Signal Vs. Noise: Predicting Future Impact Of Content Marketing

This edited excerpt is from “B2B Content Marketing Strategy” by Devin Bramhall ©2025, and is reproduced and adapted with permission from Kogan Page Ltd.

Marketing can contribute to company growth in many different ways: Net new sales, customer retention, reduces risk from competitors, sometimes creates new revenue streams (like events) that impact more than one company goal, bringing a product to market successfully, feature adoption/upsells, to name a few.

The challenge marketers have is convincing multiple stakeholders that their work did, in fact, contribute to any of these areas. Even if you have goals and agreed-upon metrics to measure success, reporting on marketing ends up being fraught with all kinds of complications, from the political and interpersonal to depth of knowledge about marketing and what shows up as “impact” and “value” to the business.

The opportunity for marketers in this situation is that the people who need to be convinced don’t know what “the answer” to marketing attribution is either. They argue with each other about it behind closed doors and change their minds a lot, but they honestly can’t really prove anything better than you can. They just bought into some corollary model or made one up and have spent a ton of time campaigning internally and out in the world to make other people believe their way is correct, and eventually some of them do.

Predicting Future Impact

Most reporting focuses on what’s already happened – last month’s lead generation, last quarter’s revenue, or last year’s customer acquisition costs.

While historical data is crucial to making future decisions, it also keeps marketing leaders in a reactive position. By the time you identify a problem, it’s already affected your results. Leading indicators give you time to adjust course when needed, rather than explaining missed targets after the fact.

That’s why monitoring the signals along the way is also useful, if executed thoughtfully.

A few caveats:

  • Monitor quietly. You don’t have to share what you observe with your executives 1) at all, or 2) until you’re ready. They’ll either get confused or too excited, and neither leads to a good place for you.
  • Work with your data team. Whatever job title they’ve been given at your company, find the people who have access to the raw data and ask them questions. Be specific about what you want to know. You don’t have to know the exact data types, time periods, or segments. They just need a detailed question to get you what you need.
  • Talk it through. Since data contains multiple realities depending on how you slice it, I’ve always found it helpful to run any conclusions or stories by my data team and, where possible, my boss (see first bullet!). Basically, I look for two different analytical perspectives:
    • Someone whose job it is to ensure our data is accurate.
    • Someone whose job it is to analyze data for reporting on the business.

Remember: Reporting isn’t a single use-case activity. Reflecting on the past to measure impact is just one way to leverage reporting. Use it to inspire new ideas, optimizations, and experiments, too.

Read more: How To Write SEO Reports That Get Attention From Your CMO

A Few Potentially Useful Signals You Can Monitor

Ultimately, it’s up to you to determine which signals provide valuable insights into the performance of your marketing initiatives. And regardless of your role, whether it’s producer, manager, or team lead, as your boss, I’d expect you to know how to determine what those are.

Also, the exact signals you monitor will continue to change as technology and the internet evolve. However, there are a few informative signals that have stood the test of time (thus far) for me.

Resonance

When it comes to resonance, unprompted action on even a semiregular basis is a huge signal that something you’re doing is working, so even if your data is statistically insignificant, I’d lean in and, at the very least, conduct further experiments.

One example of this is folks sharing and referencing a topic or idea you share publicly in their own content (and how their followers react to it) on a semi-consistent basis. This indicates you’re at least on the right track with content direction.

In my experience, search volume for a keyword or phrase is minimally helpful in determining resonance in the beginning. As in, just because no one is searching for a topic doesn’t mean it’s not a common problem. A more useful exercise in search monitoring to me is whether your campaign corresponds with an increase in search volume in that time period.

Activity

The same principle applies to other actions as well. Are folks commenting on posts asking for your opinion on specific problems they are experiencing? Are you receiving anecdotal feedback semi-consistently on specific marketing initiatives or topics you’re investing in?

Do folks engage with your content even when you’re inconsistent? One client I worked with saw 60-70% open rates even on major holidays or when the newsletter was sent off-schedule on a Saturday or Monday.

