If you want to talk to someone at the conference about search engine marketing, look for Mike. Sure, he’s the Founder and CEO of SpyFu (great credentials, great company), but he’s also really passionate about helping people use search engine data in supremely strategic and profitable ways. He knows what “works” and wants it to work for your content marketing efforts.
For now, let’s learn more about his take on the matter:
Q: What excites you most about presenting at CMC18?
A: I love coming to Boston and connecting with people we don’t always get to hear from or talk to face to face. We always head home with new ways to think about challenges we’re facing or even to stretch beyond what we’re doing well. We’re out west in Arizona, so getting a fresh perspective from some of the sharpest minds in the industry is exciting. The team that puts this together is always looking for ways to blow the previous year out of the water. I think that attendees and speakers alike pick up on that, and you get this kind of energy that spreads through the entire event.
Q: Why is NOW the time to master content marketing?
A: This isn’t a flash in the pan trend. Creating content—enough quantity and quality to serve your audience—isn’t easy for everyone, so a lot of people waited for other options. In the meantime we saw that search engines continue to reward businesses that have something of value to serve their customers. And it’s not just search engines, either. True marketers are there to serve the customer, to deliver something to them that elevates their experience so that they connect that positivity with the brand. If content delivers that value, then it becomes a branding arm in more ways than it had ever been before.
Q: What does it take to connect with customers today—and how can great content do that?
A: When you boil it down, the needs are timeless. Customers want to not feel stupid about the decisions they make. Obviously, content offers support with thought-pieces or even tutorials. But that’s not the end of it. Its very nature of being there is often a powerful confidence builder. A brand that offers more to its customers than just a sales pitch is showing that they’re invested in more than a transaction.
Strong advertising is emotional. Great content does a stellar job of supporting that emotion and giving them something more memorable to latch onto. Feeling secure, vindicated, excited, and proud doesn’t have to stop when the ad disappears. All of those emotions continue through the content. Videos give them more to remember about why they feel proud, or tutorials might add a sense of security. Every piece of content acts like a massive ground crew that supports the same message that marketers are trying to get across.
Q: If there was just one thing you could convince all content marketers to do, what would that be?
A: Put it out there. We’re big fans of the idea that it doesn’t have to be perfect to be valuable. People aren’t going to rake you over the coals if you were authentic and gave it your best shot. Start small and try something new that’s better than what it was yesterday. If you aim for perfect, you never leave the starting blocks.
Get to know Mike better and attend his session, How to Be Bond. Competitive Intelligence Tactics for Search Marketing Success on May 3 from 1:40pm – 2:15pm.
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