In the early days of the pandemic, there was a quick shift in the tone of marketing content. Marketers churned out top-of-funnel thought leadership to focus on being helpful resources to their audience. Toning down the sales jargon was the right move. But now it’s time to adjust.
Gearing up for long-term uncertainty
Yep, these are “uncertain times.” It’s not just the pandemic. It’s the election. What will happen between the election and January? What will be the primary agenda post-inauguration? How will consumers and B2B buyers react? What supply chain shortages will we experience?
We know that everyone’s tightening their budgets. We know that there’s been a surge towards virtual events. We know that impact will probably be lasting. But how much, and how long? It’s hard to know.
How do you move forward, but cautiously?
Focus on the business impact
Building awareness is great, but proving the value of your long-term efforts is more important. Every dollar needs to count. Now’s the time to focus on creating content that aligns with business goals.
The pressure is on for marketers to deliver leads and help sales teams engage with prospects. That doesn’t mean you need to stop creating thought leadership content. But it’s okay to start having more sales-focused conversations again too. That means more middle- and bottom-of-funnel content:
Buying guides
Case studies
Those who are buying need help making their case. Make sure you’re reaching them with content that helps them make buying decisions. Right now, budget managers have less patience for marketing strategies that don’t show an immediate, meaningful impact on the bottom line.
Keep up with long-term strategies
That doesn’t mean you should neglect long-term strategies, like SEO, that don’t provide immediate results. Instead, you’ll need to be smarter about matching your ideal audience’s intent and generating conversions through SEO wherever possible.
Your time needs to count. In the spring, it wasn’t uncommon to offer ungated assets. Again, it was the right thing to do at the time. But with business goals front and center, long-term tactics require CTAs that will keep your leads engaged:
Newsletter subscriptions
Content-related downloads
Calculators or interactive tools
This is a frustratingly weird time. It’s not like living in the aftermath of a natural disaster or terrorist attack. It’s a long, winding road of unknowns. It’s mentally draining and emotionally exhausting, but the show must go on. Make the most of your time by focusing on the bottom line.