My Trip to the Content Marketing Mecca, Cleveland
Last week, I traveled to Cleveland to attend Content Marketing World as part of my professional development. You know Cleveland, the homeland of “The King” A.K.A. Lebron James (for now), and the epic Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. (Above photo source: Cleveland.com, thank you.)
Let me just say that, Cleveland, you are a beautiful city. I’d visit again. And, for the runners out there, Lake Erie is a pretty spectacular backdrop at 6 a.m.
Moving on.
For those of you unfamiliar with Content Marketing World, it is one of those industry conferences known for its quirky orange theme and celeb-studded speakers. It’s dubbed the largest content event, period.
Now, as a PR pro navigating this world of content marketing, I didn’t know what to expect. Would I be shunned for not having a fancy title like content strategist extraordinaire or guru of content creation?
These were truly some of my biggest concerns.
I’ve worked in PR for 12 years and I have to admit, the whole idea of adding content marketing as an offering at my agency was initially a little off putting to me. Was this just a new phrase some eccentric marketing pro coined to add to an already long list of services designed to confuse clients? Did this have something to do with those millennials? And if so, was that why I wasn’t getting it? Could be.
So I embarked on this content marketing journey, traveling to the holy land that is Content Marketing World with one goal in mind: understanding.
Quite frankly, hadn’t I been creating content for the past decade as a PR professional and ahem, writer? What is a press release, if not content? What is a bylined article or blog post, if not content?In the months leading up to my trip, I slowly started to try and embrace the term.I’d throw it out in meetings from time-to-time, trying to sound smart and “in-the-know.” Secretly, I wasn’t sold. In fact, I wasn’t totally convinced many of the people speaking about content marketing really knew what it was.
I suppose this makes me a bit of a skeptic, but I don’t think that’s so terrible. I’m curious by nature. One might say I have an Inquisitive Spirit, a core value at Off Madison Ave. I’m sure many of you reading this right now have had similar thoughts if you’re in marketing. Perhaps you’ve just done a better job at keeping them to yourself.
Over the course of this four-day content celebration I heard from dozens of experts. Content strategists and content marketers from top brands like Starbucks, IBM, Lowes and the Four Seasons.
I listened intently to an inspirational keynote by Rajiv Chandrasekaran, an author and former Washington Post war correspondent turned Starbucks executive who described the value and importance of storytelling in our society, and how it can change the world. Then, one last keynote took the stage and it happened.
Jay Baer, best-selling author and professional speaker stood up and began speaking about this idea of content marketing in a way similar to how I’d heard it in the past. But then he said something I never expected to hear in a room full of thousands of marketers.
He said, “The world doesn’t need more content marketers, we need more people with passion.” BOOM. I had my aha moment. Passion, I understood.
After hearing from multiple speakers that day, opening and closing keynotes like Chandrasekaran and Baer, I came to the conclusion that content marketing is a philosophy. It is a commitment to telling a story of value from a specific perspective to people who can benefit.
It’s an obligation to create meaningful information and share it with people who have a need. At its core, content marketing is about a passion for storytelling. Finally, I get it.
