Here at ContentRecyclers, we geek out harder on content marketing than a Star Wars fan at Comic-Con. We recently had the pleasure to sit down with a content marketing veteran, Sandra Morgan, and in keeping with that spirit, we asked her some of our readers’ most pressing questions regarding content marketing and she responded in droves.

1. IN CONVERSATION
WITH CONTENT
MARKETING EXPERT
SANDRA MORGAN

2. Here at ContentRecyclers, we geek out
harder on content marketing than a
Star Wars fan at Comic-Con. We
recently had the pleasure to sit down
with a content marketing veteran,
Sandra Morgan, and in keeping with
that spirit, we asked her some of our
readers’ most pressing questions
regarding content marketing and she
responded in droves.

3. Here’s how that exchange panned out.
CR – Let’s break the ice on this subject by shooting the breeze about the one
question we get asked the most. Why are businesses meditating on content
marketing?
ON THE SUBJECT OF THE IMPORTANCE OF CONTENT
MARKETING
Sandra – Straight to the point, I see. Well, according to me, more and
more companies are working over content marketing because it’s the
most competent medium for them to provide truly useful and relevant
information to their prospects and customers that will help them
address critical challenges.

4. CR – But why content marketing in particular? Traditional marketing
can do that as well, can’t it?
Sandra – No way, no! Content marketing includes all sorts of
things like informative articles, e-books, videos, and webinars
that answer specific questions people have; things that
standard marketing platforms don’t have. Sure, they have
sales collateral and other product-specific material, but that
just doesn’t cut it for their audience.

5. Content marketing can help business owners become a
trustworthy, authoritative reserve on subjects that matter
to their prospective customers. With this, their business is
more likely to get discovered by the right market and win
their loyalty and trust, which, in turn, can enable their
brand to fortify their customer relationships, grow an active
and engaged subscriber base, and even maximize their
profits. What I mean is that traditional marketing
approaches don’t have the sauce to deliver anything close
to what an effective content marketing game plan can.

6. CR – We’re pretty sure our readers won’t be crying out for any
further convincing after that answer. Do you normally have to
explain the difference between traditional marketing and
content marketing, and the importance of content marketing to
other businesses in order to bring them round to the idea of
content marketing?
Sandra – Um… Every so often, business owners don’t want to know the
fundamentals of content marketing. They are more interested in
knowing whether it’s a more fruitful approach than direct marketing,
like a sales pitch. Accordingly, I have to understand that and present
content marketing in terms of what it can address for their individual
needs. It’s exhausting, but it’s the only way a viable content marketing
strategy is designed.

7. CR – And that works?
Sandra – It does. But, every now and
then, it’s needed that I support what
I’m trying to say by pointing to the
success other businesses like theirs
have arrived at through content
marketing. You know, real-life
examples make for a stronger line of
reasoning than theories and
assumptions.

8. ON THE SUBJECT OF BRINGING IN THE RIGHT AUDIENCE
CR – We agree with you. Let’s move on. Another common question
our readers ask is how does content marketing help businesses
bring in more leads?
Sandra – Isn’t that precisely what “compelling”
content means? If a business provides content that’s
genuinely valuable, acknowledges their questions,
or attends to their needs in other ways, I don’t think
anyone in the target audience would not want to
associate with that business.

9. CR – Do you think acquiring new leads is the main aim of
any business?
Sandra – What I think is that while most people talk about leads, business
owners should put more faith in the power of the subscribers. Let me
explain. A lead is someone who discloses some information in exchange
for something of value – a piece of content, in this typical case. A lead
isn’t an absolute gauge of interest in constant communication with a
business — as a matter of fact; a lead may not even have a keen interest
in their products or services the least bit. But then, a subscriber is
someone who signs up to receive frequent communication because they
believe the business has something worthwhile to offer them. In other
words, they sign up in anticipation of the value they expect to receive in
the future.

10. CR – So, you are saying that
subscribers are more
valuable than leads?
Sandra – Not quite so! Subscribers are
more committed but leads are
positively more valuable as they are
more likely to buy if properly nurtured
over a longer time.

11. CR – Okay. So, in your opinion, what’s
the best way to win over leads with
content?
Sandra – I have seen that businesses
find the most success with their content
by choosing one specific target
audience to focus on and a platform
for publishing content, maybe a blog or
video series, and publishing content
consistently for a long time.

12. CR – How does this strategy work?
Sandra – It’s elementary. If a
business is only focused on
one content type before
branching out, it will keep
them from overextending
themselves before they really
realize the needs of their
audience.

13. ON THE SUBJECT OF MEASURING SUCCESS
CR – After all the effort, time and money invested in a
campaign, how can one measure how it’s performing?
Sandra – In my opinion, before you can gauge how well your
content is performing, you need to define what success
actually means for you. There are only a few key
performance indicators in content that show whether the
efforts are moving the needle in the right direction.

14. CR – But there has to be a standard scale,
right?
Sandra – There is. If someone is really
uncertain, I suggest tracking subscribers and
measuring how their behavior differs from non-
subscribers. For instance, do subscribers spend
more money on certain products or services?
Are they more likely to advocate on behalf of
your brand? This is, in my opinion, a standard
approach to measure your content success
regardless of what success means for you or
what you define your long-term goals are.

15. THERE YOU HAVE IT!
This interview is designed to give
our audience insights and
different perspectives on content
marketing. Hope, it gave you,
our readers, something to take
away.