Content marketing can be a cost-effective way to get the word out about a company, putting the small guys on a more even playing field with the big boys. One reason it’s an economical strategy is because you can repurpose your content in dozens of different ways, turning a blog entry into a white paper or an article into the script of a video. The idea is to recycle content so that it “takes advantage of the different ways that your readers absorb information,” says blogger Beth Hrusch.

Blogging for your business is crucial, but working the right amount of marketing into your posts is also important, according to this recent article. It’s one thing to blog, but if you want it to help boost your business, you’ve got to have a goal in mind and tailor the content of your blog to meet that goal, whether it be offering information, asking visitors to watch a video, or showcasing an example of your company’s recent work.
Blogs are a great way to discuss business in a more laid-back manner than you might in a white paper or memo to a client, and you can’t underestimate their value in connecting with customers — current and potential.
Just remember: Content is king, but only if it’s targeted, quality content.

“I want a magazine.” “I want a blog.” “I want a newsletter.” Those are some of the most common needs expressed to us by new clients. More often than not, clients come to us with the media they want already in mind.
Rather than immediately moving forward, we prefer to start the process with a conversation about a client’s content marketing goals, then let those goals guide a custom media platform selection. We’re looking for the platforms that will work most efficiently, rather than the trendiest or flashiest. We won’t recommend a client invest in a custom magazine, for example, until we are clear about what he or she wants the magazine to do. With such an array of media choices to choose from, we realize the decision can be difficult. That’s why we draw on our years of experience—and tons of research—to craft the most appropriate media for each client.

On April 3, the iPad era will begin. And yes, Rex will be at the Apple store early that morning to pick up the one he has reserved. That should be no surprise. On his blog, Rex has become noted for his accurate predictions about what the iPad would be, starting back in July 2006. He even Photoshopped a concept of the device in November 2007. And a year ago, he miscalculated the date it would be announced, but came pretty close to describing the device, down to the pricing.
As Rex and I are the resident Mac-heads in the office, I thought I’d use this “count-down week” to interview him about why he believes the iPad is such a big deal — especially when it comes to the business we’re in: Custom media and content marketing.

At Hammock we not only love words and beautiful layouts–but we love data too. Why are we so fond of numbers and graphs and spreadsheets? Because this kind of data collection and analysis ensures that the media we are creating are doing what they are intended to do. We’re always clear on how our words and video and tweets and other media are working (or not working) because measurement is such an integral part of what we do.
Jon Buscall, in this content marketing article, “Data is Content Marketing’s Friend,” says you can’t rely on your gut instinct when it comes to evaluating if your media is meeting your objectives. I couldn’t agree more. We don’t rely on crystal balls or some kind of unscientific “feeling” when it comes to our clients’ content marketing efforts—we rely on hard data to track if their strategy is working and if changes are necessary. At Hammock data is indeed our friend and it helps us create content that works for our clients.

A new study released today found that interactive digital magazines outperform traditional Web sites when it comes to engagement, according to BtoB.
Eighty-two percent of respondents said they were more engaged with their digital magazine than with Web sites covering the same topic. Seventy percent of survey respondents said they were more likely to ignore Web site banner ads than ads in their digital magazine.
The survey polled readers of eight interactive digital magazines that “are taking advantage of the interactivity offered by the Web and supplying readers with video, slide shows and Flash animation,” study author Josh Gordon told BtoB.
Speaking of engagement, Junta42 founder Joe Pulizzi posted a free whitepaper on the topic at his blog. It’s called “Engagement: Understanding It, Achieving It, Measuring It.” You can get it for free, no strings attached, and it includes great insight on something we’re passionate about here at Hammock.

As if you needed another reminder: Content marketing is the best way to build your presence on the Internet. Sure, it takes more time than submitting an ad, but the payoff is much greater, writes T.J. Philpott in an articlecity.com blog. Here are his five reasons to adopt a content marketing strategy:
1. It’s economical. All it costs is time and effort.
2. It lasts. Newsletters, blog posts or articles drive traffic long after they have been published.
3. It boosts credibility. The more content you publish, the faster your reputation grows online.
4. It draws traffic. By focusing your content on what you’re trying to promote, you’ll pull in not just any traffic, but targeted traffic.
5. It’s search engine friendly. The more you publish quality content and link back to your site, the higher your rankings will be in search engines.
Convinced yet?

At Hammock we work with clients to create content that works–content that solves specific business challenges. But how do we know what content will work for each client? There are some universal content marketing rules to follow, as Rex points out in his “Content That Works” series, but sometimes learning what not to do is just as helpful to guiding strategy decisions.
Here are five areas where Targetmarketingmag.com sees marketers make mistakes when it comes to their content marketing plans:

Do you know how well your content is working for you? If you can’t answer this question with confidence, you aren’t alone. Most marketers today lack a clear idea of how their content is helping them meet their business objectives. But with all of the money and resources invested toward this content, they can’t afford to be in the dark about how it’s helping them meet their goals.
Enter the content audit. At Hammock, we understand how important such an audit can be. That’s why we provide services to evaluate how clients’ current use of media and other content is working for them. Immediately after starting a relationship with a client, we conduct a Hammock Content Marketing Intelligence Report, a comprehensive look at which content is currently working and what changes are needed. This report involves an intake assessment, in which we collect all relevant information from the client for our research. (We provide a simple checklist of what we need so it’s a pretty painless process.)

My first content marketing job failed, based on the measurements for success I established. I made my first magazine at the age of 10. It was a fanzine related to my enthusiasm for the Washington Diplomats, part of the long defunct North America Soccer League (NASL), and owner of the least poetic of all team nicknames, the Dips.
I hand made the magazines and complied statistics about the teams, players and games of the NASL. My mother, who was a teacher, allowed me to use the mimeograph machine at her office to make a dozen slightly wet and purple copies, which were stapled. I brought the issues to school, and offered them for sale in a unit of my class that was devoted to helping us understand economics. We reserved two hours at the end of the day each Friday to buy and sell to our classmates.
A guy named Sunil Chitra sold erasers with staples pushed in that could be used in our games of racecar before school. Sam Fowler made some sort of kettle popcorn. They met their goals. I know I bought from both of them. My foray into magazine publishing ended with two magazines sold. By the standards of how success could be measured in that situation, it was clearly a failure.
Creating content today can be a pure passion (like fanzines about NASL soccer) for fun, or it can be used to drive business aims, in which case it must be measured for its effectiveness. Content today is just as critical to the growth of a business as capital or access to credit. But content has to move the needle, and we need marks to tell how far the needle has moved.
At Hammock, we create custom content strategy based on our client’s goals and we benchmark and measure those things that we can influence and which drive the business goals. We then create and source the best content for the job. But that’s not enough. We set the marks with our clients, and track the movement of the needle every month, using custom reports to show how it’s working, and when necessary, make a course adjustment.
It’s still great fun to be in a business of creating content. But you can’t buy popcorn or little eraser cars unless you can create content that works.