Content Marketing: Content is King and Data is Queen.

Kessler is co-founder of Velocity - a UK-based B2B marketing agency.

We had a really interesting conversation last night at the Weber Shandwick Data Salon # 4 discussing the evolving role of data in content marketing at their offices in midtown Manhattan.

It was fun to start the event with an open-ended question: “What is content marketing?”

Responses ranged from SEO / SEM to story telling, from “clandestine sales”  to “paid not earned media.” In the end – there was no clear consensus, so I offered the Content MarketingInstitute definition:

“Content marketing is a marketing technique of creating and distributing valuable, relevant and consistent content to attract and acquire a clearly defined audience – with the objective of driving profitable customer action.”

In the face of vastly diminishing returns from traditional marketing / advertising investments, content marketing is being seen as a viable and necessary element in the modern marketing mix.

The observation was made that tech-savvy consumers are great at avoiding traditional advertising, so the marketing paradigm has shifted from “promotion” to “attraction” or inviting a conversation with customers / prospects using content marketing.

But how does a marketer know if they are producing relevant and engaging content, or remarkable content * – content that is worth noticing and remarking upon – sharing on social media / commenting / bookmarking?

*  [As defined by pundit Seth Goden in his classic book “PurpleCow”]

This boils down to how content marketing is approached: Is it the art of great content story telling or the science of using data to track which content best engages and converts prospects against predetermined business objectives?

Content and Data (left to right).

It’s likely to be both – so the notion that “Content is King and Data is Queen” was put forth and sparked a lively conversation. Data can certainly track user engagement and helps optimize subject matter, writing style and delivery venue based on how it is received. But astute audience members pointed out that does not necessarily foster innovative and highly creative content that will in fact get noticed, read, shared and ultimately impact consumer behavior.

One salon participant – who identified herself as a creative in the design field – pointed out that lots more people read her blog content if it is unique, innovative and creative… this was a blinding glimpse of the obvious.

So what's the big deal with content marketing?

I pointed out that it appears that many Fortune 500 companies don’t understand nor appreciate the full potential value of content marketing based on learning from a qualitative research project I am currently conducting on behalf of a leading global business publisher. This conclusion is drawn on the apparent lack of interest on the part of senior CMO level executives, and ad-hoc budgeting and project management approach most firms appear to be taking for content marketing programs, with often-tepid data analytic performance measurement.

The discussion went on the focus on the need to treat content marketing as on-going customer relationship management program, or in essence a friendly and useful dialogue that improves the perceived value of the company sponsoring the content, versus a one-off / ad-campaign like effort.

And like any smart marketing effort, the content marketing should be tied to clearly defined business goals against a well-defined target audience, with a desired end-outcome or “conversion.” This could be as simple as capturing contact information in exchange for information to actually selling a product or service as a result of content marketing driven engagement.

Well defined analytic framework.

The data measurements come in the form of web analytic data - ranging from overall and unique site visits to “bounce rates” and identification of web traffic sources. Some firms measure improvement in brand awareness / familiarity and “favor-ability” of their offerings. Savvy marketers work to attribute inquiries, leads and actual sales to their content marketing efforts.

So it looks like content marketing will continue to be a combination of art and science for the foreseeable future, a blend of remarkable content creation and smart data-driven analytic analysis on the back-end.

Weber Shandwick Data Salon # 4: May 29, 2014

I'm excited to announce that I am speaking on Thursday 5/29/14 from 6:00-7:30 PM at The Weber Shadwick Data Salon # 4 on Content Marketing. Each month Weber Shadwick along with NY Data Consultancy Blue Water Labs invites a data / digital marketing profession to come in and lead a discussion that sparks a lively conversation on variety of topics.

This month we'll be discussing content marketing - now widely viewed as a more efficient and effective way to engage and acquire prospects / customers than traditional marketing methods. Yet there appears to be some confusion about exactly what it is, and how it can best be managed in business.

We'll be discussing the evolving balance between the art and science of content marketin and the increasingly important role that data plays in the effective creation and optimization of content marketing programs.

My goal is to get the audience thinking about better ways to engage their audiences using content marketing programs, with measurable results, that will drive positive business outcomes.

To RSVP for this event please register here.

3D Printing + Crowd-sourcing = Potential for Explosive Growth.

Some of the most exciting tech start-ups use the “mash-up” approach to building a business model. The “mash-up” terms comes from web developers and refers to a web application that uses content from more than one source to create a new service displayed in a single web page.

The term has grown to encompass businesses that combine two proven business models to create a new business that represents a “blue ocean” strategic opportunity – doing business in an “unoccupied space.”

3D Hubs provides 3D printing access to consumers and businesses via a global community of 3D printers. The owners of these 3D printers set their own prices, and list resolution capabilities and available printing materials.  It closes the gap between design and access to 3D printing production. And they have a clear and well defined business process for both 3D printer owners and end-users that makes it all easy.

Bram de Zwart

3D Hubs is based in Amsterdam and was started in 2013 by Bram de Zwart and Brian Garret - who previously worked for industry giant 3D systems.  Their simple mash-up business model combines elements of place-based applications like Foursquare and AirBnB – the Global lodging network. It delivers fast, affordable 3D printing locally.

But is 3D printing a really big idea? Global consulting powerhouse McKinsey & Company seems to think so. In their 2013 “Disruptive Technologies” report they cite that the 3D printing sector could produce an economic impact of $ 230 - $ 550 billion by 2025. This suggests that 3D printing is no passing fad.

Local 3D Hubs Printing Hubs in Metro NYC Area.

