Content marketing can be overwhelming. More and more companies are investing budgets and time in content creation, and the world of content has gotten crowded and noisy. How can marketers stand out?

On this week’s episode of the Marketing Cloudcast  —  the marketing podcast from Salesforce  —  Mark is also co-host of the Marketing Companion podcast and is one of the most retweeted marketers in the world (@markwschaefer).

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You should subscribe for the full episode, but here are seven favorite quotes from our entertaining and educational conversation with Mark.

1. “This is where [content marketers] need to look today, beyond just publishing: How do we get our content to move?” -Mark Schaefer (tweet this!)

With the influx of content, creating great stuff is simply not enough anymore. Mark explains, “We’re just being swallowed up, almost, by all this competition. Social media works really well. Content marketing works really well. So more and more of our budgets are going into this. And the more content there is, and the more competition there is, the harder it is to stand out.”

But don’t lose hope. There are ways to stay unique and vibrant in this noisy world.

2. "We still live in an amazing time when anybody can have a voice. Anybody can publish and create their own power and influence on the web. Isn’t that just amazing?" -Mark Schaefer (tweet this!)

Think about the success of BuzzFeed. You may think of BuzzFeed as an amazing content creator, but the company is primarily a data powerhouse. Mark says, “First and foremost, [BuzFeed is] a data company. I think there’s an important lesson there. The reason they are so successful is because they study what works. They optimize content, images, and headlines.”

3. “When people share our content, it creates advocacy. When people share our content, it affects purchasing decisions.” -Mark Schaefer (tweet this!)

Influencer marketing and word of mouth are the next content frontier. Every time someone retweets, reblogs, or shares your content, you reach a whole new audience and have a new chance to monetize.

4. “The act of sharing content is really the economic driver of the web.” -Mark Schaefer (tweet this!)

Shared content is how many consumers discover new products, decide where to eat or travel, and become choosy about the products and services to avoid. Someone might be talking about your brand at work or even printing out and sharing your content. Fortunately, technology lets us get closer to these individuals.

Mark says, “The goal of marketing is to create this emotional connection between you and your content and your audience. And now we have this revolutionary opportunity — this historically important opportunity — to really know who these people are.”

5. “People want to know us. They want to know who’s behind these ideas, who’s behind these products. They don’t care anymore about a logo or a jingle.” -Mark Schaefer (tweet this!)

Mark advises marketers to allow your brand be human. Consumers are wiser and have plenty of information at their fingertips. They want to receive great service, personalized for them, and to be treated as individuals.

Don’t fall into the trap of leaning on technology in a way that actually separates you from your consumer.

6. “So many businesses are using technology in a way that creates a barrier. The best companies are finding ways to use these amazing new digital tools as a way to break barriers.” -Mark Schaefer (tweet this!)

7. “We’re seeing a transformation right now where communications are moving from public social media to private messaging.” -Mark Schaefer (tweet this!)

Mark predicts that conversations between consumers and brands will follow consumer-to-consumer communications: moving from open, publicly visible forums like social media to one-on-one conversations in platforms like Facebook Messenger, WhatsApp, and Snapchat.

This evolution leads to more difficulty in mining any listening data from these exchanges. For example, an airline might listen to publicly shared comments and complaints about their brand on Twitter and track that sentiment over time. Content marketers must spend less time creating new pieces and prioritize content promotion above everything else.

Sound interesting? We talked about much more in the full podcast interview with Mark Schaefer (@markwschaefer). Get this episode now on iTunes, Google Play Music, and Stitcher.

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