Content Marketing & 5-Minute Ab Syndrome
The quality of content marketing, the B2B lead generation tactic that has proven value and gained prestige over the past five years, is quickly buckling and is set to fracture. On one end, there are companies dedicated to writing remarkable & value-rich content, generating MQLs at exceptional rates. (Qualifying those inbound leads is another story, though!) On the other, you’ll find companies who are descending into the quagmire I call “5-minute ab” territory. Which end does your team currently reside?
Content Marketing: The Wrong Way
In the rat race for user clicks, marketers who fall in the latter group are resorting to gimmicky email lines and content titles meant to capture cheap attention. Rather than creating educational content that is focused on long-term benefits & real value, this faction relies on catchy, misleading titles meant to “one-up” the competition. Sounds like I’m describing the faux-personal trainers promising washboard abs in one minute less per day than the other guys, no? For some examples, I scrolled through my inbox and found a few gems:
“1,500 Qualified Prospect Leads in Just 18 Minutes a Day”
“Increase Leads by 400% in 90 days!”
“Fix your seo in 5 minutes flat!”
Do the authors of those emails truly think I can and would achieve those results? Of course not, but that’s not the point of their messaging. Their goal is to draw my attention so that I’d click and become a permanent tenant in their lead mill. Over the long term, this lack of quality will damage their reputations as experts and cripple their ability to generate leads through content marketing. From a results standpoint, this strategy will lead to stagnant readership metrics, lower conversion rates, and (ultimately) poor lead gen results.
Content Marketing: The Right Way
In contrast, companies who aim to educate & provide valuable information with their content are more likely to become thought leaders and gain the trust of their industry. Tactically, you can accomplish this a few different ways: build & update personas, develop & share unique data points, and prioritize the reader over your own agenda. At the end of the day, this will lead to a higher quality & quantity of MQLs, optimized conversion rates, and more revenue generated through content marketing. Keep in mind that people still buy from people they like, and the foundation of that relationship often starts with great content.
Now, let me be clear. There is nothing wrong with the occasional use of grandiose titles or fun topics, as long as meaningful and valuable information relevant to the title is found in the content. In fact, creativity is key to content marketing success, but there must be an arranged marriage of that creativity with content of substance. Otherwise, you’re nothing but a 5-minute ab workout peddler.
