The document discusses the evolution of content marketing from passive to interactive formats, emphasizing the importance of engaging prospects through personalized and interactive content. It highlights four key goals of content marketing—educating prospects, inspiring sharing, converting leads, and differentiating the company—while addressing common challenges faced by marketers today. The rise of marketing apps and interactive experiences is presented as a solution to overcome content saturation and improve audience engagement.

1. The
4th
Wave
of
Content
Marke1ng
From
Passive
to
Interac0ve
Sco$
Brinker
@chiefmartec
h$p://ioninterac5ve.com
Jerry
Rackley
@DemandMetric

2. Content
may
be
king…

3. …but
content
marke5ng
is

4. Content
Marke1ng:
Everybody’s
Doing
It

5. Most
Marketers
Are
Producing
More
Content

6. Most
Marketers
Are
Spending
More
on
Content

7. 1.
Educate
our
prospects.
4.
Inspire
social
sharing.
3.
Convert
prospects
to
leads.
2.
Differen5ate
our
company.
4
Big
Goals
of
Content
Marke1ng

8. 2%!
3%!
5%!
31%!
59%!
0%! 10%! 20%! 30%! 40%! 50%! 60%! 70%!
Very unimportant!
Somewhat unimportant!
Neither important nor unimportant!
Somewhat important!
Very important!
Source:
DemandMetric,
Content
&
The
Buyer’s
Journey:
Benchmark
Study
Report,
June
2014
Importance
of
Influencing
Buyers
Earlier

9. 1.
Cacophony
of
content.
4.
Tired
conversion
tac5cs.
3.
Talking
at
the
prospect.
2.
Burden
on
the
audience.
4
Big
Problems
of
Content
Marke1ng

10. Only
a
small
number
of
content
assets
gain
significant
popularity.
Most
become
a
drop
in
the
“Long
Tail”
ocean.
It’s
Asympto1cally
Impossible
to
Break
Through
Available
Audience
A$en5on
Available
Content
=
Average
A$en5on
Available
Per
Content
Asset

11. Most
become
a
drop
in
the
“Long
Tail”
ocean.
It’s
Asympto1cally
Impossible
to
Break
Through
Available
Audience
A$en5on
Available
Content
=
This
number
con1nuously
drops.
Average
A$en5on
Available
Per
Content
Asset
Only
a
small
number
of
content
assets
gain
significant
popularity.

12. Dear
Buyer,
Here
is
the
content
available
for
the
due
diligence
of
your
purchase
—
have
at
it.
Love,
A
World
of
Vendors

13. How
will
I
make
it
through
one
more
ebook?

15. 67%
Source:
SiriusDecisions,
“Three
Myths
of
the
67%
Sta0s0c”,
July
13,
2013
67%
of
the
Buyer’s
Journey
is
Done
Digitally
As
marke5ng
takes
on
more
of
the
“face
5me”
with
prospects
from
sales,
it
should
consider
what
made
sales
successful…

16. Good
Salespeople
Listen
and
Discuss

17. But
Most
Marke1ng
is
Talking
at
Prospects

19. “It’s
a
trap!”

20. Waaait…
Just
one
more
form
field…
Is
this
ebook
really
worth
it?
Grrr…

21. 0me
content
sophis0ca0on
The
4
Waves
of
Content
Marke1ng

22. 0me
content
sophis0ca0on
1.
Web
pages
founda5on
of
digital
content
marke5ng
The
4
Waves
of
Content
Marke1ng

23. Blog
Post
Blog
Post
Blog
Post
Blog
Post
Blog
Post
Eventually,
SEO
Became
“Formulaic”

24. Once
It’s
a
Formula,
Everybody
Can
Do
It

25. 0me
content
sophis0ca0on
1.
Web
pages
2.
Rich
content
video,
infographics,
responsive
web,
HTML5
founda5on
of
digital
content
marke5ng
The
4
Waves
of
Content
Marke1ng

26. 0me
content
sophis0ca0on
1.
Web
pages
2.
Rich
content
video,
infographics,
responsive
web,
HTML5
founda5on
of
digital
content
marke5ng
The
4
Waves
of
Content
Marke1ng
Going
up
this
axis
is
all
about
breaking
through
the
noise

27. Beau0fully
designed
eBooks,
oVen
provided
as
a
PDF,
are
a
quintessen0al
example
of
rich
content.

28. Beau0fully
designed
infographics
are
one
of
the
more
popular
rich
content
types
today.
But
they
rely
on
social
more
than
search
to
gain
distribu0on.

