B2B

Content Marketing Catchup: 8 Trends Tranforming B2B Marketing, the Science of Viral Content, and More Must-Read Stories

Here’s what you missed while you were at the beach, trying in vain to convince your kid that digging a hole is more fun than playing Minesweeper.

State of B2B Content Marketing: 8 Trends and Tactics Transforming the Industry

Contently Associate Editor Jordan Teicher dives into the world of B2B marketing, writing about “The Muscles from Brussels” and seven other forces changing the B2B marketing game for good:

You might be wondering what JCVD has to do with B2B content marketing, but “The Epic Split,” Van Damme’s viral video from Volvo Trucks, represents a changing tide in business storytelling. Volvo tied their trucks’ dynamic steering to pop culture, and it paid off in a big way. Not only did the video rack up over 74 million views on YouTube, almost half of truck buyers who watched “The Epic Split” said they were more likely to choose Volvo the next time they bought a truck, and approximately one-third of those surveyed contacted a dealer or visited Volvo’s website to research information after seeing the videos. Read it.

If Measuring Pageviews Is Dumb, Buying Them Is Even Dumber

In a post with a purposefully inflammatory headline, I make the case for why paid content distribution should be bought and sold based on time, not clicks:

Brand publishers don’t want clicks; they want people to spend time with their content in hopes of building lasting relationships with an audience and achieving true ROI. If it’s dumb to measure the success of your content based on pageviews, it’s even dumber to pay for those pageviews.

So why isn’t paid content distribution sold based on the time people spend with the content once they click? Read it.

Jillian Richardson breaks down “The Science of Viral Content,” one of the year’s most interesting and actionable studies on how to manipulate the social web:

On the Buffer blog last week, Fractl’s Kelsey Libert published a lengthy breakdown of a fascinating study they conducted called “The Science of Viral Content,” which revealed how to make your content rocket through the social web.

I know, I can hear the content-marketing angels singing, too. The whole study is worth a read, but if you’re pressed for time, here are our top six takeaways, paired with relevant examples so you can see this emotion-based viral marketing in action: Read it.

‘You Can’t Do Business Without a Fire Pole’: An Oral History of Contently’s 2014 So Far

I really have to recommend that you read our oral history of our year as a company so far. It’s a roller coaster narrative with endless twists and turns. For example:

Shane Snow (CCO): There is that weird feeling you have when you’re working on everything and suddenly other people are doing the things you were working on. As a founder, you become more of a manager than a worker. That embodied the feeling of: “Oh, wow, my job has changed. I’m moving to the Viking table now.”

Jack Combs (Community Manager): I took over Shane’s desk. It was a very warm seat. Shane has a lot of fire in his belly. Like he-ate-Mexican fire. It still had the imprints, too, from each of his cheeks. We fit nicely against one another. Read it.

The 15 Stages of Emotion You’ll Feel at a Content Marketing Conference

It’s BuzzFeed Friday at Contently! So many GIFs, so much truth. Read it.

Until next week, Bye Bye Bye.

Contently arms brands with the tools and talent to become great content creators. Learn more.

 

Image by Mike Lawson

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