Shifting the Content Game

Business models are shifting to remote work, which means people are online all day long in a fused work-life balance. They’re researching, reading, viewing, sharing, messaging, emailing and shopping for both work-related and personal reasons. For brands wanting to get into their living rooms, the content that matters most is earned media.

While comms has always been the unsung hero in the world of marketing, marketing has always owned media and paid media. Given today’s online consumer behavior is it possible we can see a power shift in the near future?

Marketing now needs to take comms more seriously in its overall customer engagement strategy — and this means better alignment.

Marketing’s Dysfunctional House
For decades, communications and marketing took on the relationship of adversaries rather than teammates. They battled for budget and respect. Comms pros were often on the losing side, since their mission of getting earned media coverage wasn’t as important as marketers making customer connections through paid and owned media. With looming budget cuts, CMOs can no longer put up with such inefficiency and dysfunction.

A Call To Action: Mandatory Makeover
Truth is, the lines between content types and roles have been blurring for years. Marketers share media mentions; comms pros pitch bloggers. The recent spike in online consumer behavior with content sharing has only accelerated this overlap. Comms and marketing pros now need to be more aligned in content creation, distribution and promotion.

Alignment on Content and Customers
CMOs should look for ways to combine teams, such as having team meetings, shared goals, integrated campaigns, and perhaps a new organizational structure complete with novel titles and metrics. With content, shared goals are more attainable when comms and marketing pros work together, e.g., a press release gains more views when marketers promote it over social networks.

Building a unified marketing house won’t be easy. CMOs will have to overcome cultural hurdles and legacy processes while under pressure from budget cuts. But they can also take this opportunity to create a more efficient and influential team, one with a single content strategy and produces and promotes content that engages customers.