If you're a part of the marketing communications landscape at your company, then surely you understand the importance of content. Content is KING these days. Diverse, exciting, engaging, relevant content of all types is needed for the variety of different mediums your team is required to fill. Your customers want to engage with you but they have to be prompted and lead. Your content has to show your customers who you are and why they should trust you. As Forbes contributor John Hall points out in his article, 5 Selling Points For Implementing Top-Down Content Marketing - according to a recent study, the majority of consumers wouldn’t care if 73% of brands ceased to exist. That number is staggering! The likelihood is that your brand is included in that 73%, and as John so perfectly puts it, "Your brand can’t afford for customers to be indifferent, and that’s where content comes in." Naturally, we agree.
John is a proponent of a top-down content marketing strategy (content that originates with your C-level team and/or ownership). As John points out, this kind of strategy is the most successful but can often be difficult to set in motion. Executives don't always see themselves as the ones who should be generating the content. They may not be interested, not have time, or simply be used to passing through the responsibility to the team of people they have for that. And while this is true - as in, IT IS your team's job to generate and distribute content - the content should originate at the top. John writes about 5 selling points you can use when your top-down content marketing strategy is faced with resistance. These points will give you a general idea of WHY you should get things started (if you haven't already). However, we'll take it one step further and show you how video specifically can help you achieve the desirable end results posited by John's statements. We'll discuss how to employ a true, top-down video content marketing strategy.
1. Content Increases Brand Awareness
John points out that, "...great content builds brand awareness all by itself." We agree. Having great content will lead to people engaging and sharing their experiences with your brand, which will in turn increase your brand awareness. And furthermore, as POP Video would point out, video is the optimal vehicle to deliver your content. A study found that "49% [of people] said they would research a new brand or product after seeing it mentioned in an online video." How's that for increasing brand awareness?!
2. Content Helps With Recruitment
Recruiting good people can be a struggle, especially with the expectations of the millennial generation. They want content and they want a lot of it. As John writes, "The best talent wants to work for brands that are leaders in their field and brands they feel a connection to." What better way to achieve this than with video? According to Forbes contributor Sean Rosensteel and Brain Lady Susan Weinschenk, we have a 100% human connection to video. For reasons you can learn more about here, video is vastly superior to all other mediums in terms of engagement and retention, and those are two of the most important things when recruiting top talent.
3. Content Keeps Your Leaders Sharp
One of the most poignant assertions that John makes is that top-down content keeps your leaders sharp. Your C-level team is (most likely) comprised of people who know what they're talking about. They harbor a wealth of information, from best practices to industry trends to specific company data. Asking them to generate content will keep them on the front edge, as well as showcase their knowledge to your customers and potential recruits. The saying "From the Horse's Mouth" literally means "from an authoritative or dependable source." We're compelled to listen to people who know their stuff. A white paper, e-book or blog post by your CEO on how your company is keeping pace with industry trends is a great start. Now imagine that you present your audience with a video of your CEO speaking on the same topic. We've established that video is the most engaging medium with the highest retention rate. We've also established that people are more likely to look into something further after seeing a video. Creating exciting video content involving your higher-ups will give them a chance to sharpen their blades and give your audience a chance to establish a deeper connection with your brand.
4. Content Fuels Other Marketing Channels
There are more than a few reasons why you should be utilizing different types of content to populate ALL of your marketing channels. You can find some of them here, or here, or here. SEO, page ranking, public image, social engagement...blah blah blah. Not to discount any of this...it's all true...but we'd prefer to keep it simple. Empty marketing channels are boring. They are not engaging. NOBODY wants to have anything to do with stagnant, repetitive, lackluster marketing channels. For all the reasons listed above, your varying marketing channels, social media or otherwise, NEED great content. A top-down approach can be a very effective start in this department but you need to go further. Video is key to keeping these channels constantly refreshed with up to date, dynamic, interesting content.
5. Content Lends Credibility to Your Sales Team
Even the slickest sales teams in your industry can benefit from well positioned content. Not only will good content make them more credible, as John describes, but the content will give them something to point to. They can leave potential customers with relevant, timely content to further re-iterate points made, answer difficult questions and showcase a different side of your brand. A video of your CEO answering customer FAQs could go a long way in reassuring a waivering lead. A short, exciting animated explainer video could be the thing that closes the deal. Your sales team will feel more confident knowing that they have a plethora of content to fall back on when they need that extra push. This will lead to your customers feeling more confident in your sales team and in turn, your brand. It's a win, win situation.
If you're interested in learning more about how a video content marketing strategy can benefit you or your company, check out this short VIDEO. If you still want to know more, CONTACT US today and we'll be more than happy to give you a free evaluation on how we can help you Market With Motion.
Cheers,
Houston's Premier Video Marketing Company
Post photo courtesy of POP Video
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