Content Marketing Is Not New, But the Opportunities Are [Video]
Posted on 14. Sep, 2011 by Joe Pulizzi in American Express, Blog, case studies, content marketing, content marketing world, Fun Stuff, Get Content Get Customers, Junta 42, Junta42 Events, LEGO, Small Business Internet Marketing, Small Business Marketing, video
One of our goals for my opening keynote at Content Marketing World was to make sure the marketing professionals in the audience understood that content marketing is NOT new. This two minute video tells the tale (this video opened the conference):
Most people think that content marketing is a new thing, but it’s been going on since the time of the cave paintings. John Deere, and their customer magazine The Furrow, is given credit for the first content marketing initiative. At that time, farmers needed to be educated on the latest in technology so they could be more successful. Instead of buying attention, they created a print magazine in 1895, teaching farmers all about the latest in technology and trends for farmers. Over 100 years later and 1.5 million in distribution to 40 countries, The Furrow could be the most successful content marketing initiative in history.
Some other timeline facts you may not be aware of:
- 1900 – Michelin develops the “Michelin Guides” to help drivers maintain their cars and find decent lodging.
- 1904 – Jell-O distributes free recipe book that leads to $1 million in sales by 1906.
- 1930s – P&G creates and sponsors radio “soap” operas.
- 1982 – Hasbro partners with Marvel to create G.I. Joe series of comic books, which leads to a revolution in the toy industry.
- 1987 – LEGO launches Brick Kicks magazine (now LEGO Club magazine)
- 2004 – Microsoft launches Channel 9, one of the first corporate blogs from a major brand.
- 2007 – BlendTec develops Will It Blend? video series.
- 2008 – American Express launches Open Forum.
- 2008 – P&G creates BeingGirl.com for adolescent teen girls.
And on and on…
Brands have been telling stories for centuries. Content marketing is not new. Even so, there are more opportunities than ever before.
If content marketing was a baseball game, then we are just getting out of the dugout for the first inning.
Today, there are literally no barriers to entry when it comes to content marketing.
As Newt Barrett and I discussed in our first book, Get Content Get Customers, the following reasons have left the door wide open for brand marketers to become THE publishers in their industry.
- Buyers accept content from corporate sources more than ever.
- Shrinking media budgets are leaving an opportunity for YOU. You can invest in the research and content that the traditional media in your niche aren’t willing to do.
- Technology is accessible to companies of every size.
- Journalists, editors and content agencies like we have at Junta42 are willing and able to help you tell your story more effectively.
So, although creating valuable, compelling and relevant content (storytelling) for your customers and prospects has been going on forever, there is still time to make your mark as the leading informational expert in your industry.
For more on developing a content marketing strategy that works, Managing Content Marketing (my new book with Robert Rose) will help.
Announcing My New Book: Managing Content Marketing
Posted on 31. Aug, 2011 by Joe Pulizzi in B2B, Blog, Branded Content, case studies, content marketing, content strategy, Junta 42, Junta42 Events, Small Business Internet Marketing, Small Business Marketing
The past few months have been busy.
The big international content marketing event is next week.
We launched a content marketing news channel.
The Content Marketing Institute site got a much-needed face lift.
So, you probably could tell that I was getting a bit bored…so Robert Rose and I decided to write a book (launching at Content Marketing World) called Managing Content Marketing: The Real-World Guide for Creating Passionate Subscribers to Your Brand.
Why this Book and Why Now?
In my first book with Newt Barrett, Get Content Get Customers, we needed to explain the why of content marketing. Back in 2008, most marketers didn’t get the concept yet. Fast forward three years and everyone we talk to and consult with get the concept, but they are all struggling with how to actually implement and integrate content marketing into their organizations. That’s exactly what Managing Content Marketing is…it’s an owner’s manual to help you actually put content marketing to work in your organization.
Robert goes through the 10 takeaways/questions from the book in this excellent CMI post:
- How do we build the business case for content marketing?
- Who are our buyer personas?
- What are our pillars of content?
- What channels do we use?
- What’s our content marketing workflow?
- What tools do we need to make content marketing happen?
- How do we get the choir to sing?
- What is the best way to listen?
- How do we measure success?
- How do we put it all together and integrate it with our total marketing plan?
When and Where Can I Buy a Copy?
If you’ll be at Content Marketing World, we’ll have a limited supply available for purchase (they will literally be hot off the press). You’ll be able to buy directly from Amazon.com in the next few weeks. We’ve already been getting requests for bulk copies. If your organization is interested in bulk purchases, complete your information here and we’ll get right back to you.
