Just wanted to alert you to alert you to this excellent post while it’s still fresh. As part of the ClickInsights Expert Interview Series, Ambal Balakrishnan posed our title question (above) to 6 industry experts. Clearly we don’t have space to reprise it all here; but we’ll provide a sampling of the takeaways from some of his experts’ responses, by way of motivation to click on over for the rest (and btw, it’s well worth the click just for the list of “Recommended Resources” that Ambal also includes in the piece)…
Rebel Brown: (…is that a terrific name, or what?!) Tell stories; don’t overwhelm your prospects with facts, feeds-&-speeds and chest-thumping. “The key to great content-driven demand generation is to… thoughtfully and logically use stories that are relevant to our audiences. The key is to use stories to educate our audiences – which simultaneously positions us as the expert and a helpful resource for them. When we become a key trusted resource – a revenue relationship will follow.”
Brian Carroll: “The best kind of demand generation content is anything that sets you up as a thought leader or industry expert. At its core, thought leadership is about sharing content that’s relevant and valuable to potential customers even if they never buy from you. Give them what they need to make decisions about you and their future, and you’ll reap the benefits in the future.”
Mac McIntosh: “In my view the best use of content in B2B demand generation is as part of your lead generation and lead nurturing programs. Use content as offers or calls-to-action, ideally designed to appeal to prospects at different stages of their buying process. Use your content-rich newsletter, blog or website articles as additional ways to communicate key information to your prospects and customers.”
Maria Pergolino: “Content that is educational (versus product focused) performs much better in demand generation programs. Also, you need to have content that is relevant to everyone involved with the purchase of your product. (Per MarketingSherpa) …the average number of people involved in a decision is 6.8 — and that number goes as high as 21 individuals on a buying committee at larger companies. Your demand generation will need to speak to each of them and address their unique needs.”
Do yourself a favor, and click over to benefit from all of the insights in this key article.
