Derivative Content: The Gift That Keeps On Giving

B2B marketers recognize that investing in thought-provoking content is a great way of supporting an oftentimes lengthy buying cycle. However, disappointment often arises when premium content does not deliver the expected return on investment (ROI).

Typically, the problem is not with the content itself, but rather the way that it is (or isn’t) being utilized. Below we’ll discuss some tips on stretching the lifespan of your premium content pieces by creating compelling derivative assets.

Get Maximum Value from Your Premium Content

Investing in a quality case study or analyst report can have a positive influence on your brand’s reputation, but it unfortunately won’t help you keep the ravenous content beast well-fed — unless you incorporate a clear strategy for creating derivatives.

Producing premium content requires extensive research, interviews, note taking, report reviews and multiple drafts. Every step in this process can be leveraged to create additional derivative pieces of content (i.e. articles, press releases, etc.) directly related to your premium asset. Furthermore, the premium content itself can also be split apart, summarized, analyzed and reported on. The main idea here is waste not, want not. At PropelGrowth, we refer to this content strategy as “using every part of the buffalo.”

Quality Fuel for Your Content Plan

Marketers trying to leverage inbound marketing and email nurturing often get caught up in the hamster wheel of churning out loads of content. But when they focus just on volume, quality suffers. Common mistakes are enlisting the services of inexpensive freelancers who lack subject matter expertise or blogging on random topics that may not support your core message.

Your content marketing strategy should not focus on volumes of content for volume’s sake. Instead, you need a clear strategy that allows you to publish sufficient engaging content in order to nurture prospects over time. Using every part of the buffalo by creating derivative pieces is an ideal way to manage this challenge, since you’ll be empowered to generate tons of content fuel, without comprising relevance or quality.

For insight on how to develop a strategic content plan that incorporates quality derivatives, contact us.

Keep Your Audience Engaged

Another way to get the most mileage out of premium content is by delivering those derivative pieces over a period of time. Particularly if your story is long and rather complex, it’s beneficial to tell it over time, so that your prospects have more opportunity to fully digest it.

Having said that, it’s perhaps equally as important to deliver content in the manner that buyers want to consume it. Actor Kevin Spacey addressed this notion in a speech at a recent CMI event. He explained the rather unusual approach producers and Netflix took with House of Cards. They elected to release all episodes for the season at once, allowing viewers to consume the show at the pace they want—whether it be watching one episode a week, or binging on the whole season all at once.

As content marketers, we need to be thinking along the same lines, so we can give our audience more of what they want, how they want it, and when they want it. This helps us better align with the customers’ buying cycles. If they’re ready to dig in and consume your entire story in three days, let them. Make sure sales can see how much they’re consuming. This is an excellent buying signal. On the other hand, some customers are not ready to consume the story all at once, so you can nurture them over time.

Derivative Content Helps Boost ROI

Since we all know quality premium content comes at a price, why not take measures to extend the life of this investment? By taking nuggets of information gleaned in the content research process and transforming them into derivative pieces, such as podcasts or blog posts, marketers can generate a goldmine of content that tells prospects a story over time.

What’s more, virtually every marketer struggles with producing enough engaging content to fuel an aggressive content plan. Developing derivative content pieces will help you accomplish this goal, and do so without putting a major strain on your marketing budget.

For additional insights on deriving maximum value from your content strategy, check out the blog, “Capturing Return on Investment with Content Marketing.”