Are you seeing an increase in time-on-page or pages per session from certain topics or even specific pieces?

Copycats

While not a perfect signal, if your competitors start copying your content, it’s either a sign you could be onto something or an indication that their strategy isn’t working, they don’t have one, or they’re struggling. No matter the case, it’s a signal worth paying attention to and perhaps doing some recon to find out if there are any weaknesses you can exploit.

Ultimately, your goal is to explore these signals to establish whether there are correlations between these leading indicators and your ultimate business outcomes. This isn’t just theoretical – it requires analyzing your data to identify patterns that predict success for your business.

Turning Measurement Into Mastery

Effective reporting isn’t the end of your marketing journey – it’s the bridge to your next phase of growth. Measuring the impact of content marketing isn’t just about proving its value; it’s about creating the leverage you need to execute strategies that genuinely move your business forward.

Remember these essential principles as you develop your measurement approach:

  • Numbers don’t tell stories – people do. Your data provides ingredients, but you create the meal. The most powerful reports transform complex metrics into clear narratives that inspire action and build confidence in your strategy.
  • Measurement serves strategy, not the other way around. When you begin with clear objectives and understand what truly influences behavior, metrics become tools for insight rather than constraints on creativity.
  • Reporting is campaigning. The most successful marketers recognize that performance reporting is ultimately a persuasion exercise – one that requires understanding audience motivations, building relationships, and consistently communicating value.
  • Both measurable and unmeasurable impacts matter. While focusing on quantifiable metrics, never lose sight of the equally valuable but harder-to-measure effects of brand building, relationship development, and community growth.

By developing measurement systems that capture both immediate impacts and leading indicators, you transform reporting from a dreaded obligation into a strategic advantage.

Summary: Practice And Persistence

As you apply these principles to your own marketing, remember that mastery comes through practice and persistence. You’ll make mistakes, discover unexpected insights, and continuously refine your approach. That’s not just normal – it’s the path to excellence.

To read the full book, SEJ readers have an exclusive 25% discount code and free shipping to the US and UK. Use promo code “SEJ25” at koganpage.com here.

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Featured Image: Igor Link/Shutterstock

B2B Content Marketing Has Changed: Principles Of Good Strategy

This edited excerpt is from B2B Content Marketing Strategy by Devin Bramhall, ©2025, and is reproduced and adapted with permission from Kogan Page Ltd.

Modern content strategy is no longer about being a brand megaphone, shouting messages across digital space.

Modern content strategy that works is a blended approach designed to create community around shared experiences, build lasting relationships, and establish genuine trust and influence. It’s about leaning into individuality within niche communities by creating content that resonates with individuals and small groups rather than trying to appeal to the masses.

And it’s definitely not a pursuit of ubiquity, in the ways brands used to do it by creating a dominant presence on every platform and community space.

Instead, it’s about taking fewer actions to accomplish more. Playing a supporting role in the community sometimes by elevating others. It’s about building relationships that motivate action rather than force it. Mostly, it’s about creating frameworks and principles to guide and evaluate your decisions so you can develop your own “playbook” that works for your company and community.

Principles Of Good Content Marketing Strategy

Content marketing exists to serve business goals by solving customer pain points. It accomplishes this through education and relationship-building:

Education attracts potential buyers and influencers by providing immediate value in the form of short-term solutions (awareness and affinity).

Establishing trust allows your brand to become an ongoing part of your community’s lives by speaking their language, empathizing with their challenges, and solving their problems (nurture and engage).

Relationship formation creates alignment between external promises and internal experiences – the product delivers on the expectations set by content (convert, grow LTV, and upsell).

The goal is to help first and sell second – at which point customers often feel they reached decisions independently. They become eager to invest in both the product and the relationship. This is how content marketing works organically based on human behavior.

It’s also the stuff you already know.

Content marketing teams guided by the following principles consistently achieve superior results.

Create Unique Advantage

No other company exists with your exact combination of product, people, and resources. Your first job as a marketer is to identify what you already have that can be leveraged for growth.

