In times of rapid change, learning new skills allows you to adapt and thrive. It also helps you circumvent programmatic thinking – the tendency to rely too heavily on existing knowledge and ignore signs that it isn’t as effective as it once was. Nowhere is this more true than in the field of content marketing.
A growing body of evidence, gathered from surveys and conversations with marketers from various organizations, points to a growing gap between our need to plan, execute and measure effective content marketing initiatives and our skills. to do it.
Part of the problem is the inability to recognize the need for new skills and find the dedication to develop them and apply them to today’s challenges and tomorrow’s exciting opportunities.
Blinded by the need for change
When it comes to solving challenges, your brain is surprisingly programmatic. To navigate each day and manage the torrent of incoming information, your brain typically operates in stimulus-response mode – a sort of autopilot for handling recurring situations. When faced with a familiar stimulus, you tend to react in predictable ways based on your knowledge and experience. You don’t give much thought to recurring decisions and actions.
In many cases, this is a good thing, because your brain’s limited bandwidth is being used efficiently. In other situations, especially in times of change, this autonomous mode of operation can be a big problem.
Even when you engage in creative problem solving, chances are you’re a creature of habit. When Peru Mobile Number List brainstorming solutions for a challenge, you stop as soon as you discover the first “right” answer. It’s human nature. While it may ease the discomfort of uncertainty, the first good solution is usually not the most valuable.
Don’t let repetition become a mistake
How does programmatic thinking manifest in content marketing?
Many marketers are still using the same old strategies and tactics to influence and persuade audiences to buy their products – and they’re seeing diminishing results. You follow deeply scripted habits and ways of thinking Cryp Email List about customers, competition, products, and marketing. You find it hard to change, especially when the tactics still seem pretty effective even if they aren’t sexy or exciting.
Under these circumstances, you may not realize how constrained you are by your existing skills and experience. You can just take for granted that they are good enough. Only they are not. This is reflected in data from CMI ‘s 2015 B2B Content Marketing Benchmarks, Budgets and Trends research:
- Eight percent of respondents feel they are very effective in their use of content marketing.
- Thirty-four percent say they face gaps in the knowledge and skills of their internal teams.
- Thirty-two percent say they have difficulty finding qualified content marketing professionals, more than three times higher than in 2013 (10%).
Additionally, responses to an open-ended question showed a growing thirst for information on topics such as content planning and strategy, ROI measurement, marketing automation, and paid promotion.
As best practices in content marketing strategy, execution and measurement rapidly evolve, the knowledge gap will have significant implications for businesses large and small, according to CMI Chief Strategy Officer Robert Rose:
Professional development is essential these days. The skills mismatch will continue to grow as the practice of content marketing and the strategies for operationalizing it evolve. Companies that focus on developing new skills today are likely to employ the successful marketers of the future. Businesses that maintain the status quo are likely to find their content marketing initiatives stillborn — the fate of every business initiative that fails to demonstrate ROI and how it contributes to strategic direction organisation. There is no middle ground.
Identify training needs
How do you know if your content marketing skills are up to date? Here are several questions that can help you get a clearer idea of your needs:
- How well do my current work practices meet my needs and those of my employer or clients?
- Are my work processes and tasks becoming more or less efficient over time?
- If I am less effective, how can I learn alternative strategies and tactics?
Equip yourself with the right tools
A surgeon cannot perform an operation without the right tools. It’s no different for marketers today. Upgrading your knowledge of content marketing strategies and tactics creates an up-to-date, more comprehensive toolkit you can use to solve the content marketing challenges of today and tomorrow. This new knowledge can also give your career a boost, especially given the shortage of experienced content marketers.
The popular business book Who Moved My Cheese? contains an important lesson for marketers who don’t want to commit to expanding their skills.
This ever-popular commercial fable tells the story of two mice (Scurry and Sniff) and two “little people” (Hem and Haw) who live in a maze. It’s all good because they’ve found a huge source of their favorite food: cheese. Hem and Haw have even moved their homes to be closer. For the four characters, cheese has become the center of their lives.
