Content marketing was on everyone’s mind, but where do you start?
Robert Rose of Content Marketing Institute (CMI) kicked off the conference with a workshop on content marketing and how to approach the strategy and execution of content within your organization. CMI is one of the pioneers in this field, having started their business before content became “king.” Today, nearly 5,000 people attend their conference, up from just 800 when they started the conference eight years ago.
Content is clearly the latest frontier in a long line of attention-grabbing, value-adding, story-telling activities that have driven the marketing and advertising fields for the past 60 years. But for banks, it’s still untapped. For organizations that claim to be the financial experts of their communities, a lot of that knowledge has been sheltered inside a branch for the past century. Turning that vast institutional knowledge into the form of online content consistently gives banks a chance to finally show off their knowledge while sharing valuable advice that customers so often covet but so rarely receive.
It’s not just about starting a blog or shooting another customer testimonial video. Those activities do add value, but content marketing is much more strategic and much more about the creation of great stories that help craft your larger brand story. Instead of writing another article on the difference between a 401(k) and IRA, it is important to reflect on the narratives that live within your communities, your customers, and your people.
Banks are the original community centers; the watercooler to top all watercoolers. And while the stories have shifted away from the branch, your customers own amazing businesses and do amazing things within your community. Tell their stories and yours will rise up as well.