This could be your founder’s network, your CMO’s substantial LinkedIn following that overlaps with your target buyers, or a product feature that solves a previously unaddressed problem. It might be an upcoming conference where your CEO is speaking to 300 decision-makers who gather only once per year.

Other advantages might include:

  • Budget, software, and technological resources.
  • Existing audiences, email lists, or content archives.
  • Market position (whether as an established leader or disruptive newcomer).
  • Opportunistic events like funding announcements or key hires.
  • Your own unique talents, experiences, and connections.

The goal is to create a content strategy that:

  1. Competitors can’t easily duplicate because they lack your specific advantages.
  2. Generates exponential impact by leveraging opportunistic events, efficient execution, and activities that serve multiple outcomes simultaneously.
  3. Is scalable with repeatable elements that compound over time and can expand with relative ease.

A prime example comes from Gong, the revenue intelligence platform. While competitors focused on standard SaaS marketing playbooks, Gong leveraged their unique advantage: Access to millions of sales conversations and the data patterns within them. By sharing insights from this proprietary data, they created content no competitor could replicate, establishing themselves as the definitive source of sales intelligence while simultaneously demonstrating their product’s value.

Serve Outcomes It Can Logically Impact (Better Than Other Approaches)

Strategy that serves business goals does need to be measured to ensure it’s serving those outcomes, and ideally, how well it achieves them. Yes, I’m talking about ROI.

The benefit of having clearly defined, quantifiable, time-based outcomes is twofold:

  • It helps you narrow down tactics.
  • It gives you a target to “bump up against” to extract learnings for continuous improvement.

This principle forces you to evaluate each potential marketing activity against a simple standard: Is this the best way to reach the business outcome we want, or are we doing it because it’s the way we’ve always done it?

Can Be Executed With Existing Resources

A strategy is only as good as your ability to execute it.

Your plan is only strategic if you factor in all constraints, including budget and resources. If you come up with a “brilliant” idea that you know is unlikely to be funded, then it’s not brilliant in the context in which you want to apply it.

So, if you come up with something that could really move the needle and you want to get funding for it, come up with an MVP and call it a test. Once you’ve shown impact and dazzled the purse-holders, then it’ll be easier to get budget to expand and do more. So start by getting buy-in on only those resources you need to execute a bare minimum version that demonstrates enough impact to justify additional investment. One approach that has worked for me (though it’s not a silver bullet) is to treat it like a sales activity. All I need is enough of the right kind of information that whoever I’m pitching to will:

  • Understand without a complex explanation.
  • See a type of business impact they recognize as valuable.
  • Not care too much about it (i.e., the investment is negligible to them).

Your best-case scenario at this stage is not enthusiasm; it’s disinterest. You want them to feel like saying yes is an errand, almost like it’s a waste of their time.

This requires keeping a ton of details to yourself – especially the ones your leadership will question. Also useful, make it feel familiar and demonstrate you listened to them by pointing out areas where you intentionally factored in something they wanted or advised. Think of it like landing page copy. Your “conversion” is a yes, so what details and messaging will get you that conversion?

This doesn’t mean your strategy can’t be ambitious. Rather, it means being realistic about what you can sustain long enough to see results.

Serves Outcomes It Can Logically Impact (Better Than Other Activities)

It doesn’t matter what size your marketing team is – at some point, you’ll be tasked with showing impact beyond what seems possible with your current resources. This is where strategic thinking becomes essential.

Content marketing strategy plays a crucial role in driving business results. What sets a strategy apart from a simple plan is its ability to serve as a unified and thoughtful response to a significant challenge, as emphasized by Richard Rumelt in his book “Good Strategy, Bad Strategy.”

A plan is simply a list of activities you know you can accomplish, like running errands in a particular order to minimize time. Strategy, by contrast, is using the resources you have to show enough impact that decision-makers will recognize, making sure you remind them over and over in different ways about that impact, then using that as leverage to get the budget to do what you wanted to in the first place.

