The peril of Content Creep, and why business brands need to align Content Ops with Content Strategy

Almost every conversation we have with B2B marketers eventually gets round to the topic of “Content Creep". 

Content creep is the gradual growth in the volume of content that firms are producing, often without a clear strategic focus (or in clear support of business goals), which means money wasted and (even worse) wasting the time of the intended audience. 

By addressing content creep B2B marketers can deliver more impactful and meaningful experiences to their target audience, ultimately driving better results for the business.

Content creep is so common because the causes are universal, including:

• The widespread belief that every business needs to produce high volume / high frequency content to stay visible - the old ‘every business needs to think like a publisher’ argument

• The ever-expanding universe of social platforms, content formats and tech solutions breeding the idea that a brand needs to be everywhere or risk losing out

• FoMo, where a brand adds a new channel or activity to keep up with the competition

• Over-optimisation for search leading to keyword-stuffed content that lacks value for audiences

• Multiple stakeholders, departments and brands doing their own thing, creating duplication, inconsistency and cost inefficiency. ( - True story, conducting a content audit for a supermarket we found they had over 40 different recipes for Christmas roast turkey…)

• Thinking and acting ‘inside-out’ - focusing on the endless list of things the brand wants to show and tell, rather than being ‘outside-in’ - really understanding client interests and needs and delivering on them

• Being overly-reactive - it’s good to be timely and current but the idea that a brand really needs to be ‘always-on’ is rarely true

The investment in content at the heart of the marketing and comms strategies of most business brands has boosted search performance, supported and powered ABM, changed brand perception, generated, nurtured and helped to convert leads BUT content creep makes this harder for everyone as audiences become more circumspect with their time and attention in response to increasing volumes and declining relevance & quality.

(And we’re already seeing examples of accelerating creep from some businesses outsourcing their ‘thought leadership’ to ChatGPT…)

In short, part of the problem is the idea that having built the pipes we feel the need to keep producing stuff to flow through them constantly. A bit like plumbing…  You get the picture. 

The consensus seems to be that the solution to all of this is a well-defined content strategy including:

• A clear plan or playbook for all content marketing aligned with the brand's overall objectives, target audience, and value proposition

• Based on thorough audience research to really understand their needs, preferences, pain points, and behaviours

• Including a content calendar that outlines topics, formats,  distribution dates, and channel roles

• With key performance indicators (KPIs) to track effectiveness and optimise performance

A content strategy is of course important, but it’s not the only thing. In our experience Content Operations is just as critical, if not more so. Good Content Ops means:

• Having a solid content review and approval process so that the right content gets made for the business and all of your audiences

• Complete alignment with business goals through the set up and management of a cross-functional content board with a remit to ensure quality control, messaging consistency and to avoid tactical drift or over-reaction to competitor activity

• Giving as much focus and equal investment in how we manage distribution and manage content as we do content creation and production, including:

• ….active and responsive performance measurement, plus…

• …ongoing community engagement and management - actively seeking feedback from the target audience - leading to more of the right stuff being prioritised

A great example of good content strategy and ops in practice is Fujitsu. We were part of the team responsible for evolving the I-CIO content platform from a flagship printed CRM and thought leadership magazine into a video-rich, social-first digital community experience for the decision-makers and influencers in global IT. Developing a deep customer understanding through social listening and a structured feedback programme from account managers feeding into a quarterly content board enabled Fujitsu to power its ABM and create $multi-million sales and partnership opportunities.

The bottom line is that content marketing should always be focused on the bottom line - supporting business development either directly, or by building relationships over the long term. 

That’s not to say everyone should stop ‘telling’ and focus only on ‘selling’ - the role of content varies at different points in the process of building a relationship: getting seen, being understood, staying visible, building distinctiveness, supporting sales, client service and experience.

But it is a strong argument in favour of quality over quantity - both in terms of topic and target audience - and a warning against content creep.