C. Edward Brice, the senior vice president of Worldwide Marketing at Lumension, recently shared his thoughts on the impact Web 2.0 is having on B2B marketers in a fascinating interview on the SavvyB2BMarketing blog.
During the interview, when asked, “What lessons have you learned that could benefit other B2B marketers?” Brice said:
“Content is king. You need to make sure it's relevant -- and valuable -- to prospects based on where they are in the buying cycle. Think about how you can educate and inform your target audience with your content.”
If that’s true, and, I believe it is, then, how do B2B marketers generate “valuable” and “relevant” content?
The key to the kingdom of quality content can’t be found in the shabby online freelance marketplaces were “race to the bottom” bidding on content development is rampant among non-native English writers. Sure, these writers churned out content for a penny or two per word, but the "content is king" aspect is lost. Generally speaking, the content created through a low-ball bidding process is exactly the opposite of what Brice is suggesting when he tells B2B markets to “think about how you can educate and inform your target audience with your content.”
It takes a skilled and experienced writer to produce content that can rise to the level of quality that Brice recommends. If content is truly king—and I believe it is—then you need to find, hire, and nurture a kingmaker.