   The 3D printing technique so far has been used so far mainly for rapid prototyping, but McKinsey says the industry may be reaching a tipping point where widespread adaptation could occur. Improvements in materials and falling prices, plus wider spread use across a wide variety of consumer and commercial applications are fueling growth.

"How to Hub" for 3D printer owners with 3D Hubs: Simple

As 3D Hubs works towards universal 3D printing access, their offer of affordability and creative empowerment that are the underlying benenfits of the business model. They are helping level the playing field in a broad range of business sectors – from specialized industrial production like aerospace to the explosive heath care industry including customized hearing aids and artificial joints. 

3D Hubs has an eye on growing its presence in the metro NYC market. Zwart commented recently at a  Hardwired NYC event "New York is probably the most active city in terms of 3D printing, with many firm having their headquarters here. Our local community here consists of over 300 people, including 75 3D printer owners - where customers can get their designs made.

Even Amazon is getting in the act with its 3DLT online marketplace for 3D printed products – from smart phone cases to jewelry. But 3D Hubs has Amazon beat – because it fosters a community of like-minded people to get the chance to meet and do business with each other in person. These introductions and collaboration opportunities may be the best mash-up of all.

A front-row seat to value creation in NYC tech sector.

Some of the best shows in NYC are available for free at the simple click of a smart phone or laptop button and come in the form of "Meet-Ups." At many of these events including “Hard Wired” and the grand daddy of all Meet Ups “NY Tech Meet-up” where you can see the story of true value creation from a wide variety of budding entrepreneurs.

By value creation I am thinking about creating something from nothing. Lots of these business people mastered the art of “pivoting” – that is changing and evolving their product or service offering and business model until they find something that works. Seems lots of angel investors, venture capital firms and larger well-established companies are taking note, and putting down millions of dollars in the process.

These events embrace an open-source approach to sharing experiences and intellectual capital in full measure.

Bre Pettis of MakerBot.

An excellent case in point is MakerBot Industries and one of its founders Bre Pettis - a natural pitchman - who was a featured speaker at the April Hardwired event. MakerBot is a five-year-old Brooklyn, NY based company that makes open-source 3D printers.

The early MakerBot makes 3D printer kits required assembly. These products were designed to be built by anyone with basic technical skills, and are described as about as complicated as assembling IKEA furniture, with only minor soldering required. Their printers print with acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS), high-density polyethylene (HDPE), polyactic acid (PLA) and polyvinyl alcohol (PVA).

3D printing in of itself is revolutionizing many businesses, “…allowing prototypes to be built in hours not months, compressing the innovation cycle and accelerating the ability to get stuff done fast…” according to Pettis while speaking at Hardwired.

Pettis said their market for 3D printers is split between entrepreneurs and big corporations, and sited a range of uses from people making doll house furniture, to movie set designers, to aerospace giant Lockheed - all exploring frontiers using 3D printing.

One of the best take-away thoughts from Pettis was his never-ending quest for innovative thinking. He mentioned “…I was riding the wave of 3D printing at the recent Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas while cruising the back-alleys of the show looking for cool new ideas…” This guy clearly has no intentions of resting on his laurels.

He loves the idea appealing to misfit kids who want make things, empowering their creativity with MakerBot technology. “These freak-show kids are our future” Pettis declared.

MakerBot Cupcake.

MakerBot started its 3D product concept offerings with “Cupcake CNC” – source files needed to build the device were shared on Thingiverse MakerBot's online community- allowing anyone to build one from scratch.

This online community is still thriving - where users can post 3D printable files, document designs and collaborate on open source hardware. The site is a collaborative repository for design files used in 3D printing, laser cutting and other DIY manufacturing processes.

Because of the open source nature of the product, many suggestions for improvements came from users. Printing upgrades and replacement parts became popular projects for learning to operate the units.

Introduced in September 2010 at Maker Faire NYC the Thing-O-Matic was MakerBot's second kit. The Thing-O-Matic shipped with many of the common upgrades that had been built for Cupcake.

The company was founded in April of 2009 with $ 150K in seed money from three angel investors and then had a capital infusion of $ 10 million in August of 2011 from Foundry Group, a venture capital firm.

On June 19, 2013, Stratasys Inc. announced that it had acquired MakerBot in a stock deal worth $403 million, based on the current share value of Stratasys. The deal provided that MakerBot would operate as a distinct brand and subsidiary of Stratasys, serving the consumer and desktop market segments. Now that's real value creation.

Replicator: 3D Printing heaven-on-earth for $ 2899.

In January 2012 MakerBot introduced the Replicator. It offered more than double the "build envelope" of the Thing-o-Matic (225 mm × 145 mm × 150 mm). The company has gone on to introduce four new generations of the Replicator 3D printer series, including its most recent model that features WiFi enabled software connected with MakerBot mobile apps along with its original desktop apps. This model provides an even larger build volume and fast print time to accelerate rapid prototyping and model making.

They’ve even introduced a Replicator Mini Compact 3D printer for $ 1375 USD making the technology available at the same price point as a decent laptop computer. That should get aspiring inventors and entrepreneurs excited.

Seems that even with success MakerBot is continuing to pivot on its business model, while fully embracing its open-architecture view on both 3D hardware / software, and their intellectual capital - having fun and growing like a weed in the process.

You can visit their retail location at 289 Mulberry St near  Houston in NYC – where they sell equipment and supplies, demonstrate 3D printing, offer classes and provide a real-time and up-close view of the future of value creation starting at 12:00 Noon every day.