29. Source:
ON24
Webinar
Benchmarks
Report,
2014
Edi0on
Webinars
(and
recorded
videos)
are
another
example
of
rich
content
too.
Rich
content
consump5on
is
“aspira5onal”
—
less
than
half
of
the
people
who
register
for
a
webinar
actually
a$end.

30. eBook
eBook
eBook
eBook
eBook
Soon
Enough,
Rich
Content
Became
“Formulaic”

31. Once
It’s
a
Formula,
Everybody
Can
Do
It

32. 2,326,713

33. 0me
content
sophis0ca0on
1.
Web
pages
2.
Rich
content
3.
Personaliza5on
video,
infographics,
responsive
web,
HTML5
founda5on
of
digital
content
marke5ng
dynamically
subs5tuted
content
based
on
visitor’s
profile
The
4
Waves
of
Content
Marke1ng
Going
up
this
axis
is
all
about
breaking
through
the
noise

34. Source:
Evergage
(a
personaliza0on
soVware
vendor)
website
Personaliza4on
technology
enables
marketers
to
dynamically
recommend
or
subs0tute
content.

36. 1. Need
data
on
new
prospects.
2. Need
data
about
new
content.
3. Things
change.
4. S4ll
a
probabilis4c
guess
—
what
happens
if
you
guess
wrong?
Personaliza1on
Can
Help,
But
Isn’t
a
Panacea

37. Content
in
the
First
3
Waves
Was
Mostly
Passive

38. 0me
content
sophis0ca0on
1.
Web
pages
2.
Rich
content
3.
Personaliza5on
video,
infographics,
responsive
web,
HTML5
founda5on
of
digital
content
marke5ng
dynamically
subs5tuted
content
based
on
visitor’s
profile
The
4
Waves
of
Content
Marke1ng
Going
up
this
axis
is
all
about
breaking
through
the
noise

39. 0me
content
sophis0ca0on
1.
Web
pages
2.
Rich
content
3.
Personaliza5on
4.
Marke5ng
apps
video,
infographics,
responsive
web,
HTML5
founda5on
of
digital
content
marke5ng
dynamically
subs5tuted
content
based
on
visitor’s
profile
interac5ve
experiences
with
programma5c
flow
and
logic
The
4
Waves
of
Content
Marke1ng
Going
up
this
axis
is
all
about
breaking
through
the
noise

40. What’s
a
marke0ng
app?

41. Source:
Kevy
Marke0ng
apps
are
not
just
na0ve
apps
installed
on
your
smartphone.
They’re
more
oVen
responsive
web
apps
that
work
on
any
device.
But
they’re
the
same
idea:
lightweight
func0onality.

42. • Polls
&
Quizzes
• Games
&
Contests
• Calculators
• Configurators
• Assessment
Tools
• Guided
Tours
• Slideshows
&
Galleries
• Refer-­‐a-­‐Friend
• Interac5ve
eBooks
• Catalog
Promo5ons
• Mad-­‐Lib
Forms
• Wizards
• Choose-­‐Your-­‐Own
Stories
• Mul5-­‐Step
Signups
• “Look
Inside”
Offers
• Community
Intros
• Webinar
Hub
Pages
• Personalized
Portals
• Loca5on-­‐Based
Offers
• Prezi-­‐Style
Presenta5ons
• Dynamic
Forms
• Decision
Paths
• Interac5ve
White
Papers
• App-­‐Like
Landing
Pages
Marke1ng
Apps
Are
Many
a
Splendid
Thing

43. Compare
and
Contrast:
Passive
Content
vs.
Interac1ve
Content
White
Paper
/
eBook
/
Guide

45. Compare
and
Contrast:
Passive
Content
vs.
Interac1ve
Content
“Which
One
Won?”
Game

62. Immediate
engagement.
No
barrier
of
“fill
out
a
form.”
No
barrier
of
“install
our
app
on
your
phone.”
Just
an
intriguing
ques0on
and
a
simple
click
(tap)
to
begin…

63. This
game
is
a
responsive
web
marke0ng
app.
It
works
on
any
phone,
tablet,
or
computer
with
a
modern
browser.
It’s
lightweight
and
fast.

