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By Ariella Brown
I should have known better, but I still fell for it.
I put in my information in order to ungate and download the tantalizingly titled "How to build pipeline with content in 6 steps" from a company I won't name here. Disappointment doesn't begin to express my feeling at this one-pager that only someone who has never created business content wouldn't know.
The first step is: "Do some research" in order to know you customers. Obviously, that is your starting point. But it doesn't give you any advice on how to go about this. That's what many businesses who fail to understand their customers really need help with. Surveys are ignored, and few take the time for really in-depth talks because all conversations turn to upsells and not to fostering understanding.Step 3 is another obvious step for any content creator: "Tell a story." That was to be the bridge to step 4: using data and the claim that first-party data is the best (definitely debatable).
But the real goal of the whole piece was to declare in step 5 that you need the right tool -- the one the company that put this out offers -- to track engagement. Step 6 is to track engagement (no doubt, with this tool).
The dichotomy that's wrong
What struck me more than the blatant selling in this presented-as-helpful-guide was the assumption of step 2, which focuses on a division of content that must appeal to people who love categories but that is, ultimately, counterproductive.
It says: "Determine if your content is tactical or 'experience-driven'.” It then goes one to explain that "collateral related to the business image like presentation decks, press releases, and thought leadership" all goes into the "tactical" bucket.
That is presented as distinct from "collateral related to demand gen activities, supported by personas, nurture content, event material, and industry-specific content" go into the "experience" bucket. The chef's kiss here is that the writer (I picture a college student intern using Chat GPT) adds in this note: "(hint: this is the one you want to focus on for demand gen)."
Now, if were to uphold this division of content type, something I don't advocate at all, I would definitely put thought leadership into the experience/demand gen bucket. That's where it belongs, no question about it.
What struck me more than the blatant selling in this presented-as-helpful-guide was the assumption of step 2, which focuses on a division of content that must appeal to people who love categories but that is, ultimately, counterproductive.
It says: "Determine if your content is tactical or 'experience-driven'.” It then goes one to explain that "collateral related to the business image like presentation decks, press releases, and thought leadership" all goes into the "tactical" bucket.
That is presented as distinct from "collateral related to demand gen activities, supported by personas, nurture content, event material, and industry-specific content" go into the "experience" bucket. The chef's kiss here is that the writer (I picture a college student intern using Chat GPT) adds in this note: "(hint: this is the one you want to focus on for demand gen)."
Now, if were to uphold this division of content type, something I don't advocate at all, I would definitely put thought leadership into the experience/demand gen bucket. That's where it belongs, no question about it.
On the other hand, there is a very important form of content for the tactical bucket that is not named -- case studies or success stories.
Ultimately, though, the division seems to be about the more direct sales enablement materials that would be considered tactical vs. the brand and relationship-building content that is more often associated with demand gen. The delusion of this division is that the former works for immediate conversions-- at least to the point of an MQL while the latter is the stuff you put out to get the person primed for the tactical stuff.
But in reality, your target customer won't be pushed into a linear funnel, neatly progressing from your ToFu to your MoFu to your BoFu content and take the action specified as soon as they hit the tactical content. The buyer's journey is a lot more complex and recursive than that, and recognizing this reality should be part of your first step in building your pipeline.
Ultimately, though, the division seems to be about the more direct sales enablement materials that would be considered tactical vs. the brand and relationship-building content that is more often associated with demand gen. The delusion of this division is that the former works for immediate conversions-- at least to the point of an MQL while the latter is the stuff you put out to get the person primed for the tactical stuff.
But in reality, your target customer won't be pushed into a linear funnel, neatly progressing from your ToFu to your MoFu to your BoFu content and take the action specified as soon as they hit the tactical content. The buyer's journey is a lot more complex and recursive than that, and recognizing this reality should be part of your first step in building your pipeline.
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