Big Thanks
So many people to thank on this one. First and foremost, to my co-author Robert Rose for taking the ball and running with this. Also thanks to Jeffery Hayzlett, former CMO of Kodak and the author of The Mirror Test, for writing a most excellent foreword for the book. Finally, thanks to the CMI Books team for working night and day to make sure this was ready for the show: Newt Barrett, Lisa Murton-Beets, Joe Watson and Neal Lorenzi.
Robert and I really feel proud about this book, which is based on actually working with real companies on their content marketing strategies and tactics. I truly hope it helps you take the next content marketing step in your organization, big or small.
Content Marketing World – T-Minus 8 Days and Counting
Posted on 28. Aug, 2011 by Joe Pulizzi in Blog, content marketing, content marketing world, Fun Stuff, Junta 42, Junta42 Events, Small Business Internet Marketing, Small Business Marketing
For those regular readers of this blog, I’m sure you noticed my posts decrease a bit over the last month. Between our charity golf outing a few weeks back and Content Marketing World, it’s been a bit busy to say the least. This week, the entire Junta42 and CMI team are putting the finishing touches on the event, which starts September 6th (with a welcome reception at the Rock&Roll Hall of Fame) and ends on September 8th (with the closing keynote by the infamous Kevin Smith aka Silent Bob).
If you haven’t registered yet, here are a few of the many highlights of the event.
1. Keynotes from David Meerman Scott and Sally Hogshead
Kicking off the event will be two of the most powerful speakers in the marketing area…both talking about our event theme “The Power of Story”. It will be hard not to be energized after these two hit the stage Wednesday morning.
2. The Content Marketing Technology Cage Match
Eight of the newest, most interesting technologies in content marketing will hit the stage in a fight to the death! Well, not really, but it will be classic to say the least.
3. Sports Roundtable with the Indians, Cavaliers and Browns
How do you create true fans with your social media? Well, why not listen to organizations that actually have fans. Key execs from the three major sports organizations in Cleveland will be on hand to tell all in this closing Wednesday session.
4. Kevin Smith
Yes, I’m a giddy little school boy with this one. Kevin Smith, the writer/director/actor, probably best known for his work on Dogma and Clerks, will be our featured entertainment on Wednesday night. Get your Juntini and enjoy the show!
5. Thursday Keynote with Brian Clark and Michael Stelzner
I’ve known both Brian and Michael for years and watched them grow their businesses into multi-million dollar organizations…all on the back of content marketing. Brian and Michael will be on hand to give us the secrets to how they did it.
6. The 42-Minute Shotgun
Our Thursday lunch session, featuring some of the best in the business for just seven minutes each.
- Barbra Gago: “Curation Is the New Black”
- Jim Kukral: “If you want to be remarkable, you have to DO something remarkable”
- Andrew Davis: “The Muppets & Marketing: What I learned about content marketing while working at The Jim Henson Company”
- Ahava Leibtag: “Personalized Content through Biometrics”
- Jay Baer: “Helping Is the New Selling”
Get ready for a wild ride with this one, all moderated by Jeff Rohrs from Exact Target.
7. The Greatest Lineup of Content Marketing Speakers Ever Assembled
Yeah, I said it…and I’m right. Literally, the leading content marketing experts in the world will be here, including marketing professionals from Dell, HP, DuPont, Sherwin Williams, Intel, Kelly Services, the Cleveland Clinic, Luxottica, SAS, WGN and thought leaders like Ann Handley, Lee Odden, Jay Baer and even yours truly.
So what are you waiting for? Get registered at Content Marketing World and join over 500 marketing professionals from more than 16 countries. Looking forward to seeing you there.
2011 Junta42 Golf for Autism a Huge Success [video]
Posted on 22. Aug, 2011 by Joe Pulizzi in Blog, Fun Stuff, Junta 42, Junta42 Events, Small Business Internet Marketing, Small Business Marketing
Lovin' the Orange
Picture this: on Sunday, August 14th, the Cleveland area saw the 5th most rainfall in one day EVER for one day. The next day, the 5th Annual Junta42 Golf for Autism would take place.
Needless to say, I was a bit concerned. The golf course where we were to have the event was extremely wet.
Tee time was 1pm ET and, according to our friends at Acacia Country Club, even one short spurt of rain would mean we would have to cancel the event. Rain showers were to every direction all morning and into the early afternoon.
It was a miracle. Even though the forecast called for rain throughout the day, not one drop fell on the course during the event. The 2011 Junta42 Golf for Autism (benefiting Easter Seals Northern Ohio) was a tremendous (and rain free) success.
By the Numbers
- 128 Golfers (sold out)
- 90 Corporate Donations
- 53 Fantastic Pictures
- Over $15,000 raised this year
- Over $65,000 raised since 2007
All proceeds from the event go to Easter Seals Northern Ohio, specifically earmarked for those children with autism who need speech therapy but simply can’t afford it through other means.
