Did you know a cheetah can run 72 mph? One other thing: it’s best not to get up to leave when you’re in the room with one, because you may attract the animal’s attention, and it may decide to chase you down.
This is just one of the valuable things that I learned at Content Marketing World (courtesy of keynote speaker Jack Hanna, who demonstrated how riveting an authentic, passionate voice can be). The premier event for content marketing professionals was held this year in Columbus, Ohio. Judging from the huge growth of this year’s conference over last year (attendance increased from 600 to about 1,000) and the variety of speakers from all over the world, content marketing is getting bigger all the time and will only continue to grow.
Here are some of the other valuable insights I gained:
- The best technology is the technology that has removed the technology. In other words, the only screen that matters is the one in front of you, and content should easily fit whatever medium the reader happens to be using at the time. (Mitch Joel)
- It’s important to understand the difference between privacy and personalization. A company like Amazon provides great value to consumers by using customized data to deliver personalized messages. However, maintaining privacy for consumers will be one of the biggest challenges in the future. (Mitch Joel)
- Think of your content as social currency. Good content can be used to establish and strengthen important relationships. (Mark Bonchek)
- Pull together a zero moment of truth (that moment when a consumer goes online to research a product) on your brand. Online research has forever changed the retail environment; consumers now have access to tremendous amounts of information, and good content can have a huge impact on purchase decisions. (Sam Sebastian)
- The ultimate content strategy is listening: if they ask, you answer. Let your customers tell you what they want to know. (Marcus Sheridan)
- We want to hear from people who have core beliefs. In other words, have an opinion and share it, rather than contributing to the endless supply of bland content out there. We should all have the desire to be a thought leader within our industry. (Marcus Sheridan)
- Customers are platform agnostic, so is content and so is engagement. Every platform depends on every other platform, content is interdependent. Concentrate on creating good content for your audience, not for a device. (Arjun Basu)
- Google Plus is not an answer to Facebook – in some situations, it’s a better option. For businesses, it has a number of benefits that set it apart including video conferencing. It’s the fourth biggest social media platform right now and growing. (Arnie Kuenn)
- There are so many reasons to use Twitter: it’s growing not only in user numbers but also in the frequency of its use, the younger generation is adopting it, and as the use of mobile devices explodes, it aligns well with a multiple screen environment. It’s a powerful tool that is expanding its reach exponentially. (Nate Riggs)
- Optimization is about making things easier for consumers and search engines. Understand what moves your customer, and then apply optimization. (Lee Odden)
Content Marketing World happens once a year, and the next one is planned for Cleveland during the second week of September 2013. In the meantime, there are all kinds of resources available on the Content Marketing Institute’s website. There may even be a few pictures of Jack Hanna’s cheetah.
