Fast & Easy Friday: A Recap of the Week’s Top Content Articles & Insights

Happy Friday, content marketers! You’re probably winding down after a hectic week of creating content, coordinating campaigns or measuring results, so we’re going to take things nice and easy. Rather than hammering hard metrics and detailed concepts into your brain, we’re going to spotlight some of our favorite articles of the week. That way, you can enjoy, and share them, at your leisure. Take a look:

  • 3 ways data can make your life miserable: We’ve been hearing a lot about data lately. Using data to create more accurate personas, referring to performance data to craft more effective campaigns…you get the idea. But there are some cases where data can make your life a living hell — especially if you have outdated or inaccurate information. When you have poor data entry and management processes, it can impact your inbound marketing, outbound marketing, impact sales morale, and so much more. Check out this article from Pete Gracey the CEO and Co-Founder of QuotaFactory, to learn more.
  • Make the content connection with sales: At Content4Demand, we’re big proponents of sales enablement and empowerment. (Here’s a blog we wrote on the topic to prove it.) As this article from Contently notes, sales enablement is all about better aligning sales and marketing teams, and using content to create more engaged prospects, which can help accelerate the buying journey and help sales close deals better and faster. Successful sales enablement should be a symbiotic process. While sales can educate marketing about targeted accounts, marketing can create compelling content that drives these accounts back to sales. Check out this great piece from Natalie Burg to learn more! 
  • Want fresh content? See what you can recycle first: As content marketers, it sometimes feels like we’re managing and fueling a machine that never stops. As a result, our efforts for creating fresh and compelling content are never-ending. But let’s face it: Content marketing budgets don’t grow on trees, so we need to look for more efficient resources and processes. The Content4Demand team champions content audits; we believe they play a foundational goal for a sustainable and successful content strategy. This article from The Drum uncovers some great new research from MLT Creative on the value and impact of content audits. If you’re ready to incorporate audits into your content marketing strategy, you also can refer to our new iPaper, which offers a turnkey checklist to help guide the way! 
  • Start telling better stories with your content: There are some really stellar examples of content marketing floating around the Interwebz. Think of how Dove uses multichannel marketing tactics ongoing to empower women and girls everywhere, or how GoPro makes you want to pick up skydiving as a hobby. (Well, almost.) It may seem challenging for B2B brands to think and execute content at this exciting level, but this article about Payson Petroleum shows the contrary. The article outlines how Payson Petroleum uses social, a mobile app and compelling site content to engage buyers.

Did you have any favorite articles, research reports or stories from the week? Share them in the comments section below.

Have a great weekend everyone!

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