Knowledge workers spend 2 ½ hours a day searching for information to do their jobs. That’s what Ardath Albee, author of E-Marketing Strategies for the Complex Sale, said at the ConFab content strategy conference a few weeks ago. Scott Abel, who blogs at The Content Wrangler showed how efficient the content curation process can be using social networks. Steven Rosenbaum, author of Curation Nation, discussed how human choices are not made with algorithms.
Because the B2B buying cycle is long content must include depth, diversity and dimension according to Albee. Here is my practical 3D view on what these speakers were talking about. Good content writers who know how to curate can lessen a prospects search time by creating content that matters.
Add Depth by Collecting
The call for focused, edited, or filtered information is important from one end of the buying cycle to the other. We need to create meaning. Some ways of doing this are to talk with your own subject matter experts. Every company has them. You can also search the deep Web using the word “database” after your subject topic. For example, I am working with product developers in the functional foods industry. My search term would be: “Functional Foods database.” My search results lead me to information from PubMed and other credible sources. Another entryway to the deep Web is using “site: edu” in your search. The term “Functional Foods site:edu” brings me to sources at UC Berkley and the University of Michigan. Try searching your topic term followed with the words “white paper.” For good industry sources look at the bibliography of the white paper you find. That’s what brought me to Food Business News, Nutrition Business News, and Nutritional Outlook – all aggregators of good content for manufacturers, suppliers and distributors doing business in the functional foods industry.
Create & Diversify With Context
Content writers don’t create content in a silo. I often include the sales force from the beginning. I ask them what they know and what they need. Start collecting and creating information from within the company. What can the Human Resources and Engineering Departments add? Ask them.
Content writers sometime write for a persona, but we are aware that the audience is often made up of thousands of people with their own questions and concerns. We anticipate what they are looking for. I like the conversational tone on the Nutritional Outlook site: “Here’s where you’ll find information on.” It lists ingredients, market coverage, manufacturing know how, regulatory information, and research updates. Very simple, friendly and clear.
Here is another example at New Hope 360.com, that describes itself as a “digital marketplace that connects the healthy lifestyle industry from supply to shelf.” “Don’t see your product? It’s a big world of products, but we can help you cut through the clutter. List your company today to ensure that decision makers can find you!” They also have an “Editor’s Pick” column with a listing of relevant articles.
As content writers we know how to move site visitors from problem to solution. The buying process begins with the status quo and moves to a priority. Research is required. They ask: “What are the options?”We help them validate, then make a choice. We also monitor responses along the way.
Be Multi-Dimensional and Distribute
Content should be integrated through multi-platform channels including social media, blogs, articles, mobile and email. Your audience has an audience too. Ask them to share.
Deep content engages in different ways. It educates, offers expertise in the form of trends or methods, and adds ideas. Evidence can come from customer stories or your own. I found an article on the New Hope 360 site that included an interview with Shawn Parr, CEO of Bulldog Drummond, a branding and innovation consultancy in San Diego. He shares this advice: “Think about your origin story—not only about how your company was started, but also where your ingredients come from and the relationships you have with your suppliers.”
Scott Abel shows the efficiency of a content curation process using his own twitter account as an example. He sets up an RSS feed to gather information, then reviews and approves what goes out for distribution. By carefully choosing what is distributed, he reduces the noise and adds value to the conversation through social networks.
The master at video curation is Steven Rosenbaum, author of Curation Nation and CEO at magnify.net. He says in the book that discerning quality is a human task, not to be allocated to search engines. Content curation needs qualitative judgment. Since there are no longer gatekeepers, access to an audience will come from gathering, creating and distributing the best and most relevant content. He was kind enough to sign his book for me at the Confab conference. In it he wrote: “In a busy world on the move – curation will make us trust again.”
How are you creating more efficient ways of creating and collecting information that matters?
The Content For Biz most popular posts for 2011 surprised us in some ways. The list contains how-to’s, but also an industry specific post. The favorite topics reflect our position as journalists who understand content marketing. The most popular posts reference audiences, press releases, content strategy and credible sources as well as methods.
