Content Marketing for B2B Is All About Lead Gen

Before we look at some of the findings of the latest research into the world of content marketing could we look at the term ‘content marketing’. Is it me or is this just a phrase for the act of simply sharing what you know?

It’s not a revolutionary concept like many seem to try to convey. Content marketing is simply about being a little more intentional about how you share information that makes you and / or your company look better because you are putting your knowledge on display and not keeping it too close to the vest. Many companies get overwhelmed at the idea of ‘content marketing’ when really all they need to do is take information they already have and share it. Pretty basic, right? If you want to add to or debate this please do in the comments.

As for the intent of content marketing for the B2B space? It’s lead gen as the main goal or objective, no matter who does the research. These findings from blogger Holger Schulze, a blogger who writes at Everything Technology Marketing and VP of Marketing at eG Innnovations found (as repackaged by eMarketer)

While BtoB Magazine’s findings look quite similar.

While the goal seems to be consistently that lead generation is what content marketing is about the next chart shows the difference in the B2B space with regard to online marketing. Take a look at the third leading reason why B2B marketers are using this tactic. It’s because of the rise of the use of digital marketing. Hasn’t that been happening for 15 plus years?

Do you feel that B2B marketers are behind the curve or is the online space finally offering options that they can sink their teeth into?

What’s your take? Let’s hear you in the comments.

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via Marketing Pilgrim - Internet News and Opinion http://www.marketingpilgrim.com/2012/10/content-marketing-for-b2b-is-all-about-lead-gen.html

Twitter Search Gets a Makeover

Aren’t makeovers fun? They are meant to make something that needed a little work that much better. It takes something that is a little lacking and makes it special.

Well, many would agree that one of the areas that Twitter needs a little help is search. Today, following the rather exuberant tweet of one of the company’s key employees, Pankaj Gupta yesterday, Twitter unveiled the search changes that led him to urge his fellow Twitter folks on with “congrats and enjoy the enormity of ur impact few understand today!”

OK, based on what was announced today count me amongst the many. The Twitter blog says

Search autocomplete shows you the most likely terms for your query as you enter it — especially useful if you’re trying to follow the hashtag for an event or you’re looking for a certain Twitter account. You can select your query from the drop-down menu even before you finish typing it.

After you enter your search, you’ll find the most relevant Tweets, articles, accounts, images and videos for your query. We’ve also made several other improvements to make your search experience better.

Spelling corrections: If you misspell a term, we’ll automatically show results for your intended query.

Related suggestions: If you search for a topic for which people use multiple terms, we will provide relevant suggestions for terms where the majority of that conversation is happening on Twitter.

Results with real names and usernames: When you search for a name like ‘Jeremy Lin,’ you’ll see results mentioning that person’s real name and their Twitter account username.

Results from people you follow: In addition to seeing ‘All’ or ‘Top’ Tweets for your search, you can also now see Tweets about a given topic from only the people you follow when you select the ‘People you follow’ view. Viewing Tweets about a topic from just the people you follow is a great way to find useful information and join the conversation.

This is all good (especially the ability to search only among folks you follow and the real name feaure) but the one thing missing from all of this is the capability to search deeper into the Twitter archives than the current week or so. Is this nitpicking? Maybe. But search often has an implied call for something historic, something that already happened rather than searching something that just happened.

When Twitter finally figures out a way to provide a true historic record of all tweets in a search result format then there will be something to really talk about regarding Twitter search. Until then it’s a lot of hype for a nominal gain.

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via Marketing Pilgrim - Internet News and Opinion http://www.marketingpilgrim.com/2012/07/twitter-search-gets-a-makeover.html