This doesn’t mean your strategy can’t be ambitious. Rather, it means being realistic about what you can sustain long enough to see results that you can use to do more later.

Grounded In Facts, Not Best Practices

Choose channels, tactics, and messages based on YOUR customers, not on what others are doing or what industry best practices dictate.

At some point, nothing we currently do in marketing existed before. SEO, for example, was once considered a growth hack. It wasn’t in the content marketing lexicon, let alone on any list of best practices. Someone discovered it could provide unique advantage for their company to appear first when people searched for specific solutions.

This principle requires you to reason from your specific facts:

  • How do YOUR customers make purchase decisions?
  • What channels do THEY genuinely use for discovery and research?
  • What unique circumstances does YOUR company face?

What might appear as constraints – limited budget, market position, team size – can often become advantages if you approach them with curiosity and objectivity.

Designed To Have Exponential Impact

Most “strategies” content marketers present are just action plans that itemize tactics they will execute over a period of time to hit a goal.

Create content, distribute, convert people, measure results, repeat.

But think about how content marketing itself came to exist. It was all about leverage. Take SEO, for example. It was essentially a “free” way to get more people to visit your site without paying for ads. And for a while, it was an ROI multiplier, meaning that the amount of investment required to execute was minuscule compared to the long-term impact it would have over time. That’s a strategic ratio.

Now, SEO is a part of B2B marketing modus operandi. The ratio is more incremental; thus, it’s not really a strategic activity, it’s more of a table stakes tactic.

The opportunity for marketers now is to come up with a scalable way to transform bespoke interactions between people from the company and community across multiple mediums into ROI for the company that they can sustain. This means designing your strategy such that some activities serve more than one purpose or outcome, as well as having “self-sustaining” elements (i.e., automations, workflows, etc.) built in.

To read the full book, SEJ readers have an exclusive 25% discount code and free shipping to the US and UK. Use promo code “SEJ25” at koganpage.com here.

More Resources:


Featured Image: Anton Vierietin/Shutterstock

5 Content Marketing Ideas for December 2025

December can be a month of non-stop ecommerce activity with flash sales, rapid ad optimization, and fulfillment mayhem. It is also an opportunity for content marketing.

Helpful, informative, and entertaining content can still cut through the noise. Articles, videos, and podcasts that inform and inspire shoppers will attract attention long after the last order ships.

After all, content marketing is the act of attracting, engaging, and retaining customers not for one month, but long term. What follows are five content marketing ideas your ecommerce shop can use in December 2025.

AI Gift Planning

Screenshot of Perplexity's search page

Agentic commerce and AI-driven search, such as from Perplexity, are changing how folks shop.

The way shoppers discover products and gifts is changing.

Millions of consumers will ask Google Gemini, ChatGPT, or Perplexity for gift ideas during the 2025 Christmas shopping season. Some will finish their purchases inside those chats or on AI web browsers.

This shift rewards marketers who structure their shop’s content clearly and correctly. Thus, December 2025, is a good time to publish buying guides, FAQs, and product comparisons — all properly structured — to ensure generative systems understand what a store sells.

This could mean creating articles based on the principles of generative engine optimization or updating existing buying guides to perform better with large language models.

A merchant could also produce educational content, such as “How to Use ChatGPT for Gift Ideas” or “How AI Shopping Impacts Small Businesses.” Those guides can run in a store’s newsletter, perhaps positioning the business as the place to start every consumer’s Christmas shopping.

Year in Review

Retailer Mr Porter typically publishes at least one year-in-review retrospective.

Reflection works in December. It gives readers closure on the year and a sense of continuity into the next.

Ecommerce content marketers can write list-style articles such as “Top 10 Products That Defined 2025” or “Our Customers’ Favorite Finds of the Year.”

Retrospective articles can pair with forward-looking posts, such as “How to Get More from Your Gear in 2026” or similar.

Large retailers already use this format effectively. Mr Porter’s annual “Best Dressed Men of the Year” article honors the retailer’s customers’ style sensibility while reinforcing its editorial authority.

