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CONTENT / INFLUENCE / SCALE CONTENT MARKETING SOFTWARE GUIDE An Advanced Guide to Content Marketing Software Options & What Makes Them Different.Do you need content marketing software? If youre struggling to get a content marketing campaign off of the ground, or just need help organizing all the different aspects of a campaign, the answer is most likely a resounding “yes.” But there are literally thousands of different types of content marketing software out there. How on earth do you choose the platform or program thats best for your brand? It starts with understanding what content marketing software can do, how its different from other types of software, and what benefits using a software program can offer your brand. CONTENT MARKETING SOFTWARE GUIDE Y 1 WHAT IS CONTENT MARKETING SOFTWARE? A QUICK SUMMARY The quickest way to explain content marketing software is as a platform or program that allows you to complete any or all aspects of content marketing. As defined by the Content Marketing Institute, content marketing involves the creation and distribution of valuable content to attract or retain an audience. The end goal of content marketing is to get people to take some sort of action, whether that action is subscribing to your newsletter, contacting you for more information, or making a purchase from your brand. people have viewed your content, where they came from, how long they looked at it, and what they did after viewing. Customer management/experience tools. Personalized content is all the rage these days, and its important for brands and marketers to be able to craft individual experiences for the people who visit their websites. Content marketing software occasionally includes tools that let you personalize content based on a customers past behavior or actions. Team interaction tools. If you outsource any aspect of content creation or if you work with a relatively large content marketing team team interaction tools can be particularly useful. The tools might include the ability to message back and forth with content creators, accept or decline bids on projects, and arrange for content creator payments after a particular project is completed. WHAT MAKES CONTENT MARKETING SOFTWARE DIFFERENT FROM OTHER TYPES OF MARKETING SOFTWARE? If your brand has been doing any type of marketing for any length of time, you might already use some sort of marketing software. And the thought of adding yet another software package to the mix might make you groan or clench your teeth. While other types of marketing software have their place and can be very useful as part of an overall marketing campaign, they dont necessarily offer the same tools and features as content marketing software. Heres a closer look at other marketing software options, and how theyre different from content marketing software. Lets also examine whether or not the features found in some content marketing platforms and programs can replace the features offered by these others types of marketing software. Social media automation software. Youve probably seen (if not used) social media automation software. Examples of social media software include platforms such as Hootsuite and Buffer. These programs let you schedule posts in advance, let you know when youve been mentioned on a social platform, and help you reply to comments or 2 THE QUICKEST WAY TO EXPLAIN CONTENT MARKETING SOFTWARE IS AS A PLATFORM OR PROGRAM THAT ALLOWS YOU TO COMPLETE ANY OR ALL ASPECTS OF CONTENT MARKETING. 5 THINGS CONTENT MARKETING SOFTWARE CAN DO Now that youve got the quick-take definition of content marketing software, lets dive a bit deeper and see what a software program can actually do. What type of functions can you expect to find (or should you expect to find) in a platform? Creation tools. Content creation can include the means to actually type up or produce a piece of content, such as blog posts or videos. It can also include the ability to find other pieces of content for content curation, as well as content planning and scheduling tools. Distribution tools. Distributing content means finding a way to get it in front of the widest audience possible. Content marketing software that includes distribution tools might allow you to create email newsletters or share your content through social media platforms. Analytics and insights tools. Measuring the impact of your content is crucial for content marketing success, and for ensuring that youre on track to achieve your goals. Some content marketing platforms include the ability to see how many Although people often assume that content marketing begins and ends with the creation of content, theres more to it than that. It also involves curating or scheduling content, optimizing content, and content distribution. An effective content marketing software platform should be able to handle at least one (if not all) aspect of content marketing.messages. Some content marketing software programs offer similar features, such as the ability to schedule posts and work across multiple platforms. Marketing automation software. Marketing automation is a complex topic, but suffice it to say that its the process of streamlining certain marketing tasks that would otherwise need to be done by hand. Marketing automation software allows a brand to generate leads, track a lead along their buyers journey, and produce customized emails and other messages for each customer. Examples of marketing automation software include Hubspot and Pardot from Salesforce. Analytics software. Analytics software reveals the data the cold, hard numbers behind your marketing. One of the better-known analytics programs is Google Analytics, which tracks website traffic. But there are numerous other programs available. While analytics software is available as its own separate thing, content marketing software programs often include an analytics component, which allows you to see whos visiting your content, as well as how your content performs on social media. Customer relationship management software. Also known as CRM software, customer relationship management software lets you keep track of customers and leads. The software usually gives you the ability to store information on customers, as well as keep in touch with them either through calls or email. Often, CRMs automate the process of collecting and storing information from customers. Examples include Salesforce, Zoho, and Hubspot. Although content marketing software can perform the same functions or similar functions as other types of marketing software in some cases, its not always going to be able to replace marketing platforms. TYPES OF CONTENT MARKETING SOFTWARE Just as content marketing software differs in some ways from other types of marketing software out there, there are also different types of content marketing software available. The types of content marketing software differ in terms of what they offer you and what their specific goals or intentions are. If you had to divide content marketing software into two distinct categories, you would end up with content marketing marketplaces and content marketing platforms. There are further breakdowns and distinctions within each category, but the big difference between a marketplace and a platform is the features they offer. 