Title Closing the Content Gap — Beam Content.pdf ✅

Closing the Content Gap What we learned from talking to 400+ GTM pros
2 The elephant in every GTM room Part of the problem is how siloed content marketing has become. Take it from Obaid Durrani, Head of Content & Brand at HockeyStack. Without a unified strategic purpose, success in one channel doesn’t necessarily translate to leads and revenue for the company as a whole. We couldn’t agree more. Instead of treating “content” as an isolated function that cranks out cookie-cutter, keyword-stuffed blog posts, content marketers need to advocate for a better approach. “The old-school mentality is very transactional...‘Hey, I just want you to pump leads. I don’t care about the quality of them. Our goal as a marketing team is to pump 350 MQLs this month.’ This is the wrong way to think about things.” Nick Bennett Co-Founder and Chief Customer Officer TACK Content is misunderstood and undervalued They say: “Content is king queen.” We say: there’s never been a more misunderstood and undervalued monarch. “I think it’s a historic problem, a very common perspective, to look at content marketing as a ‘nice to have,’” says Tara Pawlak, Revenue Grid’s Senior VP of Marketing. To get to the bottom of this problem, we asked 400+ GTM professionals for their honest thoughts on content marketing as a function and its relationship with the broader GTM team.
“I’m a big believer that your work is only as strong as your cross-functional bonds. Content marketing needs to be integrated within the entire business... Being integrated with other teams in the org is just so important to achieving everyone’s goals. It’s a rising tide.” 3 A better future for GTM teams is possible Time to imagine what could be in content marketing. One path leads to subpar AI-generated content, siloed GTM teams, and spinning wheels. But the opportunity is there to drive a strategic, innovative content marketing approach instead. For Gail Marie, former Head of Content/Marketing at Sphere, that means getting on the same page as our colleagues about what we do: “We need to redefine content marketing. Content is marketing.” Understanding content’s purpose is step one; making sure it’s bought into across the entire GTM team and leadership is the next. Chelsea Castle Senior Director of Brand & Content Lavender Content marketers aren’t just order takers. They’re strategic partners. They’re storytellers and interpreters and deep thinkers who make their customers and audience the stars of the show. That’s why we talked to everyone, instead of just content marketers. If siloed content is the symptom, what are the underlying causes and risk factors? It’s time to show leadership how expert-driven content across channels attracts qualified buyers and turns them into loyal customers. To develop those cross-functional bonds, we content marketers need to find better ways to communicate. “It’s about being able to clearly convey the impact of content using metrics and outcomes that the GTM team and leadership team cares about,” says Mark Huber, VP of Marketing at UserEvidence. “I don’t know if the majority of content marketers know how to do that just yet.” Keyword: yet. 😉