The CMO Guide to Driving Demand with Content Activation

Summary

Synopsis:

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    The role content activation plays in the buyer journey

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    Benefits of content activation and recommended KPIs for CMOs

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    A 6-step playbook to activate content demand performance effectively

WHAT IS CONTENT ACTIVATION?

Content activation, also referred to as content syndication or content distribution, refers to the process of distributing existing content through third-party websites or platforms, linking back to the original source, in order to reach a larger audience. Both new posts and repurposed (pre-existing) content are eligible for content activation strategies. These tactics contribute to fostering demand, due to their capability to position your brand as a trustworthy solution provider in front of broader audiences.

Why use content activation?

Why professional distribution platforms are key to efficient content activation

Why publish content on AI-curated publishers?

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    Accuracy, speed, and efficiency: AI curation is more accurate and efficient than manual curation, as AI systems can process large amounts of data quickly and identify patterns that would be difficult for humans to see. This also reduces the margin for human error.

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    Personalisation: AI curation allows for more personalisation than regular content distribution, as AI can analyse user data to identify content that is likely to be of interest to each individual user and select market segments.

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    Scalability: AI curation can be more scalable than regular content distribution, facilitating publishing for more verticals and larger audiences. This is due to the fact that AI can be used to curate content on a substantial scale, without the need for a large team of human curators.

How content activation meets the needs of CMOs

How content activation fits into the B2B user journey

Social distribution

WHAT IS SOCIAL DISTRIBUTION?

Social distribution is the process of distributing and sharing content across multiple social media platforms (from partners or third-parties) to increase its reach, brand visibility, and audience engagement. It involves adapting and disseminating content efficiently whilst managing challenges such as maintaining consistency and monitoring multiple channels.

Benefits

Challenges

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    Increased reach

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    Enhanced brand visibility

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    Improved SEO and website traffic

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    Targeted audience engagement

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    Cost and time efficiency

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    Collaboration opportunities

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    Content adaptation and customisation

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    Maintaining brand consistency

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    Loss of control over content presentation

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    Potential duplicate content

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    Monitoring and managing multiple channels

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    Competing with native platform algorithms

Benefits

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    Increased reach

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    Enhanced brand visibility

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    Improved SEO and website traffic

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    Targeted audience engagement

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    Cost and time efficiency

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    Collaboration opportunities

Challenges

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    Content adaptation and customisation

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    Maintaining brand consistency

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    Loss of control over content presentation

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    Potential duplicate content

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    Monitoring and managing multiple channels

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    Competing with native platform algorithms

Co-marketing

WHAT IS CO-MARKETING?

Co-marketing is a collaborative marketing strategy where two or more companies unite to create and promote a product or service together. By leveraging each other's resources and client base, they aim to achieve mutual benefits and reach a wider audience whilst sharing costs and efforts.

Benefits

Challenges

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    Increased reach

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    Expanded audience

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    Cost efficiency

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    Access to targeted segments

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    Improved brand visibility

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    Cross-promotion opportunities

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    Enhanced content distribution

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    Lead generation and conversion

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    Shared resources and expertise

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    Lack of control over distributed content

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    Consistency of brand messaging

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    Quality and relevance of distributed content

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    Competing with other distributed content

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    Difficulties in measuring ROI

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    Maintaining partner relationships

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    Potential for negative brand association

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    Intellectual property, privacy, and copyright issues

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    Potential for content overexposure

Challenges

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    Lack of control over distributed content

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    Consistency of brand messaging

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    Quality and relevance of distributed content

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    Competing with other distributed content

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    Difficulties in measuring ROI

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    Maintaining partner relationships

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    Potential for negative brand association

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    Intellectual property, privacy, and copyright issues

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    Potential for content overexposure

Benefits

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    Increased reach

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    Expanded audience

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    Cost efficiency

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    Access to targeted segments

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    Improved brand visibility

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    Cross-promotion opportunities

