In my opinion, there are two critical pre-requisites for a brand to consider when it comes to content marketing - 1) Relevance. 2) Consumption. In particular, the science of insights-driven content creation for optimal relevance and the art of maximizing ease of consumption (visual, easy to read, etc), waterhole effect (content where the target audience hangs around instead of where brands want them to 'visit', will be key.

Content is at the core of why people engage, how like minds and diverse thinkers converge which ultimately leads to innovation and growth. Marketing serving as businesses and organizations' growth drivers, effective and innovative marketing content contributes to the core of what every business does to drive growth. Content - purpose, value proposition, roadmap, products, and solutions etc. - also adds to the intellect and value of a brand to its ecosystem partners, its customers and equally important to its employees and talents.

This is a great question and a key role content plays. Mapping content along the buyers' journey is particularly crucial in solution sales which span months frequently. Having snackable content and assets - customer stories, webinars, assessments, demos, interactive, free trials, etc. are key to content marketing success in our world particularly. As I discussed during Content Marketing keynote last year, planning and designing contents in sequels and episodes is a great way to keep engagement level high and continuous along the buying cycle.

I believe that the worlds of B2B and B2C have evolved in recent times as digital transformation and adoption continues to ramp up. With ready and easy and frequently real-time access to information and collaboration and sharing, consumers are now empowered and they are now directing how and when and what businesses engage. Enter the C2B age. All businesses now must understand how best to be relevant to the consumers and ecosystem and the world of Marketing to One has returned in full force just as in the pre-industrial age.

In my opinion, as long as the assets and content deliverables are on brand and relevant, it doesn't make any difference between in-house vs outsourced creation.

There is a swing effect when it comes to digital shift. While all of us have to be fluent and savvy about digital, we shouldn't forget that at the end of the day, we are driving engagement with people (and yes some robots who are programmed by people) and that an omnichannel experience will be key. The on and the offline combination is natural for most and there is a lot to be said for the differentiation human touches deliver in today's focus for the ultimate customer experience.

When it comes to content consumption, whether it is via print, video, or anywhere in between, marketers must keep in mind that the average human has an attention span of 9 seconds and that visual is still supreme for most.

This is a question that points to why Marketing is an art and a science and thus a CRAFT. The first order of measure should be CONSUMPTION - clicks, views, time on page, registration, downloads, inquiries, chat reply, etc. in the online world for example and very much in the science and math space. The second order of measure is when the art element comes in - what emotion and experience did our content generate? How connected emotionally and psychologically are the consumers engaged with our brand through an orchestrated journey experience with the series of content we've planned out for their omnichannel experience? What form factors/artists are preferred? And the list goes on. The ultimate measure, however, is that of relevance.

As we started with this dialog, Content is King. Content is the core of why consumers of brands continue to engage and return. Content is what brands stand for: Our brand's purpose. | Who we are. | And the core to answer the Golden Circle question WHY?