Who will blink first?

Show trust to gain trust when it comes to gated content [View Message in Browser]( / [Add Us to Safe Sender List]( WEEKLY NEWS 8.18.23 WEEKLY NEWS 9.22.23  FEATURED [How To Work AI Into Content Marketing (in a Way That Works for You)]( By Jodi Harris Does the company you work for have an AI policy? Whether it does or not, you need one specific to AI’s use in content marketing. An AI operations plan will help you make (and share) sound decisions about its use, governance, and risk mitigation. Here’s what to consider. [Read more](  MORE OF THE WEEK'S BEST STORIES [5 Content Discovery Trends To Inform Your Marketing Strategy]( by Nicole Martin Content consumption patterns have stayed mostly the same in recent years. Content discovery hasn’t. Consider these five trends as you plan your content and strategy for 2024. [The Inside Scoop on Content Marketing Strategy (the Book and the Practice)]( by Content Marketing Institute Team A new book debuts Wednesday that can help your company build a media brand around its content. (You won’t be too surprised by who the author is.) [With Gated Content, Trust Goes Both Ways. Don’t Ask Until You’ve Earned It]( [by Robert Rose]( Is your brand willing to trust first? Your answer can determine the success of your company’s gated and free content assets and whether you achieve your long-term content marketing goals. [I]( 5 SEO Content and Design Tips To Improve Your Ranking in SERPs]( Lesley Vos]( SEO optimization goes beyond keywords and meta tags. Try these ideas to structure your content for better visibility, more traffic, and winning positions on search engine result pages.  A NOTE FROM ROBERT ROSE Who will blink first – you or your audience? Ding! You hear that all too familiar sound. You look at your phone and see a text from someone in your contacts: “Would you do me a favor?” That’s it — no blinking dots. You wait. You wait some more. It’s getting awkward. It’s a game of chicken. They’re waiting for you to say yes. You’re waiting for them to say what the favor is. You likely have a default “yes” for only a few people. You’ll agree to do the favor because you have a robust record of trust. After 30 years, when my wife asks for something, I know I’ll agree to do it. What about with others? The request is a question with friends, colleagues, bosses, customers, etc. Who blinks first comes down to one thing: Trust. Meanwhile, that text is still sitting there, waiting for someone to establish trust. The requester may trust first: “Let me tell you exactly what the favor is.” Or you may trust first and reply, “I’d be happy to. What’s the favor?” Bargaining might occur. The requester might write, “I promise it’s no big deal,” to reduce your uncertainty. Or you might say, “It depends on what the favor is,” to reduce theirs. Someone has to trust first. Gated content is the equivalent of the “Can you do me a favor?” text. It sets up the same kind of tension. Who will trust first? Imagine if businesses were transparent about bargaining for data. The introduction might read something like this: Hi. In return for your personal data, we’ll give you a thought leadership paper that explains why our approach to this business challenge is best. After you register, you’ll receive at least three phone calls and one email per week from our sales team. You won’t be able to miss them because they’ll all mention some level of urgency or follow-up. They’ll congratulate you on your wisdom in downloading our white paper and ask about your current buying status and challenges, even though your intent should be painfully obvious from the contents of the white paper. If you respond to this outreach, expect to be pestered by phone to validate your purchasing authority and to know whom on the team we should speak to because it’s almost certainly not you alone. If you don’t respond, you’ll be subscribed to our newsletter until you unsubscribe or your email becomes invalid. And let’s be honest, we’ll probably continue sending emails to it even after it becomes invalid. You can stop this onslaught of communication by purchasing our product. This kind of notification would be the pinnacle of the brand trusting first. Anyone who read that and filled out the form anyway could be considered a serious buyer. I don’t suggest you go to that extreme level of transparency or never gate an asset again. In [Rose-Colored Glasses this week]( I explain the trick to deciding when to gate content (spoiler: It comes down to the kind of relationship you want to establish). I’d love to hear how you make content-gating decisions. You can [reach me directly here](mailto:Robert@contentadvisory.net/). Until then, remember: It's your story. Tell it well. Robert Rose Chief Strategy Advisor Content Marketing Institute Robert Rose Chief Strategy Advisor Content Marketing Institute Would any of your colleagues or friends benefit from Robert's weekly updates? Please invite them to [subscribe]( here.  SPONSORED CONTENT New Masterclass: Using Thought Leadership To Sell Arm your sales teams with tools that win business. Learn how senior business leaders discover and engage with thought leadership content, plus how to influence their decision to buy. [Register now »]( Addressing the Four Challenges of Content Compliance A how-to-guide for marketers to protect their brand, monitor expirations, and ensure content compliance. Learn how marketers track licensed images and videos on websites, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, YouTube and Amazon. [Overcome content compliance challenges »](  Back by Popular Demand: Creative Pushups at Content Marketing World If you believe creativity is contagious and community is crucial, join us at CMWorld for this interactive workshop featuring a series of mind-opening exercises designed to level up your content game. [Join us in D.C. »](  MORE FROM CMI There’s Still Time to Join Us at Content Marketing World! In just a few days, we’re bringing together brand innovators and marketing leaders full of expert advice to evolve your content and marketing, plus a keynote from Elizabeth Banks. Hear the stories behind the success of their content programs – and return home with expert secrets and new ideas to inspire your own content marketing. Can’t join us in person this year? Check out the [Digital Pass]( for access to on-demand session recordings from the live event through the end of the year. 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