CMO insights with Daniel Glickman

Nobody can give you better knowledge than experienced practitioners who have developed their own methods in a specific field. This is why we invited the best CMOs and content marketing specialist to share their thoughts and advice on what is valuable to other professionals.

Our first guest at “CMO Insights” is Daniel Glickman, CMO at emaze – the worlds leading online presentation software for businesses. He writes his personal cmoconfessions.com where he shares his passions: International online marketing, Marketing Optimization and Startup Innovation.

Q: What is in your opinion the most common mistake that marketers make in content marketing?

Daniel: Most marketers have a very narrow understanding of content marketing. So much so that many think that content marketing is just another inbound channel and default to native advertising as their core content strategy. Content marketing varies considerably in form and function from one company to the next and therefore one must think strategically about it. The simplest way to do so it to look at your funnel and create content that matches each step of that funnel so that they get a chance to interact with your brand in a meaningful and mutually beneficial manner.

Q: What is the best way to measure the effects of content marketing activities?

D: Some content marketing activities are easier to measure than others. At emaze we measure the conversion ratios, number of organic visits, and shares. We also, look at the brand awareness by seeing the number of branded searches.

Q: Do you have any favorite tools or software that you use to create contents and measure your effectiveness?

D: Most of the best tools are free. Google analytics and webmaster tools are essential. We also use google trends to compare our brand strength to that of our competition. Content creation does not require many tools but at emaze we often use our own platform to create great looking presentations. For my own blog CMOconfessions I will often take screenshots using skitch. Sometimes I will create a graphic or illustration with Recite or Canva.

Q: What can brands do to increase the social media reach of their content?

D: Social media is becoming a real challenge for brands. Consumers have learned that they will get a rapid support response on social so this means that your social channels could quickly become a new channel for customer support. The solution is tough but simple: create content that people want to share. When you create a piece of content: As yourself: would you share this?

Q: If you were to give three most important hints on content marketing, what would it be?

D: 1. Be very personal. Personal relationships are much stronger than formal ones, and people will respond strongly to them. Most organizations are naturally averse to being personal. I think that they gain nothing from it and lose a whole lot of lovin.

2. Provide a ton of value. You will not amass an army of die hard fans by taking one of your blog posts and converting it to a PDF “e-book”. Don’t be afraid to share your best know-how for free as long as it’s to the right audience because it will only serve as proof that your products and services are based on the work of experts.

3. Don’t be afraid to state your purpose behind the content. It’s not always interesting to the audience, but it can be, and you have a much better chance of getting to a sale if your audience knows what you are selling.

Conclusion

Content marketing cannot be treated as a separated communication channel detached from a general marketing strategy. Each step of content creation should be consistent and well thought-out, thus your audience want to share it. Don’t try to push something that you wouldn’t be interested in. Only this approach can bring you measurable results and benefits. Give value and it will pay you off.

How much could your business grow with these valuable hints on content marketing? Now it’s your chance to comment!