The Revolution Begins: Highlights from Content Marketing World 2016

The underlying message behind Content Marketing World 2016: Content marketing as an experiment is over; it’s become a critical business function. To be successful, you have to commit and “go all in.”

And yet, a recent Content Marketing Institute (CMI) survey shows only 20 percent of managers are doing this. So what’s a marketer to do?

An army of content marketers 3,500 strong descended on Cleveland this week for CMI’s annual conference to wander the sea of vendors dotting the convention floor, attend sessions on topics such as “Intelligent Content 101” and “Complete Search Optimization,” and hear inspiring calls-to-action from industry leaders, including Joe Pulizzi, head of the Content Marketing Institute (CMI).

“Be all in or get all out. There is no halfway.”
— Joe Pulizzi, CMI

Content marketers know what success looks like and how to measure it—and with this recap of highlights from the conference, you can too.

What do you need to measure content success? According to presenter Ayat Shukairy, start with key questions about your content to drive insights and action. Consider the following:

• Which pages bring the most visitors to your site?
• What content works for visitors?
• What content works for search engines?
• Is your content generating engagement? Getting visitors to take action?
• Which pages have high or low on-page time?

Shukairy noted that different tools can help you track practical information like:

• Directional data on how visitors engage with your content.
• The number of backlinks, social shares, and mentions, so you can gauge the popularity and relevance of your content.

While stressing that content marketing is not the same as content production, Shukairy reminded the audience that “Good marketing isn’t free, but great content is mandatory. And without great content and a marketing strategy, the data is useless.”

In his presentation, Andy Crestodina of Orbit Media highlighted the importance of effective topic selection, a focus on SEO, and promotion—both online and offline—to content marketing success.

Topic selection often starts with keyword research to source ideas and semantically searched phrases, using tools like Google search, Keywordtool.io, SEMrush, or Moz to help. Once you’ve landed on phrases or keywords for your topic, focus on the content itself.

Andy’s recommendation: If you want to create content that achieves a high level of both shares and links, concentrate on content with a strong opinion and original research.

Finally, as much as content is about traffic, leads, visibility, and brand, it’s also about the connections and social interactions that come from sharing content far and wide. Lars Silberbauer of Lego reinforced this message; he explained that commitment to wrapping something “not-so-unique” in content helped turn plastic bricks into a beloved product and valuable brand that’s instantly recognized worldwide.

Ready to elevate your brand and content strategy but wondering how to take the next step? Download your free copy of  “The Content Marketer’s Strategy for Success” >>

On Upwork, you can find the talent you need—freelance writers, illustrators, designers, and developers—to help you go all in and achieve content marketing success.

Feature image by Patricia Salgado, “Letter man” (CC BY 2.0)

The post The Revolution Begins: Highlights from Content Marketing World 2016 appeared first on Upwork Blog.

from Upwork Blog http://ift.tt/2cjv3EQ