64. It
shows
off
the
poten0al
of
good
A/B
tes0ng.
But
unlike
just
reading
about
it,
it
invests
users
in
the
outcomes.
It
demonstrates
that
tes0ng
is
beger
than
guessing.

65. It
doesn’t
take
long
—
maybe
30-­‐45
seconds.
“Progress
dots”
at
the
bogom
assure
users
that
this
is
a
quick
exercise.
But
because
it
engages
them,
it
is
memorable.

66. As
a
marketer,
you
appreciate
that
the
examples
in
this
game
have
other
benefits:
They
show
off
the
quality
of
work
produced
with
our
soVware
—
and
provide
social
proof
of
who
uses
our
soVware.

67. Wai0ng
un0l
the
end
to
share
the
score
keeps
users
engaged.
The
lesson
of
the
score:
users
can’t
predictably
guess
the
winner.
Scores
also
tap
a
bit
of
compe00ve
energy
—
making
it
memorable.

69. Only
now,
aVer
proving
the
value
of
the
content,
do
we
make
a
low-­‐
hurdle
offer
—
tell
us
who
you
are,
and
we’ll
email
the
hypotheses.
Even
those
who
pass
had
a
useful
brand
experience.

70. When
this
email
arrives,
people
are
eager
to
read
it
—
they
want
to
know
the
experiments
that
they
are
now
“invested”
in
the
outcome.
This
is
demand
genera4on.

71. If
content
marke1ng
is
about
educa1ng
prospects,
let’s
take
inspira1on
from
great
teachers.
Ac0ve,
experien0al
learning
over
purely
passive,
didac0c
learning.
Great
teachers
don’t
just
drone
on
in
a
lecture
—
they
incorporate
construc0vist
learning
techniques
to
make
the
material
come
alive
in
the
minds
of
their
students.

72. Ask
Students
to
Predict
the
Outcome
of
an
Experiment
Beforehand,
and
They
Will
Remember

73. • Polls
&
Quizzes
• Games
&
Contests
• Calculators
• Configurators
• Assessment
Tools
• Guided
Tours
• Slideshows
&
Galleries
• Refer-­‐a-­‐Friend
• Interac5ve
eBooks
• Catalog
Promo5ons
• Mad-­‐Lib
Forms
• Wizards
• Choose-­‐Your-­‐Own
Stories
• Mul5-­‐Step
Signups
• “Look
Inside”
Offers
• Community
Intros
• Webinar
Hub
Pages
• Personalized
Portals
• Loca5on-­‐Based
Offers
• Prezi-­‐Style
Presenta5ons
• Dynamic
Forms
• Decision
Paths
• Interac5ve
White
Papers
• App-­‐Like
Landing
Pages
Marke1ng
Apps
Are
Many
a
Splendid
Thing

75. Call
to
Ac1on

76. • Polls
&
Quizzes
• Games
&
Contests
• Calculators
• Configurators
• Assessment
Tools
• Guided
Tours
• Slideshows
&
Galleries
• Refer-­‐a-­‐Friend
• Interac5ve
eBooks
• Catalog
Promo5ons
• Mad-­‐Lib
Forms
• Wizards
• Choose-­‐Your-­‐Own
Stories
• Mul5-­‐Step
Signups
• “Look
Inside”
Offers
• Community
Intros
• Webinar
Hub
Pages
• Personalized
Portals
• Loca5on-­‐Based
Offers
• Prezi-­‐Style
Presenta5ons
• Dynamic
Forms
• Decision
Paths
• Interac5ve
White
Papers
• App-­‐Like
Landing
Pages
Marke1ng
Apps
Are
Many
a
Splendid
Thing

82. • Polls
&
Quizzes
• Games
&
Contests
• Calculators
• Configurators
• Assessment
Tools
• Guided
Tours
• Slideshows
&
Galleries
• Refer-­‐a-­‐Friend
• Interac5ve
eBooks
• Catalog
Promo5ons
• Mad-­‐Lib
Forms
• Wizards
• Choose-­‐Your-­‐Own
Stories
• Mul5-­‐Step
Signups
• “Look
Inside”
Offers
• Community
Intros
• Webinar
Hub
Pages
• Personalized
Portals
• Loca5on-­‐Based
Offers
• Prezi-­‐Style
Presenta5ons
• Dynamic
Forms
• Decision
Paths
• Interac1ve
White
Papers
• App-­‐Like
Landing
Pages
Marke1ng
Apps
Are
Many
a
Splendid
Thing

