Content Marketing Tools

In my previous What is Content Marketing blog, I provided a definition of content marketing, I explained why it is necessary and beneficial, and I outlined the fundamental components of a basic campaign. In this blog, I will provide you with content marketing tools that will advance your inventory of educational resources, industry networking opportunities, and identify key content marketing software platforms. In a self-paced format, the combination of these tools provides a foundation for you to further your education on content marketing, target influencers in the industry, and test and use campaign management software.

Content Marketing Books

In the world of content marketing, there is no bigger personality than Joe Pulizzi. Joe is the founder of Content Marketing Institute, Content Marketing World, and the co-author of Get Content Get Customers as well as Managing Content Marketing. On a personal level, when I first started researching and learning about content marketing, Joe’s books and various educational properties served as my go to sources for knowledge on the subject. To this day, I respect his mastery and passion on the subject and with all due respect to others in the space, I consider his works to be unparalleled.

If Joe is the father of content marketing, Ann Handley would be the mother. In addition to her experience as the Chief Content Officer at MarketingProfs, Ann is the co-author of Content Rules. Her expertise on all aspects of content strategy and creative content production are highly respected in the space. Her book provides a comprehensive overview on everything that one would need to hit the ground running with a content marketing campaign.

Content Marketing Institute

The Content Marketing Institute is the quintessential resource for staying on top of all things content marketing related. From blogs posts by Joe Pulizzi and a host of industry experts to features from Chief Content Officer Magazine, the official print publication, Content Marketing Institute is the one-stop-shop for novices and professionals. This valuable resource also offers content marketing job posts, webinars, white papers and ebooks.

Content Marketing World

As its name implies, in the world of content marketing, Content Marketing World is the most prominent conference. The lineup of speakers is flush with industry experts including but not limited to Ann Handley, Jay Baer, Joe Chernov, and Arnie Kuenn. Additionally, it is commonplace that Fortune 1000 brand executives also serve as speakers and give firsthand accounts of their successes and challenges in their own content marketing campaigns. The session agenda is laden with timely and informative educational topics and the technologies that are on display are unequivocally the leaders in their various areas.

Content Marketing Software

As Joe Griffin, CEO of iAcquire stated in an interview, “Content Marketing is hard.” There are a vast number of facets involved in the execution of every content marketing plan. In order to effectively and efficiently manage a campaign, content marketing software is a near requirement. Two of the most popular content marketing software platforms are:

While there are variations between the two, both platforms assist with management of the following complex workflow and tasks:

Content Strategy
Content Production
Content Publishing
Content Promotion
Content Analytics

Solving the Complexities of Content Marketing

Quality, originality, and resourcefulness are the meat-and-potatoes of content marketing. Through self-education and use of the content marketing tools listed in this blog, the development and progression of your campaigns will have increased understanding and strategy. In one of the most complex but dynamic segments of marketing, the risk versus reward of content marketing is high on both ends of the spectrum. For those who are willing to invest the time and resources into the learning and keeping up with the best tools, cracking the complex code becomes a bit easier and the rewards that much greater. There is no doubting the fact that content is king and if you are not investing now, you are already behind the eight ball.

Content Marketing Tools