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    Enhanced content distribution

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    Lead generation and conversion

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    Shared resources and expertise

Podcast, video, and webinar distribution

Benefits

Challenges

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    Convenient and on-the-go consumption

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    Broad audience reach and potential for niche targeting

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    Establishing thought leadership and expertise

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    Long-form content and in-depth discussions

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    Repurposing and extending the lifespan of content

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    Increased accessibility for visually impaired audiences

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    Audio quality and technical issues

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    Building and retaining a loyal podcast audience

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    Competition in the saturated podcasting market

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    Monetisation challenges without a large listener base

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    Discoverability and visibility among numerous podcasts

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    Consistently producing high-quality and engaging content

Benefits

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    Convenient and on-the-go consumption

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    Broad audience reach and potential for niche targeting

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    Establishing thought leadership and expertize

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    Long-form content and in-depth discussions

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    Repurposing and extending the lifespan of content

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    Increased accessibility for visually impaired audiences

Challenges

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    Audio quality and technical issues

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    Building and retaining a loyal podcast audience

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    Competition in the saturated podcasting market

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    Monetisation challenges without a large listener base

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    Discoverability and visibility among numerous podcasts

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    Consistently producing high-quality and engaging content

Benefits

Challenges

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    Increased exposure and reach

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    Enhanced engagement and viewer retention

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    Improved SEO and search engine visibility

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    Brand building and storytelling opportunities

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    Monetisation through ad placements and sponsored content

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    Shareability and viral potential

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    Ensuring video compatibility across platforms

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    Copyright and licensing issues

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    Measurement and tracking of video performance

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    Limited accessibility for visually impaired audiences

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    Keeping up with evolving video formats and trends

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    Production costs, time, and technical requirements

Benefits

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    Increased exposure and reach

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    Enhanced engagement and viewer retention

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    Improved SEO and search engine visibility

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    Brand building and storytelling opportunities

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    Monetisation through ad placements and sponsored content

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    Shareability and viral potential

Challenges

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    Ensuring video compatibility across platforms

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    Copyright and licensing issues

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    Measurement and tracking of video performance

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    Limited accessibility for visually impaired audiences

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    Keeping up with evolving video formats and trends

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    Production costs, time, and technical requirements

Benefits

Challenges

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    Real-time engagement and interaction with attendees

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    Lead generation and conversion opportunities

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    Showcasing expertise and establishing thought leadership

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    Repurposing as on-demand content for ongoing value

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    Collaboration and partnership opportunities

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    Data collection and insights for audience behaviour

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    Technical issues during live sessions

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    Scheduling conflicts and time zone differences

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    Building a targeted audience for webinar attendance

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    Maintaining audience interest throughout the session

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    Competing with other webinars and virtual events

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    Ensuring smooth integration with webinar hosting platforms

Benefits

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    Real-time engagement and interaction with attendees

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    Lead generation and conversion opportunities

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    Showcasing expertise and establishing thought leadership

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    Repurposing as on-demand content for ongoing value

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    Collaboration and partnership opportunities

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    Data collection and insights for audience behaviour

Challenges

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    Technical issues during live sessions

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    Scheduling conflicts and time zone differences

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    Building a targeted audience for webinar attendance

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    Maintaining audience interest throughout the session

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    Competing with other webinars and virtual events

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    Ensuring smooth integration with webinar hosting platforms

Does content distribution equal thought leadership?

