As content marketers, we strive to meet our audiences in the channels they prefer, but we also have to be conscious of how each channel’s content is different from the rest.
Social media is much different than a blog post. Video is much different than email. Each has its own template for tone, structure, copy length, and engageability. What works in one channel doesn’t always work in others.
Performance data gives you a good look at what audiences engage with most, but it can’t always tell you why. And for many content marketers, all they know is they have to keep churning out copy for social, video, blogs, email, podcast episodes, etc. This heavy production approach can clog up the creative process and blind you from seeing innovative ways to deliver better content to your audience.
Sometimes, you have to be a visionary.
That’s just what Sam Balter is. As the Director of Media Content at ZoomInfo, he’s done everything from podcasting to video to social. For Sam, data paints the truest picture of what audiences like, but he can take that data one step further and predict what else they might like.
For example, audio podcasts are great, but for a B2B marketer, video podcasts might be even better. YouTube is not just a place to house video; it’s also a searchable platform where other B2B marketers can find your content. Even tried and true social media might perform better when you create that content with social foremost in your mind as opposed to an afterthought for promoting the “real” content you want audiences to engage with. In this episode of The Casted Podcast, Sam discusses all of these topics and more.
Video is a powerful format, making YouTube an incredibly successful channel for content marketers. As Sam shares, you can get a lot of traffic just from people searching for topics in Google or even within YouTube itself. If you’re mindful of delivering topics your audience wants, in bites or episodes that are as short or as long as they want, and you’re publishing content with reliable frequency, YouTube audiences can be one of the most loyal groups of people you’ll ever create content for.
One of Sam’s most successful strategies at ZoomInfo has been a social-first approach. Instead of broadcasting the same exact message through every social channel, Sam knows that each channel performs differently, because each channel’s audience is a little different. By tailoring content to meet these different demands, Sam has learned that nailing the right tone for each channel is the most effective way to connect with his audience.
The ZoomInfo media team is responsible for a great many things, and instead of being overwhelmed by competing priorities, Sam divided his team into two main areas of content marketing: distribution and production. This allows the media team to better deliver value both to the audience and the brand.
For more from Sam on how he’s creating content that his audiences crave, check out ZoomInfo.com and any of their shows, like Pretty Big Deal and Talk Data to Me.
Want to skim through Sam’s episode instead of listening? Read the transcript here.
Welcome to Season 7 of The Casted Podcast, where we focus exclusively on our customers. Why? By becoming a Casted customer, it's pretty clear how committed these brands are to delivering high-quality content that their audiences truly want, and they want to share their experience and knowledge of how audio, video, and text-based content fits into an integrated marketing strategy. Hear from the most forward-thinking brands discovering how to harness the power of conversation and amplify their content marketing in a range of formats and channels to grow their audiences. They're practicing what we preach, and we want you to hear all about what they're doing, why they're doing it, and most of all, how you can do it too.