January 20, 2015

Sure-Fire Signs You Need a Content Strategy Vendor

As a marketer in today’s faced-paced and highly competitive world, are you  exhausted at 5 p.m. (or later)  from the strategic meetings, content planning and campaign reporting that make up a typical day in the office?

If so, you’re not alone.

In fact, “overwhelmed” is the most common word marketers use to describe how they feel when they think about managing their brand in today’s rapidly changing digital environment, according to a recent Imedia survey. The marketers surveyed also identified their biggest challenges as lack of expertise and training, particularly when it comes to content marketing tactics such as blogging and video. 

To offset some of these challenges, many marketing departments are contracting the help of third-party content strategy vendors. According to Eloqua’s “State of Content Marketing 2014” report, 47 percent of companies are now outsourcing their content needs to these  specialists, who help support marketing initiatives from custom content creation to social media management to brand strategy.

If you are considering outsourcing your content marketing needs, here are three sure-fire signs that it’s your best bet:

1.You have no documented strategy: One of the biggest differences between effective content marketers and their less-effective counterparts is a documented strategy. According to Content Marketing Institute’s “2015 B2B Content Marketing Benchmarks, Budgets and Trends” report, 60 percent of organizations with a written content strategy consider their company to be effective in content marketing, compared to 32 percent with only a verbal strategy. Content marketing is a complex tactic that involves several components. If you’re company is struggling to get its footing, then you might want to consider getting help from an expert who can develop a robust plan of action that’s based on research and discussions with your company.

2.Your content is collecting dust: When was the last time you posted to your blog or your Facebook page? It’s paramount that you don’t abandon your customers by failing to update your blog or social media accounts. However, populating these vehicles can be difficult since you’re working on a countless number of other pressing projects. To ensure that you’re consistently creating and posting fresh new content, look toward a content strategy vendor that can deliver a steady flow of high-quality, engaging copy for your organization. This content can populate your blogs, newsfeeds, email marketing campaigns, website subpages and print publications … you name it.

3.You just don’t have enough hands: Is your marketing executive also moonlighting as your social media manager? Sometimes there can be a lack of talent in an office; some employees may be doing jobs they’re not trained for—or have enough time for—because the company doesn’t employ enough staff. In this case, a content strategy vendor can plug the gaps to guarantee your content marketing efforts do not suffer.

Want to learn more about outsourcing your marketing needs to a content strategy vendor? Click here to find out how Content Boost can help.    




Edited by Brooke Neuman



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