ? (@bryonydent) September 6, 2017
Group different decision-makers and influencers to identify the shared needs of all the people who participate in the decision to purchase, change, think, do, etc. (Also per Ardath)
We need to understand our buyers individually AND in a group. They decide together, we need to address them together. @ardath421 #cmworld
— Alyssa Fox (@afox98) September 6, 2017
Infuse more emotion, even in B2B content, because business people are still people with feelings and needs and aspirations. Scott Monty offers a question we should always ask before starting a content project.
The big question from @ScottMonty for all #contentmarketing and #brandjournalism pros. #CMWorld pic.twitter.com/e6zKDQuLlL
— The Word Factory (@Word_Factory) September 6, 2017