• MarTech Today
  • Sections
    • Ads
    • Marketing
    • Content
    • Sales
    • Analytics
    • Management
    • Resources
    • More
    • Home
  • Follow Us
    • Follow
  • MarTech Today
  • Ads
  • Marketing
  • Content
  • Sales
  • Analytics
  • Mgmt
  • Resources
  • More
  • Events
    • Follow
  • SUBSCRIBE

MarTech Today

MarTech Today
  • Ads
  • Marketing
  • Content
  • Sales
  • Analytics
  • Management
  • Resources
  • More
  • Events
  • Newsletters
  • Home
Martech: Marketing

Why You Need Content & Martech To Work Together

Contributor Mary Wallace says martech is the conveyor belt that delivers the widget -- the content. No belt, no widget. No widget, no need for the belt.

Mary Wallace on March 3, 2015 at 10:45 am
  • More
content-technology-ss-1920

Within the typical marketing organization, the people responsible for marketing technology (Martech) and those running Content Marketing are completely separate from one another.

Martech is more technical in nature, involving if/then statements and ones and zeroes. Content Marketing is creative, evoking emotions and promising relief from pressing problems. Yet to drive lead engagement and fill the pipeline, the two must be tightly linked.

Understanding The Two Sides

Martech gets the content in front of the potential buyer. When used to its fullest potential, it encompasses emails, websites, SEO, lead scoring, segmentation, PPC and so much more. Through Martech, marketers can:

  • Understand buyer needs by analyzing data, including digital body language
  • Segment customers and prospects
  • Deliver content based on previous actions
  • Predict who is going to purchase based on the known and unknown target audience

But Martech is nothing without content — content is what prospects and customers engage with. This includes (but is not limited to) email messages, white papers, infographics, tweets, blog posts and websites.

Content explains what your brand is about to your target audience. The truth is, leads don’t care how they got the information, they care about the value the content has for them at the time they receive it. From a marketer’s perspective, content:

  • Engages leads
  • Provides branding and differentiation
  • Creates need and educates prospective buyers
  • Establishes thought leadership

Pulling Together

Martech is the conveyor belt that delivers the widget, aka the content. No belt, no widget. No widget, no need for the belt. But many marketing organizations do not consider the two in tandem when defining organizational structures and building strategies.

Interweaving the two functions improves ROI and pipeline performance. Nurture programs can be designed to deliver the right content because Martech helps identify content gaps that can then be addressed. As a result, campaign performance is higher.

Programs can be designed to capture leads that have leaked from the funnel — identified and segmented using technological means — and reactivate them with content that aligns with their needs and solves a problem.

Synergy is also required at an operational level. Content marketers can leverage the data within Martech to better understand what content is resonating, what medium generates the most engagement, and where there are weaknesses and gaps.

By placing landing pages with gates in front of content, content marketing can collect audience data that can be pulled into the Martech engine, then analyzed and deployed across other channels. Leads can then be engaged as they travel along the buyer’s journey.

Additionally, when the two functions work in concert, there’s no duplication of effort and campaigns can be launched on time and easily optimized.

Conclusion

Martech and Content Marketing are two of the most important tools in the marketer’s toolkit. Some experts maintain content is the most important, while others stand firmly behind marketing technology’s primacy.

What’s clear, however, is that neither one can do its best without the other. This is becoming ever more apparent as the consumer and B2B paths to purchase become more and more complex, helped along by increased mobile engagement and the tendency of B2B buyers to research purchases themselves before contacting a salesperson.

This doesn’t mean that marketers must become experts in both Martech and Content Marketing. On the contrary. Specialization in Content Marketing and Martech is needed to expand what can be done to improve lead acquisition, engagement, and funnel speed. But the two must work in harmony.

Without good content, the best Martech in the world won’t deliver results. And without Martech, it is nearly impossible to determine the appropriate content for the individual and deliver it at the right time. All of which means that only when technology and content are applied together will marketing’s contribution to business results be maximized.


Opinions expressed in this article are those of the guest author and not necessarily MarTech Today. Staff authors are listed here.



About The Author

Mary Wallace
Mary Wallace is a modern marketer with the skills and ability to increase revenue and optimize campaign performance by leveraging technical, business, management, content, and marketing expertise. With over 25 years of industry experience, Mary has a diverse background in marketing, technology, media, consulting, and leadership that enables her to help clients implement solutions that produces optimal results. A leader in marketing automation and marketing technology, Mary provides thought leadership for a variety of publications.

Related Topics

Channel: Martech: MarketingContent Marketing & MartechMarketing ToolsMartech Column

Subscribe to receive daily martech news and expert insights. See terms.


We're listening.

Have something to say about this article? Share it with us on Facebook and Twitter.

Get the daily newsletter digital marketers rely on.
See terms.

ATTEND OUR EVENTS

MarTech 2021: March 16-17

MarTech 2021: Sept. 14-15

MarTech 2020: Watch On-Demand

×

Attend MarTech - Click Here


Learn More About Our MarTech Events

White Papers

  • 6 Powerful Ways Experience Analytics Can Help Your Business Now
  • Email Tune-Up: A 5-Point Inspection to Get Your Program in Gear
  • Digital Marketing Report Q4 2020: Benchmarks and Insights for 2021
  • Data SEO – The Next Big Adventure
  • Getting Started with Email Marketing Automation
See More Whitepapers

Webinars

  • How to Avoid the Digital Transformation Trap
  • How to Build a Marketing System of Record
  • Meet BIMI: The brand-boosting email security marketers must have for 2021
See More Webinars

Research Reports

  • Local Marketing Solutions for Multi-Location Businesses
  • Enterprise Digital Asset Management Platforms
  • Identity Resolution Platforms
  • Customer Data Platforms
  • B2B Marketing Automation Platforms
  • Call Analytics Platforms
See More Research

Receive daily martech news and analysis.
Martech Today
Download the Martech Today app on iTunes
Download the Martech Today App on Google Play

Channels

  • Advertising
  • Marketing
  • Content
  • Social
  • Commerce
  • Sales
  • Analytics
  • Management
  • Home

Our Events

  • MarTech
  • SMX

Resources

  • White Papers
  • Research
  • Webinars
  • MarTech Conference

About

  • About Us
  • Contact
  • Privacy
  • Marketing Opportunities
  • Staff
  • Connect With Us

Follow Us

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn
  • Newsletters
  • Instagram
  • RSS
  • iOS App
  • Google Play

© 2021 Third Door Media, Inc. All rights reserved.

Your privacy means the world to us. We share your personal information only when you give us explicit permission to do so, and confirm we have your permission each time. Learn more by viewing our privacy policy.Ok