34 WHATS A CONTENT MARKETING MARKETPLACE? If youre on the hunt for people to help your brand pro- duce content (whether that content takes the form of blog posts, videos, infographics, or whatever), a content mar- keting marketplace can be a one-stop shop for you. A content marketing marketplace puts you in contact with many different types of content creators, and usually lets you use a variety of filters to find the creators who would be a good fit for your brands voice and content needs. For example, you can search a marketplace by: Price. If money is no object for your brand, price considerations might not be something you care about. But if youre on a tight budget, it helps to connect with content creators you can afford. Experience level. Experience counts when it comes to creating content. If your brand is new to content marketing, it can be helpful to connect with creators who have years of experience producing content for brands. On the other hand, you might prefer to work with people who are new to content creation, as they might be more affordable. Network size/level of influence. If youre only looking for a creator to ghostwrite or ghost-produce content for you, their personal network and the level of their influence might not matter so much. But if you are hoping to use some of their clout and reputation to promote your content, youll want to pay attention to their follower counts and engagement levels. Examples of past work. Heres an important question: Is the content creator any good at creating? The ability to search by past work or at least having the opportunity to read or look over a portfolio of work can help you know if a content creator is a good fit for your brand. Types of content created. If youre looking for a blogger, its important to be able to search for bloggers. If you want an illustrator or someone with experience with graphic design, youll need to be able to search that way. Subjects of interest and expertise. How well does the content creator know your brands niche? Some content marketing marketplaces let you search for creators based on the types of subjects theyve worked in. Marketplaces also differ in terms of the quality of interaction they provide. Some “marketplaces” are really just lists of free- lancers or content creators that have been scraped together using information thats floating around on the web. That means that you might find a person who seems like a great fit for your brand, but you might not be able to use the mar- ketplace to actually get in touch with them. Other content marketing marketplaces ac- tually have creators sign up to participate, and provide you with the means of inter- acting and transacting with those creators through the marketplace. That means you dont have to go “off-platform” to make contact. And in some cases, you can handle every aspect of content creation through the marketplace, from assigning the topic to negotiating price, and from accepting or rejecting the finished piece to paying the content creator.WHATS A CONTENT MARKETING PLATFORM? While a content marketing marketplace focuses on content creation and finding content creators, a content marketing platform is considerably more comprehensive. Many content marketing platforms contain marketplaces or a network of content creators. Beyond that, they also allow you to: Connect your content to social media platforms (for distribution) Produce and scale content creation Track content performance 5 Review analytics and data Create and set an editorial/publishing calendar Review and accept content Negotiate prices and kill fees, and issue payments to creators Ensure that content complies with legal regulations Additionally, a content marketing platform often includes professional customer support and help when you need it. Along with finding people to create content for your brand, you can often get personalized support in other areas of content marketing when you use a platform. THE BENEFITS OF USING CONTENT MARKETING SOFTWARE Improve your content quality. Connecting with experienced content creators through a content marketing marketplace or platform gives you the chance to improve the quality of the content your brand produces whether its written, visual, or video content. You benefit from the know-how and experience of the creators you partner with, and from the outside perspective those creators can bring to the content creation process. Streamline and increase content production. If youve got a small content marketing team, bringing on freelance creators and outsourcing content planning and strategy can help you increase the amount of content produced without necessarily increasing your budget. Additionally, those creators can contribute ideas for content. Using a content marketing software program can also help you smooth out any bumps in the workflow process. Connect the dots with your content marketing. With a content marketing platform, youre able to review how individual pieces of content perform, as well as how your content marketing is doing overall. You can use that information to make adjustments to your calendar, and to the type of content you produce. You can also use software to see which social platforms work best for your brand. All in all, a content marketing platform lets you take a holistic approach to content marketing, so that youre able to see how everything works together. Improve collaboration and planning. When you use content marketing software, members of your team (including freelance creators) can bounce ideas off of each other through the platform. You can also use it to set up a calendar and lay out the road map for your brands content for the months and even year ahead. Improve distribution. How are you distributing your content now? With a software program, you can schedule social media posts, access various channels for sharing your content, and take advantage of the clout of the creators on the platform by having them share your content (usually on a cost- per-click basis). 5CHOOSING A CONTENT MARKETING SOFTWARE FOR YOUR BRAND: POWERFUL FEATURES TO LOOK FOR Ready to take the next step and find a content marketing software program for your brand? Some programs are more powerful and effective than others. Heres what to look for: The platforms reputation. Research any platforms before you make contact. You want to work with a software program that has an established, trustworthy reputation instead of one that might not have left a good impression on past customers, or that might not have been in existence for very long. The technology used. Some content marketing software programs are white-label programs, meaning the company that promotes them is paying to license the technology from another business. To make sure your software program is up-to- date and that youre getting the best technology possible, its better to work with a company that develops its own tech, rather than a company that rents tech from someone else. The content types on offer. Your brand might only be interested in blog posts right now, but what will you do if there comes a time when you want to produce videos or visual content? Even if your content needs are small today, its a good idea t
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