I just finished reading this year’s latest marketing survey results over at the Junta42 site. It’s interesting to see the popularity of different marketing content pieces as part of the overall marketing strategy. You can download the report for yourself here.

Social media marketing (with the exception of blogs) is now in the number one spot. 72% of those polled have now incorporated social media into their marketing activities. What I’d be even more curious to know though, is have they seen and improvements? More hits to the website? More inquiries? Even more sales?

The next five things on the list are what I consider to be the new marketing sweet spot. They are the heart of content marketing. When done well, they cover the full spectrum of the AIDA (attention, interest, desire, action) marketing concept. Each piece can serve one or more AIDA goals, but the suite should include pieces that cover the complete AIDA spectrum.

From the 2010 Content Marketing Spending Research by Junta42

Each of these content terms mean different things to different marketers. Personally, I’ve seen each term over-used and under developed. Too many times, companies will label the content with a term below and not fully back it up with meaningful content. These are the way I see each piece

1. E-newsletters – Publish monthly and include product and company news, customer success stories, technical “how-to’s”, and business ideas. Combination of short (100 words or less) and longer (up to 1000 words) articles.
2. Blogs – Keep topics fresh, at least weekly, and relatively short (less than 500 words)
3. White Papers – Don’t fall for the short attention span, 2-pager. Do your topic justice by demonstrating a business problem and how it can be solved. Typically 6-10 pages.
4. Articles – These might be in your own publications or industry publications and are probably best as a deep dive on a topic at between 1000 and 2000 words.
5. Case Studies – These can be as short as two pages, but make sure you provide concrete information about the customer’s initial challenge, how it was solved, and lessons learned.

Effective marketers take the time to do it right. It’s not an area you want to hand off to your already busy product managers or the new marketing coordinator you just hired. Make sure the topics are well researched, the “story” told is coherent and professional, and that you accomplish your goal of what you want them to think and do after they’ve read it.

Content marketing is not an easy task and not every company has the resources in house to get the job done well. This is probably why the Junta42 survey also shows that smaller companies are spending twice the amount (as a percentage) on content marketing as their larger counterparts. Find yourself a content marketing professional you can trust and start building your content library, making sure you get the marketing assets you need to be successful.

Research sponsored by the Association of Online Publishers shows that 97% of the business decision makers surveyed say that the Internet is the most used form of media. Well, I don’t suppose that is any big surprise. But what was interesting was that 74% of the respondents say they are more likely to trust web content if it is linked to an established source, such as a business publication or industry association. While we know that intuitively, it was interesting to see the actual numbers.

It’s no secret that content found on a third party site can hold more credibility than content on the company’s own site. Readers respect content from analysts and industry leaders, and also feel a product or vendor has more credibility if they are being talked about anywhere outside of the company’s site.

Readers make the assumption that third party sites have prescreened content and have therefore given an implied approval. Readers and potential buyers believe that the product or vendor they are reading about must have a solid reputation to be considered for inclusion on any third party site.

So, where might you post content outside of your own company site? Here are just a few that you might consider and that may cost you nothing:

Trade publications – Most trade publications are now online, though many also publish printed versions. The good news is you may have the chance to be published in both. Look for author guidelines inside the front cover or on the site and contact the editor. They can usually provide an editorial calendar and content guidelines. They may even give you a clue as to what topics they are looking for.

Association newsletters – Anymore, the newsletters we read are digital and delivered via e-mail. You probably are already aware of newsletters that come from your area of interest, whether that is horizontally focused, such as customer relationship management (CRM) or vertical, like healthcare. Locate the newsletter owner and find out how to submit an article.

Industry blogs – Blog owners are always looking for new quality content. Look for the blogs that are popular in your space and contact the blog owner to find out if they accept guest-authored posts. Readers are more willing to accept opinions, even vendor opinions, in a blog post. However, they also appreciate educational information.

Now that you have your opportunity to be seen on a third party site, make sure you provide quality content that supports the real-world business or technical problems your prospects and customers are facing. Don’t miss out on this great chance to be heard.