If Michael Jackson was the King of Pop, Kyle Lacy is the King of Content Marketing.
Kyle Lacy currently works as the Head of Marketing Strategy at OpenView Venture Partners, and before that he was the Director of Global Content Marketing and Research for Salesforce. He is also author of three books, including Twitter Marketing for Dummies.
Read on to learn a few fun facts about Kyle Lacy, and then watch my entire video interview with him below.
Favorite people he follows on Twitter?
• Jeff Rohrs – VP of Marketing Insights at Salesforce, Kyle’s mentor, and the author of Audience
• Adam Singer – A top Google Analytics expert and a columnist at ClickZ
• Scott Brinker – The godfather of marketing technology, who you probably know for his Marketing Technology Landscape Supergraphic
His favorite book?
If he wasn’t a marketer, he would be a…
Civil War reenactor, historical researcher, or history teacher.
Now that we know Kyle a little bit better, let’s dive into the interview.
Talking with Kyle Lacy was a treat. Here are my top four takeaways from our conversation.
1. Don’t be afraid to take risks in your marketing career.
Kyle had a great career at Salesforce, so my first question was, “Why did you leave?” Kyle responded with an incredibly inspiring answer. “It is better to make dramatic shifts in one’s career instead of lateral moves where growth is minimal,” he said. He knew that he either wanted to start a company or become a CMO. When the OpenView opportunity came along, it was a natural fit. His time at work is split between helping to lead marketing for the firm and helping their portfolio of B2B tech companies grow.
[Tweet “”It is better to make dramatic shifts in one’s career instead of lateral ones.” – @kyleplacy”]
2. Great content is better than more content.
Ann Handley recently published a blog post titled 50 Shades of Mediocrity: Does Content Have to be Good, Or Just Good Enough? Kyle referenced Ann’s sentiments when he said that “more content” is definitely not the right approach to marketing. Content should now be longer, be researched-based, and include much more data than in the past. The bottom line here is that customers expect much more from content than every before.
[Tweet “”Quality over quantity is the latest trend in #ContentMarketing.” – @kyleplacy”]
3. Personalization is key to winning with your prospects.
Kyle has observed a trend of consumers craving personalized content. Entire platforms such as ExactTarget, Pardot, and Hubspot were built with this in mind. With technology, it’s now possible for marketers to develop personas and deliver specific pieces of content to individuals based on their job titles, companies, interests, online behaviors, and more.
[Tweet “”Customers expect content to be tailored to their needs.” – @kyleplacy”]
4. Testing is key in the buyer journey.
UserTesting, an OpenView Venture Partners portfolio company, offers marketers a complete view of the customer journey. From there, marketers can completely rebuild the brand experience based on a single user. “The customer journey is fueled by content,” explained Kyle. “Without it, you are just talking to yourself.”
[Tweet “”The entire customer journey is fueled by #ContentMarketing.” – @kyleplacy”]
Kyle never ceases to blow me away with his marketing wisdom, and this time was certainly no exception. What was your favorite moment from the interview? Let me know in the comments.