Williams-Sonoma often publishes year-end or season-end recipe roundups that connect kitchen trends to products. REI’s annual adventure retrospectives combine storytelling and imagery that carry well into January.

Done well, a year-in-review article shows customers that your store observes, learns, and evolves alongside them.

Small Business Saturday

Image of a worker in a small factory

Small businesses come in many forms. Many an ecommerce shop, even ones with their own fulfillment operations, fall into this category.

American Express and the U.S. Small Business Administration established Small Business Saturday in 2010 as a response to Black Friday and Cyber Monday for independent retailers. In the ensuing 15  years, it has become a fixture in the holiday calendar and a day when shoppers consciously seek out small retailers.

For ecommerce and brick-and-click merchants, the occasion — on November 29, 2025 — is both an event and a storytelling opportunity.

In the weeks leading up to Small Business Saturday, marketers can publish content showing what makes their stores distinct.

Articles, videos, or newsletters might introduce the folks behind the products or describe the experience customers get, which should be something that big retailers can’t match.

Quirky Observances

Image of a female wearing an ugly sweater

Ugly sweaters and offbeat observances provide opportunities.

Oddities, curiosity, and humor can make for entertaining content.

Quirky observances give content marketers reasons to publish something fun, personable, and memorable. December 2025 is full of these sorts of calendar hooks.

  • National Sock Day: December 4
  • National Cookie Day: December 4
  • Pretend to Be a Time Traveler Day: December 8
  • National Lager Day: December 10
  • National Tie Day: December 18
  • Ugly Sweater Day: December 19
  • Crossword Puzzle Day: December 21
  • Make Cut-Out Snowflakes Day: December 27

A footwear retailer might run “Why Socks Make the Best Stocking Stuffers” for National Sock Day. A cookware shop could publish “5 Holiday Cookies to Bake on National Cookie Day.” A menswear retailer might highlight vintage patterns for National Tie Day, while a craft store posts a simple tutorial for Make Cut-Out Snowflakes Day.

These topics attract casual readers seeking light, shareable content, and give ecommerce content marketers a way to connect their products with calendar dates.

Texas Statehood

Image of the Texas state flag

Try ecommerce marketing with a Texas accent.

On December 29, 1845, Texas became the 28th state in the Union. The anniversary has historical importance beyond state lines, although the content might work best for shoppers in the Lone Star State.

Merchants might emphasize products sourced, designed, or manufactured in Texas. A fashion retailer could showcase boots or leather goods made in El Paso. A specialty food shop might highlight Texas barbecue sauces, spices, or pecans.

Even national retailers can connect with the date by featuring Texas-based suppliers, innovators, and artisans.

Article topics could include:

  • 5 Inventions from Texas That Changed Everyday Life
  • 15 Little-Known Products Made in Texas
  • 25 Items Every Texan Must Own
You’re Writing a Book. Now What?

Having decided to add “author” to your résumé, your first task is setting the book up for success. Knowing the subject, audience, and goal is only the starting point. Consider how you’ll prioritize time, quality, speed, and budget. Assess your strengths and skills, and where you might need help.

Then envision the next steps.

This article is the second of my two-part series on publishing a book to benefit your company. Part one, “Can Writing a Book Grow Your Business?,” appeared last month.

Publishing Paths

The three main publishing paths are do-it-yourself, traditional, and hybrid. Each has pros and cons.

  • Self-publishing. If speed is important and budget is tight, DIY publishing in digital formats is the clear choice. Moreover, selling direct means you’ll know the buyers, which is unlikely through a publisher, distributor, or third-party website.
  • Traditional. If the goal is significant print sales, you’ll need an agent and a traditional publisher, though smaller publishers and university presses may accept un-agented book proposals.
  • Hybrid. Generally, with a hybrid publisher, the author pays some or all of the publishing expenses upfront (e.g., editorial, design, marketing) and, in turn, receives a larger share of book sales than with a standard royalty.