88. Interac1ve
Reveal

90. Embedded
Quiz

91. Click
on
your
“app
personality”
—
what
kind
of
app
are
you?

97. Does
interac1ve
content
move
the
needle?

98. 1.
Educate
our
prospects.
4.
Inspire
social
sharing.
3.
Convert
prospects
to
leads.
2.
Differen5ate
our
company.
4
Big
Goals
of
Content
Marke1ng

99. How
effec1ve
is
content
at
educa1ng
buyers?
2%!
13%!
15%!
64%!
6%!
0%!
2%!
5%!
48%!
45%!
0%!
10%!
20%!
30%!
40%!
50%!
60%!
70%!
Very
ineffective!
Somewhat
ineffect.!
Neither! Somewhat
effect.!
Very effective!
Passive! Interactive!
Source:
DemandMetric,
Content
&
The
Buyer’s
Journey:
Benchmark
Study
Report,
June
2014
93%
vs.
70%

100. 2%!
20%!
23%!
45%!
10%!
0%!
2%!
10%!
55%!
33%!
0%!
10%!
20%!
30%!
40%!
50%!
60%!
Very
ineffective!
Somewhat
ineffect.!
Neither! Somewhat
effect.!
Very effective!
Passive! Interactive!
How
effec1ve
is
content
at
differen1a1ng
the
firm?
Source:
DemandMetric,
Content
&
The
Buyer’s
Journey:
Benchmark
Study
Report,
June
2014
88%
vs.
55%

101. 3%!
22%!
39%!
32%!
4%!
0%!
7%!
23%!
56%!
14%!
0%!
10%!
20%!
30%!
40%!
50%!
60%!
Very poorly! Moderately
poorly!
Neutral! Moderately
well!
Very well!
Passive! Interactive!
How
well
does
content
convert
visitors?
Source:
DemandMetric,
Content
&
The
Buyer’s
Journey:
Benchmark
Study
Report,
June
2014
70%
vs.
36%

102. 6%!
38%! 39%!
15%!
2%!
5%!
7%!
50%!
21%!
17%!
0%!
10%!
20%!
30%!
40%!
50%!
60%!
Very
infrequently!
Infrequently! Neutral! Frequently! Very
frequently!
Passive! Interactive!
How
frequently
is
content
shared
by
visitors?
Source:
DemandMetric,
Content
&
The
Buyer’s
Journey:
Benchmark
Study
Report,
June
2014
38%
vs.
17%

103. 1.
Cacophony
of
content.
4.
Tired
conversion
tac5cs.
3.
Talking
at
the
prospect.
2.
Burden
on
the
audience.
4
Big
Problems
of
Content
Marke1ng

104. Problem:
Content
is
not
genera5ng
much
interest
or
gejng
much
a$en5on.
Passive
Interac1ve
37%
8%
Source:
DemandMetric,
Content
&
The
Buyer’s
Journey:
Benchmark
Study
Report,
June
2014
vs.

105. Problem:
Content
quality
is
poor.
Passive
Interac1ve
25%
3%
Source:
DemandMetric,
Content
&
The
Buyer’s
Journey:
Benchmark
Study
Report,
June
2014
vs.

106. Media
Messages
Innova1on
in
Marke1ng
Touchpoints
what
it
says
where
and
how
it
appears
most
digital
marke5ng
innova5on
to
date
(“the
medium
is
the
message”)

107. Media
Messages
Mechanisms
MARKETING
APPS
the
next
big
wave
of
marke5ng
innova5on
(“the
mechanism
is
the
message”)
Innova1on
in
Marke1ng
Touchpoints
what
it
says
where
and
how
it
appears
how
it
behaves
form
func0on

109. Engagement
Axis
Business
Model
Axis
FREE/OPEN
PAID/GATED
PASSIVE
INTERACTIVE
White
Papers

110. Engagement
Axis
Business
Model
Axis
FREE/OPEN
PAID/GATED
PASSIVE
INTERACTIVE
Websites
Blogs
Social
Media
eBooks
Webinars
White
Papers
premium
passive
content
is
typically
gated
behind
a
form
most
passive
content
is
free
and
low-­‐engagement

