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

What I find most interesting about the art and science of content marketing is that there are so many different ways to be successful. Although there are some core best practices that all marketers should follow, tactics and approaches can vary based on a number of factors, including your target audience, business model and industry.

In fact, there are so many factors to consider that sometimes you just get hung up in the details and struggle to get started. That is why I think looking at research examples from your own — and even other — industries can help set you straight. To that end, I’ve decided to spotlight a few more focused articles this week that show how different industries are tackling content marketing:

  • All content marketing superstars have a point of view: There are a few reasons why I love this Forbes article from Mat Zucker of Prophet. For one, it shows the long history of thought-leadership content and outlines a few tactical models that marketers in all industries can implement. Throughout his piece, Zucker also outlines a few powerful examples of thought-leadership content from notable brands like Nike, AT&T, Cisco, IBM, GE and SAP. Undeniably, these are big brands that have big ideas and even bigger budgets. But if you look at the approaches and best practices gleaned from their campaigns, you’ll see that they’re easy to scale for all company sizes and budgets.
  • Manufacturing marketers open up: Through our own research, Content4Demand has learned that manufacturers are ramping up their content investments and that they’re seeing the value in more consistent nurture programs and engagement strategies. So it was interesting to find another study highlighting the challenges, opportunities and approaches for businesses in the manufacturing industry. If you’re in manufacturing, it is definitely valuable for you to see how your peers are tackling content marketing and how you stack up. But if you’re in a completely different space, it may still be interesting for you to see their top goals and formats, and how they’re measuring success.

  • How hospitals are approaching content marketing: Like manufacturing, hospitals are in an interesting position when it comes to their content marketing strategies. Their industry is complex and technical. At the same time, hospitals need to engage a diverse audience of nurses, surgeons, doctors and even patients. Regardless, this article from MarketingProfs shows that marketers for hospitals have very similar goals to their peers in other industries.

  • Take cues from real estate moguls: My interest in the intersection of real estate and content marketing started with this awesome Q&A from NewsCred, featuring an executive from Zillow. The article outlines how the company uses its blog and other content approaches to engage consumers. The Business.com article, however, shows how real estate experts can use content to educate clients about changes in the real estate market. What’s interesting is that although they’re sometimes targeting individuals, they’re also trying to engage with businesses/brands, and even partner with advertising hubs and platforms like Zillow. The content marketing nuances and implications are incredibly interesting and definitely worth learning about.

Did you learn any interesting tips or takeaways from these pieces? Can you apply any of them to your current marketing strategies? If you want to take a general look at how marketers in different industries are tackling content marketing, download our latest research report!

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