It’s unlikely your efforts alone — as a side hustle while running a business — will result in the best possible outcome, regardless of your expertise or writing skills. Casual writers such as your nephew the English major can help in the early stages. But like doctors, plumbers, mechanics, web designers, and digital marketers, editorial pros have much to offer.

Yes, AI tools are terrific aids for research, refining ideas, and organizing notes, but they lack the context, nuance, and judgment of experienced and connected humans.

Roles

Luckily, there are plenty of expert humans! Here are typical book development roles:

  • Researchers and fact-checkers can find information such as case studies, historical trends, and economic data, as well as verify references and quotations.
  • Writing coaches and groups can encourage and motivate, and provide useful, ongoing feedback.
  • Ghostwriters take on most of the composition, working closely to capture your voice, hone ideas, and organize the presentation. Partnering with a public co-author is another way to share the heavy lifting (and profits, if any).
  • Developmental editors and coaches help shape a book’s structure and flow, refine repetitive or unclear sections, and build on your strengths as a writer.
  • Copy editors and proofreaders check for errors and suggest corrections. A good copy editor will detect repetition or confusion and recommend alternatives, as well as fix grammar, spelling, and punctuation. Proofreaders focus on remaining errors as the final step before printing.

You as the author have final say with all editorial professionals over the manuscript. You are ultimately responsible for the book’s content. You may not require a team of cover designers, illustrators, indexers, agents, publishers, publicists, and audiobook narrators, but one or more will almost certainly improve the finished product.

Freelance marketplaces such as Upwork and Reedsy include editorial experts, as do professional membership organizations. The Chartered Institute of Editors and Proofreaders, the Association of Ghostwriters, ACES, the Editorial Freelancers Association, and Editors Canada have directories searchable by service, skills, location, experience, subject, and more. The sites also provide how-to on assessing needs and qualifications. The EFA (I’m a member) offers tips on hiring an editor, as well as descriptions and costs of the various editorial services.

Other helpful resources include publishing veteran Jane Friedman, the Alliance of Independent Authors, and the Authors Guild. Writer Beware alerts authors to potential scams.

5 Content Marketing Ideas for November 2025

For retailers, Thanksgiving Day, Black Friday, and Cyber Monday are the key dates in November, but not necessarily the best options for content marketing.

Merchants may find their best chance to attract, engage, and retain shoppers via content will come from shopping guides and instructional articles, videos, and podcasts.

Here are five content ideas to try this November.

Shopping with AI Assistants

Photo of a laptop computer on a desk with holiday decorations

Expect shoppers to use artificial intelligence this holiday season.

Holiday content marketing is changing because search is changing.

In November 2025, some holiday shoppers will ask Gemini, ChatGPT, or Perplexity for gift ideas and recommendations.

For ecommerce companies, the shift creates both risk and opportunity. Risk, because traditional search engine optimization alone may not surface your products. Opportunity, because AI-powered shopping assistants reward clear, useful, and structured content.

Content marketers have perhaps two approaches. First, produce content for generative engine optimization, similarly to SEO.

A November campaign might include buying guides with Schema.org markup, FAQ sections, and side-by-side product comparisons. Expert video explainers or interviews could help train algorithms to associate your brand with authority and knowledge. The idea is to position your business as the “helpful source” for shoppers.

The second opportunity is to promote “how to shop with AI” guides through email newsletters.

Movember and Men’s Health

Man with a mustache looking in a mirror

November is an opportune time to publish content related to men’s health and grooming.

“Movember” is a global movement that raises awareness about men’s health. It’s an opportunity for ecommerce marketers to engage with men in an authentic and understanding way.

Retailers selling grooming products, fitness gear, or apparel can capitalize on Movember by creating content focused on men’s wellness. Here are some example article ideas.

  • “Guide to Growing and Caring for Your Movember Mustache”
  • “5 At-Home Workouts to Support Men’s Health”
  • “Wearing Blue in November Supports Men’s Health Awareness”

Adding a personal element — such as employee stories or customer profiles — also adds credibility. Frame Movember articles, videos, or podcasts not as sales pitches but as part of your store’s commitment to the men it serves.

