Hello Software CEOs! It’s been a while since I last posted a blog article here so I don’t blame you if you have no idea who I am. I come to you with 25+ years of software marketing experience and my intent is to share what I’ve learned and continue to learn – strategies, tactics, shortcuts that actually get you more leads and help shorten the buying cycle. If you want to know more about me, please check me out on LinkedIn and let’s connect.

So, content marketing.

Unless you’ve been visiting off-planet for the last year or so, you’ve got to be aware of content marketing. It’s THE marketing buzzword, according to Google search trends, having recently surpassed “inbound marketing” and leaving “social media” in the dust.

Normally I caution against paying too much attention to buzzwords as they’re often just shiny objects that distract from the real purpose of marketing, which to me is getting you more business. But in the case of content marketing, it would be deadly to ignore this buzz.

It’s not that content marketing is new. Software companies have been practicing content marketing for decades, but you know how buzzwords tend to ride a rising wave. Think “cloud”.

You yourself have probably engaged in some kind of content marketing. Do you have a website? Of course you do. A blog? White papers? Case studies? Product sheets? A newsletter? Webinars? Videos? Speeches? All of these are marketing content.

The real difference now is that the market demands we produce more and better content, and the effort needs to be more organized if you’re going to grow.

With this article, I’m introducing a series of articles to help you and your marketing people take advantage of the undeniable benefits of content marketing while maintaining your sanity. If you’re already a believer in content marketing, just come back next week and I’ll show you a quick way to get an organized effort moving forward. If you’re still on the fence about the importance of content marketing, read on.

I titled this article “Why Software Companies Can’t Afford to Ignore Content Marketing” for a reason. Here’s the payoff.

1. Buyers want it. Software buyers devour good marketing content. From the moment of problem awareness, throughout the research and consideration phase, up to the buying decision, buyers consume content to help them make the right choices. 
   
   
2. Competitors are doing it. The Content Marketing Institute, in its annual Survey of B2B Marketers, found that in 91% of marketers were practicing content marketing. In the past, this survey has found that software & IT companies are even more involved. Typical B2B marketers are spending 33% of their marketing budgets on content marketing and 55% expect to increase what they’re spending.
   
   
3. Sales people can’t get to buyers until it’s too late. Time was when the sales team was charged with connecting with buyers and building trust over time. No longer. Buyers are becoming increasing resistant to sales outreach. Depending on which source you care to believe, buyers have independently completed 60% to 70% of the purchase process before they will talk with a sales person. Either way, they’re more than halfway done. It’s content that establishing a relationship and building trust now.
   
   
4. Content makes your other marketing efforts work. Content is what you use to attract and nurture leads. Without it, lead generation and lead nurturing efforts are useless. This includes social media marketing, email, advertising, direct mail, trade shows and whatever else you might be using to develop leads for the sales team.

So, yeah, content marketing. It’s here to stay. Why not take control? In the next article I’ll give you a short cut for getting a good program on the fast track. If you don’t want to wait until next week, visit the Conversion-Copywriting blog where we’ve been talking about this topic and you can download some useful tools. Meanwhile, what questions or opinions do you have about content marketing?

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