When & Why Net-New Content Creation Makes Sense—And When It Doesn’t

1996: The year content was named “king” in a burgeoning digital world. 2001: The year "content marketing" was officially coined and the modern content revolution began. 130 trillion and counting: The number of webpages currently indexed by Google. One zillion infinities: The number of pieces of content you stand to create during your B2B content marketing career. Zero: Perhaps the number of times you've asked yourself, “Do I really need to create a new piece of content?” If the last one strikes a little too close to home, we're not passing judgement — rather we're reminding you that you don’t always have to start from scratch. Consistent quality content creation comes with the territory; it’s an integral part of your B2B content marketing strategy. Content is how we reach, help, and educate our buyer audience. Furthermore, as buyers and buyer committees evolve, there’s always going to be a place for net-new creation. But many times, refreshing, repurposing, and optimizing can play a major role in the creation process, and sometimes you may just need to stand down.

Do You Really Need a New Piece of Content? Yes. No. Maybe So.

If you need to fill your editorial calendar…

Stop, collaborate, and listen. via GIPHY While no content marketer wants to admit they’ve created content for the sake of filling a spot on the editorial calendar, it happens all the time. Again, no judgement here. But we had to call it out. So, before you feel tempted to fill a calendar opening, consider channeling that time and effort into more research or an audit. For example, performing an SEO and content audit, a task that aims to assess the current state of your internal content ecosystem as well as external variables, can unearth unique opportunities that can fill your editorial calendar with net-new and refresh ideas.

If a relevant and previously uncovered topic, trend, or paint point presents itself…

Go for it. Your goal is to be the best answer for your audience. In order for your content ecosystem to thrive, you have to have your basics covered (i.e. product explainers or resource guides) and within reach for your audience. If you see gaps in those core areas, you need to fill them. But as buyers become more empowered and voice search and assistants gain increasing popularity, they’re regularly uncovering new problems they need solved and more pointed questions they need answered. This means regular review of who your audience is and the questions they’re asking is more important than ever. You should be regularly leveraging website analytics, Google Search Console, question analyzer tools, and the list goes on to unearth and inform content creation opportunities.

If no one’s talking about those relevant topics, trends, or pain points ...

Then you should absolutely go for it. Remember the legendary wisdom of Ricky Bobby’s pop: “If you ain’t first, you’re last.” via GIPHY It’s rare that you’re given the opportunity to create thought leadership and demand around something that’s new to your internal and external content ecosystem. Of course, that window of opportunity won’t be open for long. HubSpot’s Brian Halligan famously did this with the term “inbound marketing” — a term that every marketing department now accepts, understands, and uses. One note of caution, however: Creating demand around an original idea or rising topic requires vigilance, creativity, and integration with a range of content marketing tactics (i.e. influencers, paid and organic social media, email marketing, etc.) SEO is a long-term factor, but in the short-term, don’t let low search volumes deter you.

And if everyone’s talking about those relevant topics, trends, or pain points ...

Proceed with cautious ambition. Tackling a highly-publicized or popular topic is worth it when you’re confident in your ability to provide new and/or better insight and expertise than your direct and indirect competition. Becoming the best answer for a topic, trend, or niche is both art and science: You need the right expertise and the topic needs to be relevant to your audience. You need credibility and authenticity. And it all needs to be backed by relevant data insights.

If you think that your existing content is too old to be relevant ...

Table net-new content creation … for now. Instead of throwing out or forgetting about the old, consider giving it a revamp. Refreshing content has numerous benefits — from sending positive SEO “freshness” signals to search engines to boosting your efficiency and productivity. Analyze the performance of that blog post, downloadable asset, or web page to understand traffic, rankings, engagement, and so on. Then couple those findings with first-hand research on other similar content in the external ecosystem. If you determine your existing content has potential for a second life, add new content, insight, resources, and so on. You can then republish and repromote, and continue to optimize. If you determine it’s a lost cause, recreate and redirect the old content to pass any remaining authority onto your new content.

