We're back with our popular Speaker Spotlight series! Over the past year, we've gathered frequently asked questions from attendees and posed them to several of our speakers. We'll be sending portions of their answers out through the Gilbane Conference email and will be posting them in their entirety, here.
This week we were lucky enough to chat with, and pose some questions to, Frederick Faulkner, director, marketing & digital strategist for ICF Interactive.
Q. Given that there are more smartphones than PCs on the planet and both will be important for the foreseeable future, how should organization's content delivery priorities and technologies change? How is yours changing?
A. Mobile is certainly a game changer for how we now perform tasks and consume content in our digital lives. For organizations that have a growing mobile audience, it comes down to a few key factors. First, what experience do you want your audience to have on a mobile device? What is the "top job" for a mobile setting? Chances are it will likely not be the same as the "top job" for your desktop site. So organizations will have to decide how they will effectively separate the content delivery for both settings. Second, content creation now needs to take on a "multi-dimensional" role, thus content authors need to create content for each dimension. Mobile, and smaller screens means less attention and tolerance for long-form content. Whereas on a desktop, the screen real estate allows you to show more, add additional features, and keep attention possibly longer. Can a content author communicate the same message in less space? Will that table of data translate down to a small screen? Those are some aspects that need to be considered. Finally, the marketing and technology teams need to work together to build the best delivery solution possible. What technology stack and implementation can support content delivery to multiple devices without the need for the author to duplicate their efforts? Streamline that process and everyone wins.
Q. Marketing is the most talked about discipline that needs to take on more responsibility for technology to be effective. What can other departments learn from the discussion around marketing technology and marketing technologists.
A. I believe the best take away from the discussion about marketing technology and marketing technologists is business departments need to engage and understand their needs and how it works within a technology stack. For example, a marketing team needs to know that some systems play better with others, the integrations, the system support and what their own IT department can maintain. They need to listen to their IT counterparts when they identify risks for the integrations, and be able to justify their needs clearly. At the same time, marketers need to use the tools to deliver ROI. We can't live in a world where we buy tools and only use them partially, or have three tools that have overlap.
Q. Although sometimes used interchangeably 'content strategy' and 'content marketing' refer to very different though often connected disciplines. How and where should these activities be organized?
A. To me, they both live in the marketing department. Content Marketing is influenced by a Content Strategy. The strategy defines who you want to market to, what the desired outcome would be, and how you grow the audience. Content marketing is a tactical execution of that strategy. Organizations need to see the forest before they can go down into the trees to get where they want to go.
Q. Does the 'internet of things' have an immediate or near-term impact on your organization's information or collaboration infrastructure? How so?
A. Absolutely! We work with organizations to come up with strategies and solutions to connect customers to companies. The Internet of Things is the next data point that allows organizations to build personalized experiences around their brand and products. We work with major retailers where if they knew a loyal customer was out of a certain type of product because their fridge, closet, pantry told them, a customized message or automatic replenish order could be created for in-store pick-up on their next visit.
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Connect with Fred
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Hear more from Fred at the Gilbane Conference:
Tuesday, December 2, 2014
1:30 p.m. - 2:30 p.m.
T1: Track Keynote Panel: Marketing Technologists Discuss Multichannel and Enterprise Integration Challenges
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This week we had a chance to speak with, Jeff Cutler, content specialist, JeffCutler.com.
Q. Although sometimes used interchangeably 'content strategy’ and 'content marketing' refer to very different though often connected disciplines. How and where should these activities be organized?
A. Simply put, if you don't have a content strategy you should not undertake any content marketing. It's the strategy component that directs smart decisions about to whom; where; and via what technologies your messaging and content will be shared. If you're trying to connect with people and don't have a strategy, it's like trying to sell your services to an empty room. Figure out your audience. Figure out what tools they use to research the products/services they purchase. Determine if you have the capability and capacity to use these tools effectively. If everything clicks, move forward and start having a conversation and sharing content. -- Content strategy should be organized in brand and mission meetings - or at least discussed. From there it can be fine-tuned and then revisited before embarking on the content marketing campaign. Once approved, use the content strategy to develop a plan - including content calendar, resources, communication vehicles, sites, technology and more - that will help achieve the goals of that strategy. |
Connect with Jeff
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This week we're chatting with returning speaker, Rahel Anne Bailie, Founder and Senior Content Strategy Consultant of Intentional Design Inc.
