Epic Content Marketing - interview with Joe Pulizzi (part 1)

Have you got a plan of action for your content?

As the man who originated the term ‘content marketing’, Joe Pulizzi knows what it takes to make your brand build customer loyalty. Read part 1 of my interview with Joe...

Why are most brands still not getting the content marketing message?
JP: Most brands actually are starting to see this as important, but it’s a difficult change to make. The majority of brands (of any size) are simply not set up to tell consistent, engaging stories that build an audience.  

What’s the one biggest mistake that organisations are making?
JP: They think of content marketing as part of a campaign and stop the programme. If you ask me why most brands fail with content marketing, it would be because they stop.

Of all the many content types, which should I prioritise right now?
JP: I can’t answer that. Whatever you can commit to on a regular basis that has the most impact – could be a blog or a podcast or a video series. 

To be effective, content marketing needs to ‘enhance or change behaviour’. Easier said than done…
JP: Absolutely. That is why subscription is so important. Once you have subscribers to your content, you can begin to see what’s different between those that engage in your content on a regular basis versus those that don’t. The other issue is this: do you really know what you want your customers to do with your content? Having a plan of action for content is a true rarity.

We hear a lot about the power of storytelling. Can you distil in a few words what this means?
JP: There is not one person on the face of the earth that doesn’t like to hear a good story. What they don’t want is sales material. If you want to get and keep your customer’s attention, telling a story is a good place to start.

So we’re telling not selling. Therefore, you need also to have journalistic and editorial skills…
JP: Uh, yes. Marketers need to have the skills of what media companies have been doing for centuries. Finding storytellers in the company or hiring journalists and editors is probably a smart move for most brands.

How do you vie for your customer’s attention in today’s ultra-competitive, over-saturated market? 
JP: By becoming THE leading information provider for a particular niche. Don’t go broad with your content. You can’t cut through the clutter with general messaging. Go narrow and deep and become a truly valuable resource for your customers.

You talk about 'return on objective' (ROO) as the key metric. Explain your thinking…
JP: We know that most brands don’t have a documented content marketing strategy. So the first step is to define the overall objective of your content. What business challenge will your content marketing help to overcome? Return on investment (ROI) can seem so hard to overcome, so focus on a clear objective. For example, “For customers to spend X amount more money or to stay longer or to share more or to save us costs in some way.” Figure out what that is and then focus on the return on that particular objective.

Joe Pulizzi is cofounder of the Content Marketing Institute (CMI) and author of several books, including ‘Epic Content Marketing’, his latest publication. 

Read part two of my interview

You can subscribe to the Content Marketing Institute’s daily blog at contentmarketinginstitute.com and @CMIContent. Find out more about Joe and his work at joepulizzi.com and @JoePulizzi.