Weekly Alert: Yes Starts the Revolution, It Doesn’t End It

CMWorld post-show video available! [] 54648/ct0_0/1?sid=TV2%3AXvPjAuows [] [Forward to a Friend](54648/ct1_0/1?sid=TV2%3AXvPjAuows) Weekly News 9.27.19 Connect with CMI 54648/ct2_0/1?sid=TV2%3AXvPjAuows 54648/ct3_0/1?sid=TV2%3AXvPjAuows 54648/ct4_0/1?sid=TV2%3AXvPjAuows 54648/ct5_0/1?sid=TV2%3AXvPjAuows [] How to Use Google Search Console to Increase Traffic to Your Site [] 54648/ct6_0/1?sid=TV2%3AXvPjAuows Do you know what Google sees in your content? How would that knowledge help you boost traffic? Read on for a seven-step process that uses the free Google Search Console to make those discoveries and explore the opportunities. [Read more](54648/ct6_1/1?sid=TV2%3AXvPjAuows)by Nico Prins [Distribution and Promotion] Some more of this week's best stuff: - [How to Get Great Guests for Your B2B Podcast [Outreach Templates]](54648/ct7_0/1?sid=TV2%3AXvPjAuows) by Michael Becker [Content Creation] - [Is Your Marketing a Pillager of Privacy?](54648/ct8_0/1?sid=TV2%3AXvPjAuows) by Dennis Shiao [High-Level Strategy] - [Demand Gen Rises When Quality Content Meets Good Tech](54648/ct9_0/1?sid=TV2%3AXvPjAuows) Jodi Harris [Distribution and Promotion] - [The Weekly Wrap: You Won the Keys to the Kingdom. Now What?](54648/ct10_0/1?sid=TV2%3AXvPjAuows) by Robert Rose [Trends and Research] - [Unsolicited Advice: Shiny New Objects](54648/ct11_0/1?sid=TV2%3AXvPjAuows) by Andrew Davis [Chief Content Officer Exclusive] [] [] A Note From Robert Rose Yes Starts the Revolution, It Doesn’t End It They said yes. Now what? In 1972, U.S. President Richard Nixon traveled to Beijing for what would become a world-famous visit with China’s leader, Zhou Enlai. During the meeting, Nixon asked Enlai for his thoughts on the impact of the French Revolution. The Chinese premier replied, “It’s too early to tell.” At the time, the quote was presented as the perfect example of Chinese patience – how they thought about impact and progress in terms of decades and centuries, as opposed to months or years. With hindsight, Enlai was likely talking about the more-recent French students’ revolts of 1968. But the point remains the same: Whether in four years or one hundred and seventy-four years, revolutions aren’t won when the bullets stop flying. They are won when the disruptive change being proposed takes hold. The inability to enact lasting change, according to many historians, is one of the reasons so many revolutions ultimately fail. Perhaps this quote attributed to Genghis Khan captures it best: “Conquering the world on horseback is easy; it is dismounting and governing that is hard.” In businesses, the challenge of “dismounting and governing” is the source of many failed innovative initiatives – especially in content marketing. Earlier this year, I worked with a client on a project they’d initially called “The Content 2018 Revolution.” By early 2019, the initiative had become woefully misnamed. The team had spent the better part of the end of 2017 building a revolutionary business case for content marketing as a dedicated function. They researched, built a prototype thought leadership blog, ran separate ROI experiments, and evangelized passionately at every turn. And they won. The powers that be said, “Yes. Content marketing – go do that.” 2018 was to be a year spent hiring, creating budgets, integrating new processes into marketing, and building the new thought leadership blog. Unfortunately, that’s when things started to go awry. Implementation bogged down. Technology acquisition ran into budget issues. And balancing the new team’s time devoted to this new process vs. their “day jobs” became a struggle. But the most pronounced challenge was the company’s perception that content marketing was no longer this specialized, disruptive thing. It had won approval as a strategic marketing function; therefore, it was seen as a part of the overall integrated marketing and communications operation. And the many implementation challenges were seen as an inability to scale it. The challenge, of course, was not in the vision of the plan alone. It was