Company lacks strategy for content marketing
Four out of five German decision-makers believe that many companies are still a long way from having a content marketing strategy.
There should be no shortage of experience in this area; after all, nearly half of the respondents (47 percent) have been using content marketing for more than three years. These are the findings of the study «Content Marketing and Content Promotion in the DACH Region» by Ligatus.
44 percent of the professionals and executives surveyed are already making extensive use of content marketing. 38 percent have implemented initial approaches to it, and only 14 percent have no experience in this area yet. Accordingly, more than half have not yet developed a strategy that has proven effective over the long term.
Most of the time, content is presented to existing contacts. Three-quarters of respondents build the reach of their content through their own channels, such as email newsletters, websites, blogs, and social media. «But you can’t reach new customers that way,» comments Markus Scholz, Senior Consultant for Content Promotion at Ligatus. «Anyone who puts effort into creating relevant content should also use it for customer acquisition. Strategic placement on external channels is essential for this.»
Many people still don't fully understand exactly how an effective distribution strategy works. Fifty-three percent of respondents said that the various content distribution channels are not used strategically or coordinated with one another.
Focus on thematically relevant environments
The focus still seems to be on trying to create content that, once posted on the company’s own channels, is so engaging that users share it further, thereby making it visible beyond the company’s own channels. However, 71 percent of respondents believe it is difficult to produce highly viral content. According to Scholz, however, this isn’t strictly necessary: «Of course, the content has to be good and relevant to the target audience. However, viral spread driven by users themselves rarely works. It makes more sense to distribute content in thematically relevant environments—that is, where users are actively engaged with the topic in question.».
The study can here downloaded free of charge.