111. Engagement
Axis
Business
Model
Axis
FREE/OPEN
FREEMIUM
PAID/GATED
PASSIVE
INTERACTIVE
Websites
Blogs
Social
Media
eBooks
Webinars
White
Papers
premium
passive
content
is
typically
gated
behind
a
form
most
passive
content
is
free
and
low-­‐engagement

112. Engagement
Axis
Business
Model
Axis
FREE/OPEN
FREEMIUM
PAID/GATED
PASSIVE
INTERACTIVE
Websites
Blogs
Social
Media
eBooks
Webinars
White
Papers
Na1ve
Mobile
Apps
MARKETING
APPS
Interac1ve
White
Papers
Interac1ve
eBooks
Configurators
U1li1es
Assessment
Tools
Contests
Lookbooks
Galleries
Workbooks
Guided
Tours
Games
Calculators
Quizzes
Sweepstakes
na0ve
mobile
apps
are
inherently
gated
by
an
installa0on
premium
passive
content
is
typically
gated
behind
a
form
most
passive
content
is
free
and
low-­‐engagement

113. 0me
content
sophis0ca0on
1.
Web
pages
2.
Rich
content
3.
Personaliza5on
4.
Marke5ng
apps
video,
infographics,
responsive
web,
HTML5
founda5on
of
digital
content
marke5ng
dynamically
subs5tuted
content
based
on
visitor’s
profile
interac5ve
experiences
with
programma5c
flow
and
logic
The
4
Waves
of
Content
Marke1ng
Going
up
this
axis
is
all
about
breaking
through
the
noise

114. 0me
content
sophis0ca0on
1.
Web
pages
2.
Rich
content
3.
Personaliza5on
4.
Marke5ng
apps
video,
infographics,
responsive
web,
HTML5
founda5on
of
digital
content
marke5ng
dynamically
subs5tuted
content
based
on
visitor’s
profile
interac5ve
experiences
with
programma5c
flow
and
logic
The
4
Waves
of
Content
Marke1ng
Apps
collect
more
accurate
“intent”
data
from
visitors
—
feeding
be$er
personaliza5on
profiles
Going
up
this
axis
is
all
about
breaking
through
the
noise

115. 0me
content
sophis0ca0on
1.
Web
pages
2.
Rich
content
3.
Personaliza5on
4.
Marke5ng
apps
video,
infographics,
responsive
web,
HTML5
founda5on
of
digital
content
marke5ng
dynamically
subs5tuted
content
based
on
visitor’s
profile
interac5ve
experiences
with
programma5c
flow
and
logic
The
4
Waves
of
Content
Marke1ng
Apps
collect
more
accurate
“intent”
data
from
visitors
—
feeding
be$er
personaliza5on
profiles
Going
up
this
axis
is
all
about
breaking
through
the
noise
Apps
make
it
easier
for
visitors
to
consume
the
most
relevant
content
in
bite-­‐
sized
pieces

116. 7%!
19%!
25%!
28%!
30%!
32%!
53%!
60%!
66%!
0%! 10%! 20%! 30%! 40%! 50%! 60%! 70%!
Other barriers!
Limited market/competitor understanding!
Production skills!
Limited buyer understanding!
Creative skills!
Technical skills!
Time/agility constraints!
Budget constraints!
Staffing/resource constraints!
Barriers
to
Greater
Content
Marke1ng
Success
Source:
DemandMetric,
Content
&
The
Buyer’s
Journey:
Benchmark
Study
Report,
June
2014

117. Solware
is
Changing
Marke1ng
App
Economics

119.
Content
We
are
opening
up
a
crea5ve
universe
between
the
two.
Apps
Help
our
customers
distance
themselves
from
content
noise

120. Marke5ng
Apps
to
Drive
Engagement
Marke5ng
Apps
to
Drive
Conversion
Marke1ng
Apps
Plamorm
Marke1ng
Apps
Across
the
Buyer’s
Journey
Shared
User
Data
Reusable
Components
Prospects
Customers
Brand
Standards
Single-­‐Point
Integra5on
Consistent
Analy5cs
bridge
the
legacy
gap
between
brand
and
performance
touchpoints
Progressive
Profiling
of
Prospect

122. Thank
you.
Download
the
free
report.
Sco$
Brinker
@chiefmartec
h$p://ioninterac5ve.com
Jerry
Rackley
@DemandMetric