in the vision of the plan in context with the rest of the business. The transition from innovative revolution into scalable governance is messy. Much of the time, you have to institutionalize processes and make decisions that pull back from the disruptive ideas that drove the initial passion. In my client’s case, the incredibly forward-leaning and cool thought leadership platform they had tested wouldn’t work on the technology available at the enterprise level. They had to settle for a blander, static experience instead. As revolutionaries transition to governors, they end up having to make exactly the kinds of operating and process-oriented decisions that triggered the desire for the revolution in the first place. Winning the “yes” for our innovative new initiative isn’t the last thing. It’s the first thing. Plan for (and recognize the leadership needed for) governing in context with the realities of your business world. That way, once you win, you’ll be more prepared for what happens after “yes.” Once the disruptive cool factor or innovative sheen wears off your new strategy, it becomes “just another thing we do.” That’s when you know you’ve really won – and the real work begins. It’s your story. Tell it well. Robert Rose Chief Strategy Advisor Content Marketing Institute This article from Robert is available only in this newsletter for you, the newsletter subscriber. If you have friends that would see value in Robert's weekly updates, please have them [subscribe](54648/ct12_0/1?sid=TV2%3AXvPjAuows). 54648/ct13_0/1?sid=TV2%3AXvPjAuowsTune in to the Weekly Wrap Listen in and browse the show notes [right here](54648/ct10_1/1?sid=TV2%3AXvPjAuows) or subscribe [on Apple Podcasts](54648/ct14_0/1?sid=TV2%3AXvPjAuows) or[Stitcher](54648/ct15_0/1?sid=TV2%3AXvPjAuows) New this week: If you thought getting buy-in was hard, wait till you see what comes after you have it. In this episode, Robert explores why “yes” is simply the opening salvo of any content revolution. He shares his take on the evolution of the term “magazine” (and what that says about the importance of shared definitions). Then, he asks one of content marketing’s original rebels what happens when disruptors lose their cool factor. Finally, he offers a resource to help you create a complete editorial strategy for your own revolution. [] [] A Word From One of Our Content VIPs: The Case For a Marketing Content Hub Marketing teams are struggling to keep up with the demands for fresh content to create personalized moments at each touchpoint. We call this the “Content Crisis”. And while having a DAM helps speed up production, it’s just not enough anymore. To learn what a Content Hub can do for your organization, download our ebook “The case for a marketing Content Hub” now. [Download Now](54648/ct16_0/1?sid=TV2%3AXvPjAuows) 54648/ct16_1/1?sid=TV2%3AXvPjAuows [] More from CMI B2B Marketing and the ChatBot -- too soon? Chatbots are everywhere in the B2C digital marketing world right now, but do they have a place in B2B? We believe the answer is yes, and there are a few reasons why. Often in B2B and especially where complex or bespoke technology solutions are involved it may not be simple. All is not lost however and there is still some value in deploying this technology. [Learn more now.](54648/ct17_0/1?sid=TV2%3AXvPjAuows) 54648/ct17_1/1?sid=TV2%3AXvPjAuows [] [] More From CMI 54648/ct18_0/1?sid=TV2%3AXvPjAuows For less than $6 a session, you can view all of the breakout sessions and select keynote sessions from Content Marketing World 2019. And, you have 12 months to do so! Watch sessions when you need them, and when your team is diving into something new. [Visit our website to see the available sessions and sign up for Content Marketing World post-show video.](54648/ct18_1/1?sid=TV2%3AXvPjAuows) [] CMI Video 54648/ct19_0/1?sid=TV2%3AXvPjAuows The 2019 Content Marketing Awards program was unmatched. Agencies, Projects, Branded Campaigns, B2B and B2C Content Marketers were announced. Red Hat's Laura Hamlyn took home our B2B Content Marketer of the Year. 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