There are so many thanks to go around on this one, but really wanted to single out our primary sponsors GIE Media, Petco, Cleveland Steel Container and Interact Media.
Like last year, Joshua Pulizzi took the stage and did a little improvising for the dinner crowd at the event.
NOTE: The references to “three cookies” in the video is Joshua’s speech therapy training where he had to constantly work on his “th’s” versus his “f’s”…thus the three versus free.
There are so many people to thank, but here are a few who deserve special recognition.
- Ann Handley
- Anthony Pistillo
- Applebees in Solon
- Arzel Zoning
- Best Cuts
- Bev Beckert
- Biomedia
- Blue Canyon
- Boneyard
- Britton Gallagher
- Cameron Bishop
- Chief Content Officer magazine (Peter Loibl)
- C-Level Strategies
- Cleveland Browns
- Cleveland Steel Container
- Dennis & Joyce Laughlin
- DH Communications
- Dolores Sullin
- Don and Michele Linn
- Dorothy Noga McCarthy
- Doug Halpin – Elite Insurance
- Dr. David McNamee
- Duke Printing
- Dynamotors
- Ed & Sandy Kozelka
- Elite Insurance
- Execution Matters
- Famous Manufacturing
- Fred Misischia
- Galileo Communications
- GIE Media, Inc.
- Golf Tech
- Hahn Loeser
- Henry & Ann Speier
- Iceland USA
- InfoCommerce
- Integrated Publishing Sales
- Interact Media
- Jack Jerry
- Jim McDermott
- John Citraro
- Ken Beech – Stephen Gould of Ohio
- Kevin and Lee Ann Lednik
- Kevin Lauterjung
- KT Media
- Lake Erie Monsters
- Laurel and Jim Clarke
- Laurice Skin Care
- Lynn Cole
- Lynn Pistillo
- MacDuff
- Marriott Renaissance
- Meeting Demands, LLC
- Melissa Kocher
- Mike and Lynne Pistillo
- Mike and Michelle Pistillo
- Mike Balzano
- Moen
- Nationwide/Mark Hofelich
- Newt & Maxine Barrett
- North American Publishing Company
- OpenView Venture Partners
- Outback Steakhouse
- Panini’s
- Pat Catans
- Petco
- PK Wadsworth
- Playaway/Findaway Digital LLC
- PR 20/20
- Ron Finkelstien
- Sam and Bea DeAngelo
- Secrets of the Vine
- Smart Business
- SocialTract
- Stein Inc.
- Suzanne Hoffman
- T3 Publishing
- Tammy Wise
- The Dowd-Kalinowski Family
- Thunder::Tech
- Valtronic Technologies Inc.
- VitaminGum
- WebFadds
- Wendy’s
- WPECPTA
Thanks to everyone who made this year another amazing success. I am simply overwhelmed by all the support this year, and the support we’ve had over the past five years. My sincere thanks.
If you are interested in supporting the cause, please join or give at our Facebook causes page.
Announcing Custom Media Day: An Event Only a Custom Content Provider Would Love
Posted on 14. Jul, 2011 by Joe Pulizzi in Blog, Custom Publishing, Junta 42, Junta42 Events, Small Business Internet Marketing, Small Business Marketing
Take a deep breath…this post is NOT about Content Marketing World 2011.
I get at least an email per day from a custom content provider or content agency looking for an event that is just for them. Well, Custom Media Day is here – July 27, 2011 in New York City.
The Content Marketing Institute, Junta42 and the Custom Content Council are partnering on this day-long educational/networking event specifically designed for custom media executives, salespeople, editors and project managers. Each and every session is focused on helping custom content agencies and freelance content providers get more out of their business, including sessions on:
- The Latest Custom Media Research
- Web Content Strategy
- Social Media, LinkedIN/Google+ and SEO
- Content Syndication
- Gamification Custom
- Content Sales Techniques
- and more (much more).
See the full agenda here. Hope to see all you custom content professionals there.
Content Marketing News that Works for You
Posted on 06. Jul, 2011 by Joe Pulizzi in Blog, content curation, content marketing, curata, Junta 42, Junta42 Events, News, Small Business Internet Marketing, Small Business Marketing
Okay, so you are a marketing professional interested in the practice of content marketing. How do you keep up on the latest content marketing news?
You could follow hashtags on Twitter?
You could set up a Google Reader feed?
You could subscribe to every marketing newsletter and pick out the best content-marketing related content?
You could follow a few content marketing pundits and wait for them to share the news?
Yes, these things will all work, and do work…but they are time intensive.
That’s exactly the reason why the Content Marketing Institute created a dedicated Content Marketing News channel, in partnership with PR Newswire using the Curata platform.
