Losing a Content Battle? Check Your Context

mlns='> [View Message in Browser]( / [Add Us to Safe Sender List]( Weekly News 3.19.21 Connect with CMI [Stop Turning Content Into Videos – Start Doing This Instead [Video Show]]( It’s time to rethink your digital video marketing strategy. Robert Rose, Chief Strategy Advisor at the Content Marketing Institute, offers insights about optimizing content to match the channel where it will be experienced. Watch the latest episode of Marketing Makers and read the highlights here. [Read more]( By Robert Rose [Content Creation] Some more of this week's best stuff: - [How to Create an Effective SEO Strategy for Your Local Business]( [by]( [Ann Smarty]( and Promotion] - [Livestreaming Tips Every Content Marketer Needs to Hear From Expert Hosts [Examples]]( by Stephanie Stahl [Content Creation] - [24+ Must-Read Marketing Books (That Happen to be Written by Women)]( by Ann Gynn [General Success Tips] - [About That Burger King Tweet … and More Helpful Content Marketing Lessons]( by Content Marketing Institute Team [Trends and Research] - [Video and Visual Content Marketing Resources]( Join Our Weekly Wrap News Crew Did you come across an exciting content idea, unique example, or puzzling trend this week? Help us share it with your fellow Content Marketing Institute readers by completing [this form](. If we include your submission in an upcoming Weekly Wrap, we’ll credit you as the source of the inspiration.  A Note From Robert Rose Losing a Content Battle? Check Your Context Have you ever created a brilliant piece of content – only to watch it fail to make any impact whatsoever? Yeah, me too. You can’t help but wonder why. I console myself with the possibility that the idea is simply ahead of its time. Citizen Kane, considered one of the greatest films in history, was a box office failure on its release. But something else can affect your content success: Context. A marketing leader at a startup tech company recently told me she felt frustrated with her content’s underperformance compared with content from one of her competitors. Each company had been around for almost the same number of years. Each received a similar amount of venture capital. Both companies claim to be the thought leader in the space – and their thoughts aren’t fundamentally different. They’re like twins racing to differentiate themselves from each other and the rest of their crowded field. The marketing leader I talked to said her team produces deep, useful, and thoughtful content while the competitor produces fluffy, surface-level pieces. “Why are they getting all the attention?” she asked. I suggested that she look at the entire content experience her company offers. Anyone remember the videocassette wars of the late 1970s and early 80s? Sony’s Betamax format was far superior to JVC’s VHS format in picture quality, sound, and image stability. Yet VHS won that product battle handily because its recorders and players cost less, offered longer recording times, and were widely available. Like VHS, the competitor’s content nailed the “whole product.” Originated by Theodore Levitt in the 1960s and popularized by Geoffrey Moore in Crossing the Chasm, the whole product concept explains that consumers make choices based on more than product quality. They choose based on a contextual combination of other attributes. These could include ease of use or acquisition, price, service, brand awareness, and any number of factors the product creator can and can’t control. Put simply: Consumers make their choice based on the entire experience they’ve had right up until the point of choosing. The same concept explains why some content pieces become popular while others languish in obscurity. It’s not just the ideas in the content – it’s the way they’re expressed and delivered. It’s up to content marketers to understand the whole product of the content we create. Many companies create truly amazing thought leadership but bury it in inaccessible white paper libraries or resource centers. The experience of getting to those ideas makes them fail. If you fail to integrate your brilliant-idea content into your communications programs, it’s likely to remain hidden no matter how good it is. Back to the tech companies: A look at the competitor’s content explains its success. It’s practical, digestible, shareable, and easier to understand. The overall experience of getting those ideas is better, even if the quality veers slightly toward superficial. They’re the VHS of the industry. Content marketers fight so hard for the opportunity to create ideas that are separate from the overt selling of a brand or product. It’s worth remembering how important it is to think through the context of how the audience will find and consume the content product. It’s not just the story you tell. It’s how – and where – you tell it. You know the rest. It’s your story. Tell it well. Robert Rose Chief Strategy Advisor Content Marketing Institute This article from Robert is available only in this newsletter for you, the newsletter subscriber. If you have friends that would see value in Robert's weekly updates, please have them [subscribe](.  Content Marketing Job Listings Currently on a job search? Thinking about switching gears with your career? Please check out our job listings below. Available Positions: - Consumer Content Strategy Advisor, TransUnion, Chicago, IL - [Learn More]( Interested in posting a job here? Please see our [CMI Careers page]( for more info.  A Word from One of Our Sponsors:  Using B2B Video to Drive Results Video is most commonly used in top of funnel awareness and lead generation, but can have a huge impact on your buyer’s journey. Are your videos driving results? Get the insights you need to craft your video strategy. [Download The Guide](   More from CMI Enter the Content Marketing Awards today! The 2021 Content Marketing Awards are now accepting entries for agencies (big and small), projects, branded content campaigns, and content marketers of the year (B2B and B2C). Share your best work from 2020! Our online, simple entry form makes the process easy. Early bird pricing ends April 9, with our regular deadline being May 14. We can't wait to see your submissions! [Enter today »](   The marketing industry is facing an unprecedented challenge. Global marketers are struggling just to figure out what to do next. At the same time, this is an incredible opportunity for content marketers. CMI founder Joe Pulizzi details the two incredible opportunities for content marketers, and breaks down the new marketing business model with help from Disney and a side of diversification. [Watch now »]( [VIDEO AND VISUAL CONTENT RESOURCES]( Events [Content Marketing World]( [ContentTECH Summit]( [Master Classes]( [Content Marketing Awards]( Resources [Research]( [White Paper/eBook Library]( [Content VIPs]( [CMI Business Directory]( Education [Content Marketing University]( [Chief Content Officer]( [Webinars]( [Career Center]( Interested in advertising with CMI? [Learn more.]( To stop receiving future Content Marketing Institute update emails, please respond [here](. 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