Content marketing: an interview with Joe Pulizzi

You might know by now that I am exploring the fascinating world of content syndication, article marketing, content marketing, etc.

Now, of course it wouldn’t be fair to compare all these things since strictly, the only thing they have in common is content. 

You probably also know that content (be in the form of newsletter content or white papers, for instance) has been used for ages to build traffic, generate leads, etc. 

Who hasn’t used white papers to generate leads? How old the value and importance of content may be (it must be 20 years or so since someone, don’t remember who, said that ‘content is king’), over the last years, there is an increasing attention for content (should I mention social media?). And there even is content marketing now. Time for an interview with one of the best known content marketing evangelists, Joe Pulizzi.

Besides having founded Junta42, a content vendor-client matching service, Joe is the co-author of ‘Get Content Get Customers’.

I asked Joe what, according to him, is good content, mainly from a social media viewpoint.

This is what he answered: “There are all kinds of definitions of great content. However, if we think about it from an engagement standpoint, great content is information that makes people take an action.  In the social media context, we like to think about great content that people are willing to share with their networks through outlets like Twitter, Facebook or other social communities.  If, as a business, you develop content that is good enough for people to share with those that matter most to them, you’ve created great content”. 

Telling the corporate story through the use of content marketing

Now, I just explained that Joe runs a vendor-client matching service (you become a member, explain the ‘content job’ and the copywriters and other content creators connect, simply said).

I asked him to explain more about the service, called Junta42, and about the benefits it offers.
 
Joe answered “most businesses can benefit from it” and explained why: “Now that all businesses have to be their own publishers to market their products and services, need help in creating their corporate story through the use of content marketing. Junta42 helps them find the perfect content vendors that are specifically matched to them. For example, if a brand wants to develop a custom magazine for their customers, but don’t have the knowledge or resources to do it themselves, all they need to do is fill out a brief survey at Junta42, and we’ll match them up with the best three to five vendors matched to their needs (for free)”.

Next I asked Joe what he thinks about websites where you can purchase prewritten content and about content syndication websites. Do they have their place? Who should use them? Or should no one?

Joe: “I believe they have their place, but honestly, it’s hard to tell a corporate story that is engaging without having any say in the content process. That’s why custom content is so critical. Custom content, created by a brand or partners of that brand, is developed to solve specific marketing challenges.  It’s challenging to go to a website and buy content that fits those specific marketing needs”.  

“A brand cannot rely on their customers or other users to tell their story for them”
 
Until now we haven’t really tackled user-generated content that, in this social media day and age, receives a lot of attention.

So I asked Joe what he thought about the role and place of user-generated content.

This is what he said: “User-generated content will continue to increase and always be important.  For example, I love the fact that Kodak puts their customer pictures on the home page of their website.  That said, a brand cannot rely on their customers or other users to tell their story for them. Best case scenario is to continue to give valuable, compelling and relevant content to your community, so that other people are willing to talk and spread that message in their own terms.  Great content should spawn useful user-generated content”.

Next I asked Joe what he thought about companies that offer other businesses the possibility to outsource their social media presence, including the content creation. Where is the authenticity?

Joe: “I have no problem with a brand working with copywriters to help them tell their story.  In those cases, the brand must be involved in the process, directing the marketing goals and consistently working with the team to make sure that it’s consistent with the story the brand is trying to tell.  If I have someone develop an ad for me, does that mean that the ad is not authentic?  Of course not.  As long as I am in the process, directing and approving, it can be authentic.  If you set it and forget it, yes, you may have an issue there”. 

Finally, I asked Joe what the  true meaning, place and value of content marketing is as he sees it and what are the keys for success and the recipes for failures.

Joe: “As we are seeing more and more, content is the essence of marketing today.  Buyers can ignore you in just about every marketing tactic you try. So in order to get attention and build relationships with customers, you better say something that is compelling or helpful, or customers will certainly ignore it. A content marketing strategy works when customers stop ignoring you, start paying attention to you, and decide to give you business because you are the trusted advisor to the industry (because of all your great content)”.

And then, Joe nicely summed up the keys to success and failure.

The keys to success in content marketing:

1.  Understanding the informational needs of your customers
2.  Knowing how those informational needs mix with your marketing goals and objectives
3.  Developing a content program around those needs
4.  Being consistent (content marketing is a marathon, not a sprint)
5.  Listen and continually evolve the program

Failure in content marketing:

1.  Selling, rather than informing
2.  Not being consistent with your content promise
3.  Not listening, thus not evolving the content program
4.  Waiting for perfection to come before you send out the content.

That’s it, folks. Comment away.

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