If you’re trying to reach a new audience…

Net-new or net-old, this one’s a personal call. Talk of content personalization has reached a fever pitch. That means B2B marketers have more reason and opportunity than ever to create tailored content for new or specific audience. Identifying a new audience segment fills your content pipeline with additional repurposing opportunities — or it can be the repurposing opportunity. Have you seen the rise of a new purchasing stakeholder group? Develop specialized content just for them. Do you have targeted content on financial management for healthcare companies? Repurpose and personalize your content for your legal or technology verticals.

If your content will target a keyword you already own search real estate for ...

Press pause. Target keywords that are already mapped to other pages — especially your service pages — could hurt your search footprint and cannibalize traffic from other content. The good news is that your concept can be saved and utilized in a different way in the future. However, that’s not to say your content concept shouldn’t be saved and utilized for the future. For example, you could evolve your concept to target a longer-tail query that’s related to your original idea. And using the hub and spoke content model, you can build out your authority around the overarching topic and implement strategic cross-linking to turn it into a smart SEO play. Long-tail keyword phrases also allow you to more closely match your audience’s search intent, creating the potential for rising in the (search) ranks.

If new content runs the risk of being duplicative…

Stop. Do not pass go. Do not collect $200. Duplicative content is a no-no, and has been and will be forever. via GIPHY

If you want to launch a new content type ...

You have the green light. Introducing new content types diversifies how your audience can discover, interact with, and digest your content. New content types also cater to changing audience preferences for content consumption. Maybe you want to evolve several statistical roundups into a single infographic. Or perhaps you want to enable your audience to solve problems and find answers to their questions through an interactive quiz. But a quick note here: This may also be an opportunity for refreshing, repurposing, or optimizing existing content. So, be intentional. Read: B2B Brands Go Bold: 7 Great Examples of Interactive B2B Content

Key Word: New

Net-new content creation should always be top of mind for content marketers. You should always be thinking about how you can inform, engage, and inspire your audience to action. But new content needs to provide new value — not fill an editorial gap. And not all new content needs to be built from scratch, rather there are several opportunities to refresh, repurpose, republish, and optimize for performance. If you’re ever in doubt on what to do, we hope this piece lends some perspective. But if doubt persists, remember this tidbit from the incomparable Ann Handley, Chief Content Officer at MarketingProfs: “We don’t need more content. We need better content!” [bctt tweet="We don’t need more content. We need better content! @annhandley of @MarketingProfs" username="toprank"] Want to identify areas where your content can be better? Use these Best Answer Content Examples to see how your internal and external content ecosystem measures up.

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Ally or Adversary? How Our Marketing Fears Can Be Wielded for Good

B2B marketers are a special breed: We’re relentlessly self-improving. We look to our industry peers and thought leaders for wisdom. We scour data for opportunities and insight. We keep tabs on rising trends and emerging tools. We tirelessly strive to adapt our strategies to the evolving needs of our customers and prospects. Without a doubt, we’re ambitious. But despite that ambition, we’re only human. Fear can easily creep in—which can become a helpful tool or a crippling bad habit.

Fear Itself

Fear is the most natural human emotion in my opinion. The presence of fear in our marketing minds not only signals self- and spatial-awareness, but also benevolence. We deeply care about what we do and who (i.e. our brands, co-workers, and buyers) we serve, and we want to do our absolute best to drive results and offer solutions. With the right focus, fear can be an unexpected ally. But the problem is that fear lurks everywhere. A recent survey by Workfront and MarTech Today specifically asked marketing operations leaders about their top fears. The largest percentage (nearly a quarter of respondents) said having someone publically point out in a discrepancy in a report as a top fear. Coming in second with 20% of the vote was fear of not being able to prove their own or their team’s value. I'd wager that an expanded survey would likely reveal other terrifying scenarios such as discussing poor results, getting budget or strategic buy-in, trying and potentially failing at a new content type—and the list goes on. Now, while the report overall aimed to provide insight into the workplace challenges marketers face as data and technology drive change, this particular section provides a glimpse into how fear can manifest on both grand and granular scales within our psyches. Of course, in addition to being the most natural human emotion, fear is perhaps the most powerful, too. So, how do you wield your fears for good?

