Remarkable content - what is it and how do I get it?


If there is one thing the marketing experts agree upon, it’s this:

Marketers need to “Think like a Publisher” and develop a continual stream of remarkable content.

Here are recommendations from top marketing experts:

  • Paul Dunay, who heads global services marketing for Avaya and authors the excellent blog Buzz Marketing for Technology told me we’re in an “arms race around thought leadership.”
  • Brian Halligan, CEO of HubSpot, in his excellent CEOs Guide to Internet Marketing presentation said marketers need “lots and lots of content.  They ought to think like a publishing company — like Disney.”
  • In his book, Purple Cow, Seth Godin makes the case that all marketing sounds alike — which is why a purple cow would stand out.  The book is all about transforming your business by being remarkable.

    Purple Cow

    Purple Cow

In my mind’s eye, I hear marketers questions.

What’s remarkable content?  And how do I get it?

That’s not an easy question.  Unfortunately, remarkable content is a lot like art.  I can’t explain what art is, but I sure know it when I see it.  I bet you feel the same way about art.

Remarkable content, like art, is measured by the viewer, and not you.  Van Gogh would not boast about his art.  Instead, he would craft a great painting and let people tell each other about it.

That’s the measure of remarkable.  Do people talk to each other about it?  Do they Tweet about it?  Do they talk about it on FaceBook or Linkedin?

Just like remarkable only matters in the eye of the recipient, you’ll want to make it easy to consume.  Van Gogh’s paintings would not have become famous if no one had seen them.  But you live in a vastly more complex would than the Great Master lived in.  He was pre-Internet, cable tv, telephone, cell phone, etc.

The noisy and complex world of today means the only way to get though is to make it bite-sized and easy to consume on whatever device (PC, Mac, iPhone, Blackberry, etc.) they choose to use.

And the user experience matters.  When they consume your content, you want them to take action.  You’ll want them to visit your website to get further information.  This means you need a great landing page that engages them and matches perfectly with the remarkable content you shared earlier.  You want them to consume your remarkable content and share it with others.

There’s one other great definition of remarkable.  If you stop sharing content, the recipient contacts you to complain.

So how does one develop remarkable content?  Brian Halligan suggested you have a “Get Found Content” team on your marketing staff. You’ll need to partner and hire outside the box.  For instance, HubSpot hired a former reporter for the New York Times and a music major fresh out of college, Rebecca Corliss.  The reporter creates content and the music major creates videos, like the excellent You Outta Know (InBound Marketing) Brian Halligan, CEO of HubSpot, and Rebecca are pictured at right.Rebecca Corliss & Brian Halligan NEDMA Awards

You can learn much more about demand generation by visiting Find New Customers.

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Jeff Ogden (@fearlesscomp) is President of the B2B lead generation consultancy, Find New Customers. He presented “How to Build an Awesome Personal Brand” at the 140 Social Media Conference and discussed B2B lead generation on Sales Lead Management Radio.
To learn about Jeff, please click Who is the Fearless Competitor?

Find New Customers helps companies (with between 150 and 5,000 employees who sell complex products to businesses) to implement world-class lead generation programs. As companies struggle to create quality sales opportunities for their sales teams, they turn to lead generation companies like Find New Customers.