Ellen Berg
09.02.2023
“Be the change agent, not the “make it pretty” department”. - AJ Huisman
The Content Marketing day 2023 (held on the 26th of January in Oslo, Norway) is one of Kampanje.com’s biggest conferences and has been sold out every single year since the start of it in 2015.
Being the first post-pandemic, this year’s sold-out conference invited all kinds of marketers, CMO’s and creative directors to a physical meetup at Grand Hotel in Oslo city center.
Below are 8 takeaways from the Content Marketing day 2023.
8 takeaways from the Content Marketing Day 2023
1. Content marketing is effective if it makes change
In order to make marketing impact, you should follow these five tips:
- Get out of your comfort zone
In order to grow and get ahead, it's important to “stop the status quo” and try new things - even if you think you might fail.
- Be a human connector
See opportunities where others see roadblocks.
Try taking strategies and campaigns in completely new directions and see what happens, and draw connections from one thing to another. You never know what kind of results you can achieve by doing this.
- Follow improve rules
Always say yes, and add something positive to whatever it is you need to get done. Whether that be by implementing new ideas, producing even more content, providing extra services etc.
- Show value, be generous
Make sure you’re seen both internally and externally. Provide knowledge and expertise to your teams, colleagues and customers.
For example, creating internal newsletters can strengthen your visibility within your organization and provide practical & professional input.
- Be passionate about what you do
Become as invested as you possibly can into your field of marketing and expertise - that’s the only way you can become really good at something.
2. Building trust is fundamental to marketing success
As a marketer, one of your most important roles is to build trust with your customers.
Why?
Because according to AJ Huisman, “trust is the basis of all change”.
Some go-to steps to take are:
- Create a network
- Cross formal silos, and
- Give and earn respect
Further elaborating on point number 2, crossing formal silos:
By removing internal boundaries and working collaboratively across departments, you can show your customers that your business is open and committed to cooperation, which will increase their trust and satisfaction.
Departments can quickly recognize and handle consumers' needs and complaints by cooperating and exchanging information.
Better customer experiences and stronger relationships result from this - which boosts brand reputation and boosts client loyalty.
Everything ultimately comes down to trust.
Customers are more inclined to stick around and keep returning for more when they have faith in you. Creating better experiences and retaining customers are made possible through trust.
3. What we learned from content marketing 1.0
Here’s five things we learned from the first version of content marketing.
- It was incredibly difficult to build a loyal audience within our own channels.
- It was difficult to get clients on board with creating content on the audience's terms.
- It was difficult to get customers to work long-term with content marketing as a philosophy and marketing strategy.
- It was difficult to measure and showcase the value of what we were doing.
- Traditional advertising agencies were still thriving.
4. What is content marketing 3.0?
Content is no longer seen as just an art.
Today, we know that it's a living, breathing ecosystem that can drive business growth when the right levers and techniques are used.
And that's exactly what content marketing 3.0 is all about.
This new approach focuses on three main areas to drive traffic and conversion growth:
- Creating the right content
- Getting it in front of the right audience, and
- Measuring and optimizing performance.
You know how content marketing has been all about creating and sharing helpful information with your target audience? Content Marketing 3.0 takes it to the next level.
It's all about making that information super relevant to your audience by personalizing it to their specific needs and interests.
We're also using new technologies like AI and machine learning to make that targeting even more precise.
Plus, instead of just pushing out promotional content, we're putting more focus on creating an engaging and interactive experience for our audience.
5. Keep focusing on great SEO
When you’re searching online - you often want the best and the most relevant results to show up.
SEO helps make sure your content is one of those top results when people are searching for something related to what you offer.
And that's huge for content marketing because it means more people will find and engage with your content. Plus, when your content shows up at the top of search results, it sends a signal to people that your content is trustworthy and credible.
And let's not forget, SEO also helps to improve the user experience on your website which will lead to better engagement and conversion.
Summing up: Great SEO is super important for making sure your content marketing efforts are successful.
6. Content marketing is a balanced mix of branding and sales
In 2023, we can look at content marketing as both a long-term and a short-term game.
It's a mix of both sales activation and making short-term sales promotions and building a brand which gives long-term growth.
The branding aspect of content marketing entails:
- Broad distribution
- Emotion
- Memorability
The sales aspect of marketing encompasses:
- Narrow targeting
- Being informative
- Immediacy
Mixing the two together is what creates sustainable content marketing.
7. 3 things talented marketers do
A great marketer approaches a problem, gathers the necessary insights and digs for a good solution.
Here’s three other things talented marketers often do:
- Combine both the short-term and long-term elements of marketing
Make sure that your agenda always includes further building upon the brand you’ve created. In addition, keep contributing to both the long and the short aspects of content marketing (described in the point above).
- Build one mutual, or common, annual plan that everyone follows in order to reach your goals
Make sure everyone in your team is on the same page in terms of what content to create, what content to distribute, which audience insights to look into and what type of branding you want to establish.
- Keep SEO at the heart of all your creative concepts
When creating content, ask yourself the questions:
- Is it relevant and true?
- Is it easy to understand?
- Does it stand out from the crowd?
- Does it emotionally engage with the audience?
- Does it exist on all relevant channels?
However - when applying audience insights to all your creative concepts and ideas, make sure you keep adding great SEO into the mix as well.
8. Customer insight + creativity = success
Combining both creativity and customer insight is crucial for marketing success.
Customer insights (everything you learn about your target customer, their interests, characteristics, behavior and needs) helps you create content that truly resonates and speaks directly to that person.
You are directly addressing their pain points.
Once your content truly is both valuable and relevant to them, they’re more likely to engage with it and even go ahead with that call to action.
However, providing relevant and valuable content isn’t the only thing you should be focusing on.
Focusing on creativity enables you to stand out from the crowd and distinguish yourself from competitors. It's a surefire way of making a more memorable and lasting impression on your customers.
If you want to drive conversions and make people interested in you (and your company), make sure you’re both creative and up to speed with current customers’ interests, behavior and needs.
Summing up...
The content marketing conference 2023 was incredibly interesting, motivating and educational - and was a great way to gain new insights and professional input from industry experts and colleagues.
Need help with your content marketing strategy?
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Get in touch here.