I think most marketers can agree that the industry is part creative, part technical, and certainly part mathematical with the constant tracking of metrics, KPIs, sales, and other numerics. But I don't know if most marketers think of themselves as scientists. I'd like to challenge that line of thinking and consider the Merriam-Webster dictionary definition of an exact science: science, such as physics, chemistry, or astronomy, whose laws are capable of accurate quantitative expression. Although some of marketing is instinctive, the field is—at least in my opinion—evolving more into an exact science every day with quantitative expressions that can be measured for accuracy in seemingly every marketing channel—social, email, mobile, display ads, and of course, direct mail.
One of the most scientific—and calculated— forms of marketing is content marketing. Curating and crafting valuable content can be executed and measured in a myriad of ways—from the creation of blogs and webcasts to case studies and polls. Marketers must first determine the strategy, format, and platform then quantify the success of their campaigns through metrics and goals. Sound likes science to me. One chief content marketer, Chris Lake of Econsultancy, drives home the idea of marketing as a science with his Periodic Table of Content Marketing. Lake is inspired by Russian chemist and inventor Dmitri Mendeleev—who created his own version of the periodic table of elements (which I'm sure most of us remember from our high school chemistry classes). In this colorful chart, Lake gives us a playful, yet acutely reflective depiction of content marketing in 2014.
Without question, content marketing can bolster brand awareness, advocacy, and of course sales. The Periodic Table of Content Marketing is a great way for marketers to embrace their craft as an exact science—and have a little fun too.
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