Looking Within

Some of the best advice I’ve ever received on this front came from comedian and seasoned B2B marketer, Tim Washer. “[Marketers need to stop] letting fear have too much influence over their decisions—and dropping this habit certainly requires some deep personal reflection,” he told me. Truth. So, where do you start? With the first step. “Ask yourself how does fear hold me back in my job? Is it a risk-averse boss? Is it fear of failure?” And here’s the kicker: “You need to figure out how fear is impacting you right now, in this very moment. Then you can start to find solutions to work around it.” [bctt tweet="You need to figure out how fear is impacting you right now, in this very moment. Then you can start to find solutions to work around it. @timwasher" username="toprank"] From my perspective, mastering this in-the-moment-recognition can be the difference maker on whether you can use fear as a driver rather than a deterrent.

Becoming the Master of Your Fears

Marketers: Whatever it is that keeps you up at night, remember that fear comes with the territory. We all have our dark and stormy moments. Not only do we face an increasingly challenging and complex industry landscape, but we also face increasing pressure from our companies, buyers, and ourselves to be the best. When we recognize and embrace our fears, we can do amazing things. When harnessed for good, our fear help us see innovation possibilities. It can encourage us to place smart bets or take on a risk or two. It can strengthen our resolve and ambition. But when fear takes over as the primary decision-making factor—or leads to indecision—that’s when problems arise. We get restless. We lose confidence. We lose our luster for innovation. And honestly, we fear and worry more, and fear becomes a crippling habit. So, for anyone out there who needs to hear this right now: You got this. Are you afraid to go bold with your B2B content marketing efforts? Learn why it's time to break free of boring B2B with insights from marketing industry leaders ... and Laser Bear.

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Digital Marketing News: B2B Content Consumption Habits, Video Captions Boost Brands, Google’s How-To Structured Data & More

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The Experience Factor: It’s Time for Content Marketers to ‘Flip the Switch’

I’d love to tell you everything. But in the spirit of brevity and relevance, I’ll cut to the moment it all clicked. While enjoying a lovely dinner with an old family friend last week, he relayed his version of a classic Maya Angelou quote to me: “You know, you meet so many people throughout your life. And you never really remember what they said or what they did, but you always remember the way they made you feel.” via GIPHY For decades, content marketers have been tasked with meeting buyers along their journey, striving to create best-answer content that satisfies curiosity, encourages brand engagements, and paints their product or service as the solution buyers are looking for. However, as technology and innovation soared, internet accessibility expanded, competition evolved, and buyer and consumer preferences changed, many marketers have felt pressure to ramp up content production and push it out fast to stay visible, engaging, and relevant; they’re saying and doing more than ever. But the question every marketer needs to answer is: Is my brand delivering experiences that leave a lasting impression?

The Current Situation

Savvy and ambitious content marketers are increasingly insight-driven, leveraging owned and third-party data to inform their content approach. For example:

• For years research has consistently shown that buyers conduct much of their research online prior to reaching out to a vendor. So, you aim to create best-answer content based on search demand and topical relevance.
• More research and experience shows that buyers don’t trust brands, but they do trust their peers and industry experts. So, you partner with relevant industry influencers to provide wide-ranging perspectives and grow thought leadership.
• Social media platforms are learning and engagement destinations; it’s where buyers spend a huge chunk of their time personally and professionally. So, you leverage social media as part of your integrated strategy to amplify content, engage in discussions, spotlight influencers, and more.

But the question still remains: Are your efforts making a lasting impact? Are you making customers and prospective buyers feel something? It's the age of experience, folks. Fresh research from Gartner reveals that 80% of marketing leaders surveyed said they expect to compete mainly on customer experience this year. A study by Forrester, which was commissioned by *Adobe, shows that experience-led businesses have higher brand awareness, employee satisfcation, customer satisfaction, customer retention, and the list goes on. Finally, Adobe's Digital Trends Report reveals that half of brands will increase CX-related technology spending this year. Understanding discovery and consumption habits and preferences is vital. They are key parts of building your content marketing strategy, and part of our own process for developing best-answer content. But it's time for a shift; it's time to flip the experience switch.

