Why Is Content Marketing So Hard to Grasp?
I love the term ‘content marketing.’ I use it to describe what I do because I think it’s important to make the distinction between Sway Engine’s expertise and what other marketing communications firms do. I don’t get frustrated or upset when a prospect or client doesn’t “get it.” As the only one responsible for business development at Sway Engine, I love the time it takes to explain something new to customers and prospects.
Most salespeople aren’t interested in educating their customers. Time is money, so once they’ve got a marketing product to sell and the customer is interested in buying it, it pays to keep that customer buying the same thing over and over. For example, if the customer wants a newsletter, most salespeople will promise a newsletter, whether or not it’s what the customer needs. Down the road, most salespeople want to keep the customer buying that same newsletter service, whether or not it’s working. These sales almost always take place without any discussion about the content.
As one of those rare creatures who spent time on the editorial and business side of publishing, I have a different attitude. Customers I can talk to and educate about different ways of doing things almost always become good clients. The ones who don’t want to be educated almost always end up being the least loyal and least lucrative accounts.
I’d love to meet more prospects who already understand the value of content and simply hire Sway Engine to execute the nuts-and-bolts of their strategy. More often, though, I call on people who think they need a blog, e-newsletter, Twitter account or some other delivery vehicle, but they don’t know why they need it or how they would use it effectively. It takes more time to flip the process, show them how and why they should start with content, but when that happens, it always pays off.
