“A content marketer always has something interesting and meaningful to say because she truly understands what information appeals to her customers and prospects.”

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There’s no question that advertising and content marketing are different. Advertising pushes you for a purchase. It’s loud, unsubtle, sometimes glib and superficial, occasionally obnoxious. In comparison, content marketing is soothing on the frayed nerves of an audience bombarded with advertising messages. It delivers meaningful and often useful information (which can take the form of written, visual or audio content) customized with an understanding of the audience’s needs, concerns and interests. Content marketing doesn’t overtly sell you. It engages your interest and builds a bond between you and the brand the marketer is selling.

A lot of people believe that advertising is the past and content marketing is the future. Maybe that’s true. Maybe not. But there’s no question that content marketing is changing the rules for advertising.

The popularity and success of content marketing is a reminder of something that people who make ads often forget: substance matters. Selling the “sizzle” only goes so far. Eventually people get hungry for the steak. A half-page advertisement in a trade magazine or a 30-second spot on TV can’t deliver the kind of meaningful information that content marketers put online, although it can be a valuable tool for directing customers to that content. But even if you’re not yet doing content marketing online, you can satisfy the growing hunger of customers for substance by making sure your ads deliver something they can sink their teeth into.

Almost all of the creative project briefs that I’ve used in my advertising career include a heading that reads “Reason to Believe” (or something similar). The reason to believe is the substance behind all the hoopla. That gum commercial was funny and engaging and made me think I should grab some before my big job interview, but the “freshens breath better than the leading sugarless gums” claim sealed the deal.

Look at the advertising around you and you’ll notice how often there’s no attempt to offer a reason to believe. A generic headline is almost always a dead giveaway. If it’s a claim that anyone can make you probably haven’t thought about why you’re making it and how you can own it. What makes you different? How would you convince a skeptic that you are different? That’s substance.

Tell people something meaningful. If you can do that you’ll have an ad that even content marketers will notice.

When Seth Godin, the ever popular marketing advisor and blogger said, “The only marketing left is content marketing,” he almost single-handedly stopped marketing in its tracks.  I’m glad he did.  For those of you who haven’t been around content marketing, we’ll define it as a strategy by which you create and distribute compelling, relevant and valuable content to very specific target audiences with the purpose of driving a profitable action.

So what’s different about that?  In the past, it was all about the delivery platform — Web site, TV spot, brochure system and the like — and content followed as a bi-product of the platform.  Now, content takes the lead and becomes the single most important attribute in your marketing plan.  Here’s why — in a report published by the Custom Publishing Council, 80% of business decision makers said they prefer their information through articles rather than advertisements, 70% stated that content marketing makes them feel closer to the content provider, and 60% said they make product purchasing decisions based on content marketing.

But there’s another reason to jump on board.  Content marketing will save you money, and it will probably be more effective than what you’re doing now.  As the folks at content distributor Junta42 say, “Think of this — what if your customer looked forward to receiving your marketing?”  And to that I add, “Think of this —how about not having to pay the traditional advertising costs?”

So, how does this work?  At TMA+Peritus our approach to content marketing, which is a branded product that we call Simpatico™, begins with a content and audience audit for our clients.  In your organization, you will need to understand your audiences and what type of information they need and want, and then determine what existing content is usable, what can be repurposed, and what needs to be created as you work toward the first goal of an overall Content Strategy.

The next phase is Content Creation, and trust me, there’s more in your archives than you think.  This could be white papers, case studies, videos, articles, photos, news releases, research, trade show materials and more.

Then you will need to determine your Content Delivery Platform, or how are you going to get your content into the hands of your audiences.  Will it be through your primary Web site, microsites, Facebook, twitter, Linkedin, private networks, sharing tools or perhaps all of the above?  In any event, you will need to develop new channels or optimize existing channels for distribution.

The fourth phase is Content Promotion — think of this in terms of digital and traditional marketing — and consider your content as your newest and greatest product.  Promote it through news releases, industry articles, digital ads, on your Web site, though email campaigns, during speeches, at trade shows and within your electronic newsletter.  Finally, there’s Content Engagement and Measurement. You’ll need to keep distributing content frequently, and based on how you measure your success, you’ll need to refine your messaging based on different analytics, content consumption ratios and comments.  Remember, you can’t manage it, if you can’t measure it.