Flipping Your Switch

The examples in the previous section are still smart and relevant marketing plays. But the output may look a little different once you apply the experience lens. The good news? Shifting your strategy to focus more on experiences largely comes down to mindset. The bad news? Shifting your strategy to focus more on experiences largely comes down to mindset. When you flip your experience switch on, the data you seek, the conclusions you draw, and the strategic choices you make—from experimenting with new mediums such as podcasts and interactive content to innovative storytelling—will naturally evolve. [bctt tweet="Creating compelling experiences with interactive content is one way to stand out, differentiate, and optimize for effectiveness. @leeodden" username="toprank"] But it can be hard to break free of the status quo—or convince other stakeholders it’s the right move. A great first step is simply test something new. That doesn’t necessarily mean you should chase after the newest, shiniest tactic. We believe in being bold and breaking free of boring B2B traditions, but you need to be smart with your time, budget, and resources. When it comes to getting stakeholder buy-in, you’ll undoubtedly have to provide data-backed rationale, examples, level-set on potential results, and outline the needed budget. But be confident in your recommendation. You’ll certainly need to be open to feedback, but stay focused on your end goal to prevent your plan from being completely watered down. As Tim Washer, a seasoned B2B marketer, keynote speaker, and comedian once told me: “These days, there’s so little content out there that truly connects with people. So often we start off with a good idea, it goes through a committee where everyone wants to have a say in something, and the idea begins to soften. Then you end up with the lowest common denominator of something safe.” [bctt tweet="So often we start off with a good idea, it goes through a committee where everyone wants to have a say in something, and the idea begins to soften. Then you end up with the lowest common denominator of something safe. @timwasher" username="toprank"] via GIPHY

Ready. Set. Flip.

As Shep Hyken—a seasoned customer service and experience expert—shared with us not long ago: “Customers don’t compare you to your competitors anymore—they compare you to other positive experiences they’ve had.” [bctt tweet="Customers don’t compare you to your competitors anymore—they compare you to other positive experiences they’ve had. @Hyken" username="toprank"] Content marketers can play an integral role in crafting and advancing positive audience experiences with their brands. But it will require a shift in mindset for you, your team, and other key stakeholders within your organization. So, start small by breaking out of your comfort zone and testing something new. If you don’t have the right tools, expertise, or internal resources, tap your friendly neighborhood content marketing agency. Resonance is a key factor in creating content experiences that form audience connections. Get inspiration and insight from 10 seasoned marketing pros.

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The Relationship Between SEO and Social: It’s Complicated … and Complimentary

Social media marketing and search engine optimization are often viewed as two disparate components of a holistic digital strategy. In some ways, they are distinct, but there is far more convergence and crossover than we’re often led to believe. I find that looking at one side through the lens of the other invariably helps me better understand the more ambiguous aspects of each. So today I thought I’d share this perspective, with a focus on how these tactical areas can work cohesively to strengthen your brand’s visibility and impact on the web.

Similarities Between Social and Search

Let’s begin by exploring some commonalities between social media networks and social engines. Both are massively popular internet entry points. Google processes 3.5 billion searches every day. Nearly the same number of people (3.48 billion) are active social media users. That’s roughly half the planet’s population. These numbers, in a nutshell, illustrate why digital marketers everywhere need to account for both search and social. They’re the first places most people go when they hop online. People use both to answer questions. We all know this is the primary purpose of search engines. Whether users are typing in a literal semantic question, or simply inputting keywords in hopes of finding information, they are trying to find answers and solve problems. Social media doesn’t necessarily present the same direct question-and-answer format, but we usually log on to satisfy some type of curiosity. (What are people talking about right now? What do my friends and connections have to say about recent events? Is this dress white and gold, or black and blue?) Both are critical brand touchpoints. Two of the easiest ways for any customer to vet a company are by: A) Pulling them up in a Google search, or B) Checking out their social media accounts. It’s pretty easy to tell based on a brand’s search rankings, SERP display, and site structure whether they have a sound digital strategy. The same is true of a quick glance at their Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn accounts. If it’s difficult to find your company through search or social — or if you give off a poor first impression on either front — that’s an immediate credibility-crusher.