If this sounds like the right solution for you and your company, here’s how to get involved:
- Subscribe to Daily Email News Alerts here.
- Follow @thecontentnews on Twitter.
- See the latest news on the Content Marketing News channel itself.
Let me know what you think and how we can improve the site.
For more detail on how and why this was developed, here is the original content marketing news story on CMI.
42 Content Marketing Experts Lead Junta42′s Final Top Blogs List
Posted on 13. Jun, 2011 by Joe Pulizzi in Blog, blog lists, content curation, content marketing, content marketing experts, content strategy, Junta 42, Junta42 Events, junta42 top blogs, Small Business Internet Marketing, Small Business Marketing, top blogs
After more than three years producing 11 comprehensive Top Content Marketing Blogs lists, we’ve decided to hang it up. Today’s release of the Top 42 Content Marketing Blogs (as we know it) will be our last.
Why you ask?
When we began the Junta42 Top 42 Content Marketing List back in late 2007, content marketing as we know it was just being born. Frankly, most marketing professionals didn’t know what content marketing was or how to use it. Marketers didn’t understand the impact that content marketing would make on the practice of marketing. The reason we developed the Top 42 list was to bring attention to some amazing thought leaders around the content marketing practice area and bring awareness to this thriving and important practice.
Our first list in January of 2008 featured 81 blogs. Our current list features over 450 (we could easily have more).
This was a tough decision, but in our minds, the goal of the Top 42 list has been accomplished. Now it’s time to move onto other initiatives.
Today, content marketing is the dominant phrase for the creation and distribution of compelling and relevant content to attract and/or retain customers (see this post). While there were very few resources to help marketers years ago, there are now more every day, including the Content Marketing Institute, Chief Content Officer magazine, and the industry event, Content Marketing World (in which you’ll see many of the Top 42 speak by the way).
A Sincere Thanks
First, I’d like to thank all the Top 42 bloggers. You are the ones that, day in and day out, spread the word of content marketing. You shared your expertise with the goal of truly helping marketing professionals understand how to communicate more effectively. You did it! My thanks first and foremost go to you.
Second, I’d like to thank Janet Robbins, the lead researcher for the Top 42 Content Marketing Blogs. Janet helped put the formula together for grading each and every blog, and put her time in every quarter to make this happen. The Top 42 would not exist without Janet, and I want to thank her immensely.
Through the Years
Big congratulations goes to Jay Baer of Convince and Convert for taking the number one spot for the second time. Jay joins repeat offenders Brian Clark from Copyblogger and Lee Odden from TopRank (yes, you’ll see all three at Content Marketing World as well as former Top 42 winner Andrew Davis of Tippingpoint Labs). Here are the winners of each release dating back to January, 2008.
Release #11: Convince and Convert
Release #10: Online Marketing Blog
Release #9: Brian Solis
Release #8: Convince and Convert
Release #7: Online Marketing Blog
Release #6: Tippingpoint Labs
Release #5: Marketing with Meaning
Release #4: Online Marketing Blog
Release #3: Copyblogger
Release #2: Copyblogger
Premier Release (January 2008): Nigel Hollis (Millward Brown)
How We Score
The Top 42 scores are calculated using a combination of 1) Relevance to Content Marketing, 2) How much the blog adds to the Content Marketing conversation, 3) Google Page Rank, 4) blog consistency and 5) previous ranking.
For the complete list of Junta42 Top Content Marketing blogs, click here.
The Final Junta42
Top 42 Content Marketing Blogs List
1 Convince and Convert
2 TopRank Blog
3 Brian Solis
4 Conversation Agent
5 Marketing Experiments
6 Copyblogger
7 Social Media Examiner
8 Inbound Internet Marketing Blog
9 Social Media Explorer
10 Heidi Cohen
11 Post Advertising
12 Web Ink Now
13 Grow
14 Influential Marketing Blog
15 Ducttape Marketing
16 Digital Marketing Blog
17 Drew’s Marketing Minute
18 Marketing Interactions
19 Direct Marketing Observations
20 Conversation Marketing
21 Logic+Emotion
22 Tippingpoint Labs
23 The Conversion Scientist
24 Sparksheet
25 DreamGrow Social Media
26 Branding Strategy Insider
27 Spyrestudios
28 Vertical Measures
29 IdeaLaunch
30 FASTforward Blog
31 Daily Fix
32 PR 20/20
33 ReelSEO
34 Vertical Leap
35 Damn! I Wish
36 Word to the Wise
37 Social Media Magic
38 B2B Bloggers
39 eMedia Vitals
40 Engage
41 Optimize This
42 How Soon is Now?
Thanks again to all of you who have supported and shared this important list of content marketing experts. We’re sad to see it go, but happy about the future of content marketing!
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