During our recent webinar, we opened the floor to questions for Constant Content’s Chris Reid. There were a lot of great questions on a variety of topics ranging from how to distribute resources across content marketing channels to how to measure returns on content, plus a ton more. If you missed the webinar, we’ve compiled some of the top questions and answers for you.

“In the end, it’s all about the right leader for the right reader.”

Q: One point you covered was how content assists with each part of the buyer journey. Is there a recommended split of resources or volume of content by stage (e.g. a percentage for awareness, consideration and purchase)?

Chris Reid: It depends on your audience, your market and your objectives.

If you are a B2B business, you may need to solidify market share with an emphasis on deeper funnel collateral like whitepapers.

If you’re a B2C business looking to grab market share and your consumable is at a lower price point, you’ll want to spend more time on awareness like paid ads and social.

Q: When it comes to product descriptions online, if a brand or supplier has already provided content, how should it be reused? Is it fine as it is, or does it often need to be completely rewritten?

CR: Product descriptions should be unique and provide value. Manufacturers and vendors will often provide very generic descriptions to you – these are not tailored to your audience. Think back to the Hayneedle example where their description was very targeted and added value compared to Walmart. Walmart’s was very generic and didn’t give any chance to ignite the imagination of the consumer. So, not only does creating unique product descriptions connect with your consumer, but [it] will also bring a lot of value with respect to search and rankings for that specific product.

Q: You mentioned using freelancers in your presentation. How do you find a great freelance content specialist?

CR: Great question! It comes down to partnering with the right company who will do the legwork to get the right freelance talent for your needs. Part of my job is exactly that – to source and connect the right freelancers and freelance teams to my clients. In the end, it’s all about the right leader for the right reader.

Q: What’s your favorite content marketing campaign?

CR: Matt [Owen, Global Social Media Manager at Shell] mentioned the RedBull marketing campaign – it’s one of my favorites. They literally took their content out of this world.

Q: A lot of marketers are concerned at showing a return on investment for content. What is the best way to approach this?

CR: Great question. The best way to approach this would be to set proper KPIs (Key Performance Indicators) for your team. This helps keep them accountable and makes sure you have the proper analytics tools to measure those KPIs. Your content is a long-term investment, so your ROI may not be overnight. But at the end of the day, with a proper plan, goals and tools you’re setting yourself and your team up for success.

Q: Do marketers need to change the tone of voice according to channel?

CR: No. Your company’s voice is what makes you who you are. Staying true to your brand story but telling that story that resonates with each respective channel and stage is key.

Solutions for Your Biggest Challenges

We also asked the audience, “What is your greatest challenge with content marketing in your organization?” We showed the top answers to Chris to get his take on what they can do to find a solution to those problems.

Q: Creating enough content.

CR: Outsource or hire in.

Q: Measuring content effectiveness.

CR: You need to watch all your related content KPIs, from web analytics to social engagement data and conversion rates. A/B testing is pretty important.

Q: Proving ROI.

CR: If content is assigned to achieve an objective, then that objective must be measurable. It doesn’t matter whether it’s in terms of engagement, traffic or conversions – everything can be measured digitally and it should be. And most things with proper attribution modeling in place show bottom-line impact – proving ROI means investing in good analytics tools.

Q: Getting sign off, buy in or internal approval for content.

CR: Create a solid plan with clear objectives, strategies, benefits and bottom-line outcome. Is this content going to drive more sales?

Put together a cost-benefit analysis of in-house vs freelancer costs and present them both with your plan. At the end of the day, if you can present to your boss that the content is going to help your bottom line, you should get the sign-off you need.

Q: Developing content marketing skills.

CR: There are tons of courses, mentors, events, seminars, shows, webinars like this one and experts in the space.

Q: Internationalization or localization.

CR: Most important is to make sure that you don’t use a tool like Google translate if your goal is to provide valuable, understandable, effective copy without potentially confusion or insulting your visitors.

If you work with a partner that can provide translations to fit your various markets, then you’re golden. I can help you with that.

It was great to connect with such an enthusiastic audience and we’d like to thank ClickZ Intelligence for partnering with us to put on this event along with Matt Owen, Global Social Media Manager at Shell, Mark Anderson, SEO & Content Specialist at schuh, and moderator Andrew Warren-Payne. If you missed the webinar, check out the full version embedded below and we hope to see you at our next one.