Where Search and Social Can Work Together Strategically

SEO and social media marketing are fundamentally different. There are job titles, and entire companies, dedicated specifically to each. But in an integrated digital marketing strategy, it’s important to recognize where these two facets intersect and complement one another. #1: Keyword Research and Application Keywords (and extensions thereof) form the backbone of a best-answer content strategy. The intel derived from these efforts can also be applied to social media marketing. As mentioned above, people use both these channels to answer questions. With a defined understanding of which search phrases and queries are pertinent to our audiences, we can better align the content we provide. This is true on social as well. When you use the right keywords (and, in this case, hashtags) more frequently in your posts, driving conversations and engagement around them, your brand will be more likely to show up on the feeds of people interested in them. In either instance, it comes down to the same foundational crux of almost any content strategy: What do your customers want to know, and how can you deliver it? #2: Social Content Can Show Up in Search Try entering your company’s name into a Google search. What’s the first result? Hopefully your website’s homepage. The second and third might also be pages from your own domain. But very frequently, the first third-party link will be your LinkedIn Page. (See the SERP for TopRank Marketing below as a typical example.) LinkedIn* is a particularly impactful platform in this regard; search engines crawl it, so incorporating savvy SEO tactics on your company’s LinkedIn Page can actually benefit your rankings. This hasn’t been quite as true for other networks, which were once almost invisible to Google, but research from HootSuite did find a dramatic increase in the appearance of Facebook and Twitter content in SERPS starting in late 2015: “Admittedly, the majority of social links within the SERPs appear for branded search terms, but this should not be discounted,” writes Simon Ensor at Search Engine Watch. “If we are in fact looking at marketing as a more holistic practice in the digital age, then we have to ensure that your branded search terms result in high click-through rates from search.” #3: Social Signals (Indirectly) Affect Search It’s been a hotly debated topic in the digital marketing world. Google has claimed for years that social signals are not a ranking factor. Yet, HootSuite’s experimentation found that “there appears to be a strong correlation between social activity and rankings.” Another study last year from Searchmetrics reached the same conclusion. We still don’t have complete clarity around this relationship, which would earn a Facebook status of “It’s complicated.” Although we don’t believe social signals directly impact search rankings, there is definitely a correlation, which is widely attributed to the byproducts of highly successful social content. As Sharon Hurley Hall puts it, “Social media may not be a ranking factor for Google, but it can amplify the ranking factors that Google DOES consider.” In other words, when a link to your content gains traction on social media, it tends to gain more general prominence: pageviews, backlinks, brand authority, etc. This, in turn, helps the page earn more visibility in the eyes of Google. The key is simply getting people to click through on those links, which brings us to the final point of convergence. #4: Compelling Clicks is Crucial Search engine optimization today isn’t so much about keyword-stuffing; Google is too smart to be gamed by it. The engine’s sole mission is to deliver the most satisfactory results for a given query, meaning it will weigh click-throughs and time on page more heavily than text arrangement. That’s why an irresistible headline and meta description are so vital to SERP success. This is also at the heart of social media marketing. In a sea of competing ephemeral content, you’ve really gotta stand out to capture someone’s attention and compel a click. (Especially since social media networks, unlike search engines, aren’t all that interested in sending users over to your website, so the algorithms will often work against you for outbound links.)   If you find a particular angle or message is especially resonant on social platforms (even if just for driving engagement, not clicks), you might consider adopting it for your meta descriptions to see if it improves CTRs, and vice versa.

Social and SEO: Two Keys to the Content Kingdom

These are separate tactical areas of digital marketing, but to treat them as completely independent would be a mistake. At TopRank Marketing, we view SEO and social media marketing as two complementary aspects of a fully integrated content marketing strategy, with numerous functional similarities and intersectional opportunities. Understanding how to maximize both in unison is instrumental to unleashing your brand’s full potential. Want to learn more about how different tactics can work together harmoniously in today’s digital strategies? Check out our recent post from Caitlin on The Intersection of SEO & Influencer Marketing: What B2B Marketers Need to Know. * Disclosure: LinkedIn is a TopRank Marketing client

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10 Smart Question Research Tools for B2B Marketers

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Pump it Up: How to Maximize Your B2B Content Marketing Campaign Investments

