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Joe Pulizzi and Newt Barrett think we’re in the middle of a content revolution.
That’s the premise of their new book Get Content. Get Customers.
Simply put, potential customers have changed the way they buy. They’re no longer passive recipients of marketing messages but instead are actively seeking out information that helps them solve problems – and make smarter buying decisions.
Smart marketers know this and are creating compelling, informative content that customers are actually seeking out. In the end, these content marketers attract more customers, build relationships and become trusted resources.
So far, so good.
My major concern with books of this nature (celebrating the next ‘revolution’) is that they almost always come across as either thought exercises or manifestos rather than usable, informative guides.
The good news is that Pulizzi and Barrett have taken something of their own medicine and delivered a book that’s big on case studies, examples, resources and ‘how to’ – and consequently, pretty much free of soapbox rhetoric.
Content as Strategy
Of course other people have made the case for good content before. The difference here is that the authors want marketers (you and me included) to put content at the heart of marketing strategy.
In doing so, marketing becomes less about interruption – which will be music to the ears of social media watchers and conversation marketing proponents. It becomes more about solving customer problems through education, reputation building through expertise and positioning organisations as trusted resources that consumers actually want to hear from. A natural extension of the permission marketing ethos.
To my mind, this is less revolution than focus – the identification of content marketing as a strategy in itself as a precursor to defining its best practice.
And best practice is exactly what makes up the bulk of the book. Having made the case for content marketing early the next section is devoted to an extremely useful, step-by-step ‘how to’ section – followed by over 100 pages of case studies that are the real star of the book.
Overviews of fifteen businesses and three microenterprises showcase content marketing in action with clear take away points from each. Covering everything from bedroom businesses to hotels, these examples put flesh on the book’s main argument and expand the reader’s perception of what content is.
Perhaps most importantly they draw a direct line between content marketing in practice and the tangible returns it generates.
My only gripe would be that the case studies themselves could’ve been more detailed as the authors tend to spend more time than is necessary with backstory and industry overview.
Of course this could very well be intentional, as it guarantees that this book is best read with an Internet connection and notebook at hand. I found myself reading each case study with the relevant website open – diving in and out of the book and site to get an overall picture.
It’s a minor point though as the final section includes a complete walk through of the content marketing process – from concept to rollout – using a fictitious company as a worked example. Business books don’t get much more practical.
Buy It
As an informative and usable introduction to content marketing this book stands out. Not only do Pulizzi and Barrett make a compelling case for putting content at the heart of your marketing but they also show you how to do it. In my mind that’s the benchmark of a great business book.
In short, buy the book, pull out a notebook, fire up your favourite browser and get planning your content marketing strategy now.
Find Out More
Get Content. Get Customers. book website
Stephanie Diamond’s review of Get Customers Get Content
Greg Verdino’s review
Customer reviews on Amazon.com
Updates
Drew McLellan from Drew’s Marketing Minute has posted a review too.
McGraw-Hill have picked up the rights to Get Content. Get Customers. – making it a rather good case study of the effectiveness of content.
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