A friend of mine used to say, “He who controls the data, controls the transaction.”  True enough, but times have changed.  “She who controls the content, controls the transaction.”

Tom Marks is the President & Managing Partner of TMA+Peritus: A Strategic Interaction Agency. Find them online at www.tmaperitus.com, offline in their offices in Wausau and Madison, or follow them on Twitter@ twitter.com/tmaperitus

Domino’s wants you to know their pizza sucks. It’s not just ordinary or overpriced. It’s pretty darn lousy. And it’s been that way for a long, long time. But they’ve seen the error in their ways. And they want you to love them for admitting it.

You’ve seen the commercials. Domino’s filmed people in focus groups trashing the taste of their product and edited those scenes with scenes of proud Domino’s chefs vowing improvement. The spots culminate with a Publisher’s-Clearinghouse-style visit to the unsuspecting focus group members who are given the opportunity to chow down on the improved Domino’s pizza. Not surprisingly they’re happy to eat both the pizza and their words.

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As if there weren’t enough lists to start the decade, let’s toss in one more.

One: It’s high time we took the “social” out of social media. Let’s face it — social media is as traditional nowadays as traditional media. Over 300 million Facebook users, 861,800,000 tweets in September 2009 alone, 156 billion text messages between June 2008 and May 2009, and lest I forget, $25 billion in digital ad revenue last year. I think social media, or I should say, this type of media, is here to stay.

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When it comes to social media, businesses usually make one of two mistakes. They rush into it faster than a doped-up sprinter without realizing the consequences of their actions, or they stick their toe in the water — ever so slightly — making it utterly impossible to see any results.

To avoid the predictable, which is no measurable results from your social media efforts, you must adopt a point of view, or POV.

Before you do that, it’s imperative that you subscribe to the philosophy that we spend so much time trying to be understood and not enough time understanding. If you have trouble agreeing with that belief, it’s almost a certainty that you’ll have trouble with social media.

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Retailers, it’s time to help out those of us who still have presents to buy. How? Social media. It’s the fastest, most direct way to let me know what sales you’re running, text me special offers and allow me to contact you directly to find out if the gift I want is in stock.

In a survey conducted by Harris Interactive, 33 percent of cell phone owners ages 35 to 44 are interested in receiving alerts about sales from their favorite establishments. Among 18- to 34-year-olds, that percentage jumps to 42. And yet, only 1 percent of cell phone owners currently receive alerts from retailers. With consumers so willing, retailers need to respond. A retail “Field of Dreams”: If you alert them, they will shop.

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…and has been for the last 16 months or so — but that’s not what I’m talking about.  Now, more than ever, it’s time to crunch the analytics of your next marketing campaign.  If you do it properly, you’ll satisfy the abacus-wielding bean counters in your office, you’ll know where you went wrong and where you scored, and your next campaign will be better off for it.

Of course, it’s a little dicey trying to track your successes in traditional advertising — television, radio, print and outdoor.  Other than using different phone numbers for each media vehicle, or sending people to different microsites (use Wordpress and save some money), the only sure-fired way to measure traditional success is to select one medium and promote it full tilt.  Unfortunately, that’s not the right way to purchase media – because the mix is essential to the media plan’s integrity.

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It’s no secret that, in the United States, women make the majority of brand purchases — including big-ticket, high-tech purchases — with the Internet being their primary research tool. But recent research indicates that specifically focusing on moms, and those who use social media, is producing gains for a wide variety of industries, from health care and automobiles to stereo equipment, produce and retail.

Mothers’ use of social media is skyrocketing. Recent market research indicates a 462 percent surge in usage among mothers since 2006. Of those women, 44 percent use social media for word-of-mouth recommendations on brands and products. A primary channel for those product recommendations tends to be online communities that offer parenting or health advice.

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Does your business correspondence get typed on a plain white sheet of paper and mailed in a plain white envelope? Of course not. Anything sent from your office goes out on letterhead identifying you and your company. It usually has a logo, mailing address, and phone number, so the recipient of the letter knows exactly who you are, whom you represent, and how to contact you.

Fast forward to today’s technology —  most of your business correspondence is probably done via email. Question is — are you and your company as well represented in that email signature as you are on official company letterhead? More importantly — are you providing them with ways to interact with you beyond email? If not, you should be.

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