Q. Given that there are more smartphones than PCs on the planet and both will be important for the foreseeable future, how should organization’s content delivery priorities and technologies change? How is yours changing?
A. The emphasis on having a proper strategy for content delivery is going to increase as we have more complex delivery needs - and I believe that smartphones are just the tip of the iceberg. Wearables will be the next challenge, and who knows what will come after that. So some of what we need to do is think "content first" and combine that with responsive design and adaptive content. That means changes to technology and infrastructure, changes to processes, and improvements to skill sets of both technologists and writers. |
Connect with Rahel
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Q. Does the 'internet of things’ have an immediate or near-term impact on your organization’s information or collaboration infrastructure? How so?
A. The idea that the internet of things is going to be a walk-in-the-park is a little optimistic. There are lots of business drivers and user behaviors that need to be figured out before there will be adoption at any scale. If any information or collaboration infrastructure is affected, it needs to be between market analysts and technologists, who are usually at opposite ends of a project.
Q. Marketing is the most talked about discipline that needs to take on more responsibility for technology to be effective. What can other departments learn from the discussion around marketing technology and marketing technologists?
A. Any department along the content delivery supply chain needs to develop basic literacy when it comes to marketing technologies. Each organization has its idiosyncrasies, but that doesn't mean a particular department gets to take a pass. A chain is only as strong as its weakest link, and we've seen time and time again how weak links can sink an entire initiative, by being blockers.
Q. Although sometimes used interchangeably 'content strategy’ and 'content marketing' refer to very different though often connected disciplines. How and where should these activities be organized?
A. This is a particular irritation of mine. Content marketing and content strategy are two distinct disciplines. There are overlaps, sure, but the very names indicate the distinction. Content marketing is about just that, marketing, with a focus on acquiring and engaging target audiences, which in turns drives an increase in the bottom line. Content strategy keeps marketing in mind - after all, you don't want to do anything to harm profitability - but the focus is on planning for the management of content throughout the entire content lifecycle, no matter what the input or output. Content strategy is the umbrella to any content marketing strategy because it does not confine itself to a single content silo or type; content strategy instead provides the glue that connects all sub-strategies together, including content marketing
Hear more from Rahel at the Gilbane Conference:
Wednesday, December 3, 2014
9:40 a.m. - 10:40 a.m.
T5: Multichannel Content Management - How do you do it?
This week we had a chance to speak with Terena Bell, CEO, In Every Language.
Q. Although sometimes used interchangeably 'content strategy’ and 'content marketing' refer to very different though often connected disciplines. How and where should these activities be organized?
A. Marketing is part of strategy. Think about it like this: An orange is a fruit, but not all fruit are oranges. Marketing is part of strategy but not all content strategy is content marketing. |
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Q. Marketing is the most talked about discipline that needs to take on more responsibility for technology to be effective. What can other departments learn from the discussion around marketing technology and marketing technologists?
A. Money. Basically everything not marketing is great, but you need marketing to funnel money to it all. Regulatory content, user-driven content, all of this is great, but it’s post-sale and needs to be paid for. If you’re not translating and working in a pre-sale environment, then translation and content are cost centers, not profit drivers. So drive profit and then everyone is funded and happy.
Q. Given that there are more smartphones than PCs on the planet and both will be important for the foreseeable future, how should organization’s content delivery priorities and technologies change? How is yours changing?
A. I actually just wrote an article on this for MultiLingual Magazine, slated to publish right before the conference! In translation and multilingual content creation, we have been very focused on the what—what are we now translating or localizing because of mobile that we weren’t before, such as apps, mobile-optimized websites, etc. But instead, we should think long-term and focus on the how. How do we translate on a phone? This means shaping translation technology around the idea of a mobile as default environment instead of for a mobile environment. How do we create multilingual or multicultural content on a phone, as opposed to for use on one?
Q. Does the 'internet of things’ have an immediate or near-term impact on your organization’s information or collaboration infrastructure? How so?
A. Heck yes. In Every Language is a translation company. We already have connected things that talk to us—telephones, alarm clocks, cars. If you think those things should only talk in one language, you’re crazy.
Here's where you can catch up with Terena Bell at the Gilbane Conference:
Wednesday, December 3, 2014
11:40 a.m. - 12:40 p.m.
T7: Multilingual Challenges - Current and Future
*The views expressed here reflect those of the speaker and not the Gilbane Conference.