Let’s talk shoes for a moment. Years ago, I purchased a stunning pair Jimmy Choo stiletto pumps; they were all the rage at that time. I’d been eyeing them for months and I convinced myself that this rather spendy investment would pay dividends in style and wearability. When my Choos made their public debut, I was showered with compliments on how gorgeous they were. I was feeling great. via GIPHY Of course, a few hours later a shooting pain in my Achilles tendon meant it was time to give them a rest, so I changed into tennis shoes. Today, those shoes are collecting dust in my closet. And every time I see them, I feel a mixture of regret (perhaps not my wisest investment after all) and longing to take them out for another spin (with the right insoles at a sitting event). B2B marketers are making huge investments in content this year, and that trend will only continue. From what we’re seeing across the industry, many marketers are investing in splashy content marketing campaigns. But like my Jimmy Choos, after the initial thrill and luster subsides, campaign content can start collecting dust at the back of the resource center and you may even wonder if it was worth the investment. The good news is, with the right insight and planning you can regret-proof you campaigns. Taking the time to ensure the right messaging, promotional strategy, and long-term opportunities can help you extend the life span and visibility of your campaigns and drive results that are meaningful to your team and brand. Here are five key considerations to help you do just that.

How to Maximize Your B2B Content Marketing Campaign Investment

#1 - Nail the hook.

This first step may be the trickiest, but it’s critical to build the foundation for a successful campaign. Creating a campaign hook that will inspire your target audience to engage, share, and talk about and remember your brand is both art and science. [bctt tweet="Creating a campaign hook that will inspire your target audience to engage, share, and talk about and remember your brand is both art and science. @Alexis5484 #B2BContentMarketing" username="toprank"] Let’s start with the science. In short, go with the data. Who is your ideal customer or prospect? Not just their job title and company size, but rather what problems are they trying to solve? Who do they trust? What are they interested in aside from doing their job? Where do they spend their time online? Leverage both quantitative and qualitative sources to bring this data together. Talk to your sales team or customer service reps since they are typically the most connected to your prospects and current customers. Engage in social media listening. Gather third party data. Perhaps consider creating your own data by designing and deploying a customer or industry survey. Then run the data you collect through the business lens. How do you solve your customers’ problems? What key features or benefits are deserving of more attention? What types of content (e.g. webinars, white papers, interactive infographics) can you create to garner the most attention and interest? And finally, how can you bring everything together under a creative umbrella for maximum resonance? This is where the art piece comes in. Tap into your best listeners, creative thinkers, and strategizers to finalize a theme and key messages that you believe will connect with and move your target audience. Now, this piece of advice can be key to testing the viability of your content hook both short- and long-term. Do some acid testing. Ask your network for their initial thoughts or run a few A/B tests on social media to see if your hook is resonating. You’re not just looking for thumbs up. You’re looking for messaging that is memorable, creates brand affinity, and propels the user to take action.

#2 - Make promotion part of the planning process so you’re ready for launch day and beyond.

Your team has put a lot of effort into building your campaign. But far too often, promotion is an afterthought rather than an integral part of the planning and strategy process. This ensures integration from the beginning, minimizes stress as you draw closer to launch day, and allows you to think more globally about how you can promote or repurpose into the future. [bctt tweet="Content promotion can’t be effective if it’s an afterthought. Your best practice would be to make promotion part of content planning. - @leeodden" username="toprank"] As you draw closer to launch, create a promotional timeline that includes your tactical mix and content types. Ideally, that timeline will be at least three months in length. This will help you prevent a campaign from flaming out after two weeks of heavy promotion. Your promotional timeline and plan could include:

• Adding crosslinks and/or banner CTAs across your website or blog
• Emails to customers and prospects
• Social media messages, images, and video across major channels
• A paid social targeting plan
• Press releases or other third-party editorial
• Repurposing plans (which we’ll get to in the next section)

Of course, when launch day arrives, the real work begins. Day 1 promotion is important to gaining campaign buzz, so plan to get all your promotion engines firing. But perhaps the most important piece of building out that promotional timeline is creating a cadence; tactics can be used beyond Day 1 or Week 1. (e.g. Just because you sent an email or press release on Day 1, doesn’t mean you can’t again on Day 7, Day 14, or Day 30.) For more insight on designing your promotional timeline, check out these 50 content promotion tactics.

#3 - Optimize … and repromote.