Veterans Day

Photo of uniformed military folks marching a parade

Content marketers can take a patriotic approach to product promotion in November.

Each November 11, Americans remember veterans of the nation’s military. Veterans Day is both solemn and celebratory. It honors service and sacrifice, while also highlighting the values of resilience and community.

For marketers, it’s an opportunity to tell genuine stories that resonate with shoppers, even while connecting those stories to products.

For example, an ecommerce business might share the experiences of veteran employees, highlight veteran-owned suppliers, or publish educational content that connects service values such as teamwork and resilience to the store’s products.

Fibonacci Day

Ilustration of the Fibonacci sequence

The Fibonacci sequence appears in nature, science, engineering, and art.

Fibonacci Day, observed on November 23, honors the so-called golden ratio, which is prevalent in nature, science, engineering, and art.

The Fibonacci mathematical sequence is a series of numbers in which each is the sum of the two preceding it. The sequence starts with 0, 1, 1, 2, 3, and continues by summing pairs of numbers, such as 5, 8, 13, 21, and so on.

This pattern exists everywhere. In fact, once you see it, it is hard to unsee.

Retailers can use Fibonacci Day to surprise and engage audiences with unexpected connections.

A home décor shop might showcase how the sequence applies to architecture, furniture, or photography. A fashion merchant could highlight symmetry in patterns and fabrics, linking natural geometry to clothing. A specialty food store might feature recipes inspired by spirals in nature — from seashell-shaped pasta to cinnamon rolls.

children’s exhibit at Cornell University’s Johnson Museum of Art features the Fibonacci sequence, providing additional inspiration.

Small Business Saturday

Photo of employees in a small shop-like business

Pull back the curtain in November and show shoppers why they should patronize small businesses.

In what might be a stroke of luck, Small Business Saturday is on November 29, 2025 — the Black Friday Cyber Monday weekend when many folks are shopping.

The event is an opportunity for independent retailers to showcase what makes them unique. Content leading up to the day can highlight why shopping small matters.

The message can be direct or subtle. A behind-the-scenes video might show family members preparing for the holiday rush. The idea is to connect the human side of the business with shoppers whilst encouraging them to purchase.

Here are three example article ideas:

  • “10 Unique Gifts Available Only at Small Merchants.”
  • “How Shopping Small Supports Local Communities.”
  • “Preparing Our Store for Small Business Saturday.”

Generative engines are increasingly surfacing content that emphasizes authority and originality. Your store’s story, expertise, and individuality could appeal to both algorithms and humans.

Done well, content for Small Business Saturday builds loyalty that extends into the new year, beyond a single weekend.

5 Ways Content Marketers Can Build Consumer Trust Through Responsible Personalization And AI via @sejournal, @rio_seo

In a digital-first era, customer loyalty is no longer an expectation. It’s something that can’t be bought or bribed, but rather earned through intentional action. Yet content marketers can build consumer trust when given the right framework and strategy.

Undoubtedly, technology will continue to evolve, and as it does, so will customer expectations. Content marketing leaders are put in a tough position, where they must navigate a delicate balance between leveraging technology innovations while still ensuring human connection remains at the forefront.

Your customers crave human-centric connection, and new research reveals consumers are rewarding the businesses that prioritize transparency, personalization, and ethical AI usage. The brands that put their customers at the heart of their business and truly understand what motivates them to take action will win.

Recent research from Forsta, surveying more than 4,000 consumers across the U.S. and UK, highlights a rising trend: Customers are increasingly willing to pay more, stay longer, and advocate for brands they trust.

Trust isn’t just a soft metric that’s nice to sporadically review. Instead, it’s becoming one of the most prominent ways to assess business performance and drive long-term value. For content marketing leaders, this marks a shift in the playbook, which we’ll delve into throughout this post.

Using research-backed insights, we’ll examine five strategies to build consumer trust in an increasingly competitive environment to drive growth and forge stronger customer relationships.