How to avoid distributed content from outranking the original

Measure and track KPIs

Metric

Description

How It Affects ROI

Engagement Metrics

Time spent on page

The average time visitors spend on a page

Longer time spent on the page indicates higher interest

Bounce rate

The percentage of visitors who leave after viewing a page

Lower bounce rate indicates better engagement

Social media shares

The number of times your content is shared on social media platforms

More shares increase brand visibility and potential reach

Scroll depth

How far down the page visitors scroll

Deeper scrolling suggests higher engagement with content

Comments

The number of user comments on your content

More comments can indicate an active community and interest

Qualification Metrics

Job title

The job title of your content viewers

Helps target specific decision makers and influencers

Company size

The industry your visitors' companies belong to

Allows for tailoring marketing efforts to specific industry needs

Industry

The size of the company your viewers belong to

Identifies potential for larger or repeat purchases

Location

The geographical location of your visitors

Allows for targeting relevant geographical markets

Conversion Metrics

Link clicks to your company website

The number of times visitors have clicked to your website from your content

Indicates interest and potential for lead conversion

Opt-ins on your landing pages

The number of form fills, sign ups, or subscriptions on landing pages

Shows interest in further engagement with the brand and indicates a more advanced funnel stage

Number of leads from activated content

The number of leads generated from distributed content

Measures content effectiveness in generating leads

Metric

Description

How It Affects ROI

Engagement Metrics

Time spent on page

The average time visitors spend on a page

Longer time spent on the page indicates higher interest

Bounce rate

The percentage of visitors who leave after viewing a page

Lower bounce rate indicates better engagement

Social media shares

The number of times your content is shared on social media platforms

More shares increase brand visibility and potential reach

Scroll depth

How far down the page visitors scroll

Deeper scrolling suggests higher engagement with content

Comments

The number of user comments on your content

More comments can indicate an active community and interest

Qualification Metrics

Job title

The job title of your content viewers

Helps target specific decision makers and influencers

Company size

The industry your visitors' companies belong to

Allows for tailoring marketing efforts to specific industry needs

Industry

The size of the company your viewers belong to

Identifies potential for larger or repeat purchases

Location

The geographical location of your visitors

Allows for targeting relevant geographical markets

Conversion Metrics

Link clicks to your company website

The number of times visitors have clicked to your website from your content

Indicates interest and potential for lead conversion

Opt-ins on your landing pages

The number of form fills, sign ups, or subscriptions on landing pages

Shows interest in further engagement with the brand and indicates a more advanced funnel stage

Number of leads from activated content

The number of leads generated from distributed content

Measures content effectiveness in generating leads

6 steps to activate content effectively

Create high-quality content

Content activation and privacy laws

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    Ask the outlet/publisher about their privacy compliance: A company that respects privacy laws will gladly answer questions and even provide resources on how they use data. If they are avoidant, beware.

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    Prioritise data from leads that opt-in on your website: If you want to guarantee compliance, collect the data yourself from your own sources.

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    Get details on their security measures: If the publisher suffers a security breach and data is stolen your company could be liable, even if it is not your fault. Make sure your partners have tight security measures to avoid personal data theft.

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    Contact a lawyer: Seek legal advice from a lawyer specialising in privacy laws when in doubt.

Key takeaways

Content activation is a marketing strategy that promotes your brand to a large audience. It usually costs less to promote than other forms of advertising and can be free if co-marketed with partners that share a target audience.
Posting relevant content to third-party publishers can help businesses generate brand awareness, leads, and can even establish a C-suite member as a thought leader.
Many companies have partnerships with publishers to publish a certain amount of content per month, whilst others hire an outlet with a curated network, often managed by AI.
Social distribution and co-marketing are simpler, more affordable options to contacting a publisher or paying for a curated network. Especially with co-marketing, where companies share the workload and fees with a partner.
Avoid target audience miscalculations, low engagement, and dependence on partners as drawbacks to content activation.
Privacy laws are rightfully a concern to some marketers, but compliance can be guaranteed by hiring and partnering with trustworthy publishers or brands.

Content Activation and other INFUSE programs

Our INFUSE demand experts are available to help you not only craft high impact content and implement an effective content activation strategy, but create demand generation processes that achieve your goals.

CONTACT OUR TEAM AT [email protected] TO DRIVE AN EFFECTIVE DATA-CENTRIC AND PERSONALISED CONTENT ACTIVATION APPROACH AT SCALE

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