Since you did so much research and planning upfront, hopefully your message is resonating and you’re seeing great results one, two, three, or even four weeks out. But whether you’re meeting, exceeding, or falling short of your expectations, post-launch is the time to really maximize your investment. At launch, establish a regular check-in cadence with your team to review results and discuss campaign optimization opportunities. This is not the time to sit back and just watch the results roll in. You can start optimizing campaign performance on Day 1. There are two key areas to focus on during your check-ins:

• Reach: Are you reaching your goals in terms of visibility? If not, you may need to look at additional channels (e.g. third party editorial) or adjust your paid investment (if you haven’t already). In addition, look at what channels are driving the most visibility and put more investment there.
• Engagement: This is a time to review what messages, visuals, and channels are driving the most people to take action. If certain messaging isn’t working, swap it out. Take a look at the bounce rate, conversion rate, and time spent on your landing page. This is usually a prime place to make adjustments.

Optimization will help you throughout the course of the campaign to learn from what is working and make adjustments to ensure more reach and engagement (and less regret) throughout.

#4 - Repurpose … and repromote.

Every brand is sitting on a dust-collecting gold mine of content. Whether you’re launching a brand new campaign or you’re trying to resurrect (or reimagine) one from a months or years past, this consideration has unending relevance and applications. Also, if the above mentioned recommendation to create a three-month promotion production timeline felt too long, you may not have been thinking about repurposing opportunities. Here are a couple repurposing scenarios for your consideration: Repurpose to extend the life of your campaign. In this scenario you’re repurposing elements of an active campaign to drive back to your primary content hub. An easy way to repurpose content is to change up the format type. For example, pull out nuggets from a text based eBook and create a video for social media or YouTube to drive back to the original asset. If your content was audio or video, pull quotes and create a series of text based blogs driving back to the main asset. A new infographic, motion graphic, or blog content is a good reason to re-promote, remind your existing audience, and reach new prospects. Repurpose to create your next campaign. Even after the lifespan of a campaign is mostly over, that campaign investment can absolutely be leveraged for a future campaign. You can create an entirely new campaigns by bringing together previous content from other campaigns, blog posts, and influencer contributions. It can also work really well to freshen up an evergreen piece and re-release with new information. Here’s a recent example from *LinkedIn. The Sophisticated Marketer’s Guide to LinkedIn was a cornerstone campaign a few years back, and a helpful asset that had long-term appeal. And in honor of its fifth anniversary, the content and design was refreshed, re-released, and repromoted. Bonus tip: In order to be really effective at repurposing content, it really helps to have some kind of searchable repository of all the content that has been created organized by topic. Your website isn’t always the most reliable or complete source of content created. Read: A Tasty, Strategic Addition to the Content Marketing Table: ‘Repurposed Content Cobbler’

#5 - Integrate your B2B content marketing campaigns with your always-on strategy.

If you really want to maximize your B2B content marketing campaigns, you have to think long-term. Campaigns work hand-in-hand with your ongoing, always-on marketing efforts. Ultimately, your marketing efforts aim to fill the funnel, foster brand affinity, and achieve business ROI. If you design campaigns that fit within your core objectives, strategy, and marketing pillars, then they’ll always be a make-sense investment. In addition, integrating you campaigns within your always-on strategy can help you enhance your nurturing capabilities as they relate to your customers, prospects, and target audience, as well as influencers, by creating an interesting, steady drumbeat of content. It also makes repurposing easier and helps extend and keep conversations top-of-mind.

Pump Your B2B Content Marketing Campaigns Up

Flashy, attention-grabbing campaigns can be great investments. They can drive valuable spikes in traffic, engagement, or conversions, as well as help you target specific audiences or verticals. However, without an eye toward the long-term, campaigns often end up like my beautiful Jimmy Choo pumps: A wasted investment that’s collecting dust. By spending time upfront to thoughtfully identify your creative hook and robust, longer-than-a-few-weeks promotional strategy, you can continue to promote and optimize your campaign content for maximum impact and ROI. Are you notching some serious big wins on a recent campaign? How do you keep that momentum going? How do you apply your learnings to what comes next? Check out my post on driving continuous content marketing improvement. *Disclosure: LinkedIn is a TopRank Marketing client.

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