How To Build Trust Through Content Marketing

Cost effectiveness is no longer as persuasive as it once was. In fact, according to the aforementioned study, 71% of consumers (U.S. – 71%, UK – 72%) would rather choose a business they trust with their data over one that’s more affordable.

That staggering figure alone highlights a notable shift in what drives purchasing decisions. Slashing prices doesn’t move the needle; trust does.

For content marketing leaders, a significant opportunity is within reach. Consumers are telling us exactly what they want, decoding any preconceived notions. They want to buy from businesses that respect their privacy, communicate openly, and personalize their experiences in a way that resonates with them individually.

Trust has evolved to become the cornerstone of modern brand-building, and content marketers should adapt and evolve to earn business.

1. Personalize With Purpose

Content marketers understand the importance of personalizing customer experiences. For example, sending a mass email to your audience without proper segmentation or targeting is about as useless as shouting into a void.

Additionally, given the astounding rise and usage of AI, personalization is now easier than ever to achieve. Knowing personalization remains a top demand, it’s no longer nice to have. It’s a must.

However, consumers aren’t giving away their personal information in exchange for custom-tailored experiences. They’re becoming more attuned to how businesses use their data and, in turn, have become more selective when sharing personal information.

If the value exchange isn’t obvious, transparent, or respectful, consumers may second-guess engaging with your business.

The study asked respondents what mattered most when it came to personalization, and the answer may surprise you: The majority stated efficiency.

The most appreciated personalized experience isn’t targeted ads or dynamic pricing; it goes back to the basics. Consumers want personalization that’s efficient and responsive when they seek help. They want to feel heard and supported without being passed from agent to agent.

This finding flips traditional personalization logic on its head. Instead of focusing solely on selling products or services, content marketing leaders must also examine how personalized support can reduce friction and enhance the customer journey.

Key Takeaway: Shift how you think about personalization. It’s no longer about “attention-grabbing” but rather “value-delivering.”

Use both structured and unstructured data to identify where your greatest opportunities lie, from examining your reviews to your chat logs. Then, write content that addresses those concerns to educate and empower your target audience.

2. Be Transparent About AI Usage

AI is already redefining how businesses operate and how they engage with consumers. From leveraging AI tools to create search engine-optimized content outlines to performing keyword research to ensure content aligns with search intent, AI enables scale and speed humans simply can’t match.

But customers are still wary of what’s AI and what’s not. When they feel deceived, trust erodes, and so too can revenue. The study found that 38% of consumers (U.S. – 38%, UK – 40%) would lose trust in a brand if they discovered AI-generated content or interactions weren’t disclosed.

This doesn’t mean AI usage should be abolished. Instead, it reinforces that transparency is non-negotiable.

Customers want to know when and where AI is being used, and this information shouldn’t be hidden in plain sight. Your AI policies should be front and center, easily located on your landing pages and website’s privacy policy.

Key Takeaway: AI isn’t a replacement for human writers, but should rather be viewed as a helpful assistant. Brands must clearly disclose AI usage, offer opt-outs when appropriate, and stay away from using AI to fully draft content.

3. Ensure Every Experience Is A Positive One

Customer loyalty is fragile. Negative experiences are remembered, and businesses may not get a second chance to right their wrongs, as evidenced by the following finding.

More than 60% of consumers (U.S. – 63%, UK – 62%) said they would stop buying from a brand after just one or two negative experiences. This leaves little opportunity for error before customers take their hard-earned money elsewhere.

This begs the question: What types of mistakes are unforgivable? It’s often not the major mistakes that you’d expect, but rather the accumulation of small grievances.

Over half of consumers (U.S. 53%, UK – 51%) said that inconveniences like long checkout lines or slow customer service can do more damage than something you’d expect to be more catastrophic, like sending out an email for a sale that’s no longer active.

The little things add up, and customers are quick to move on even if it happens just once.

Key Takeaway: Marketing and customer experience leaders must build feedback loops to catch and fix small annoyances before they become a bigger issue, like affecting your business’s bottom line.

Both teams should stay aligned to ensure nothing falls through the cracks, such as a faulty form on a gated content’s landing page or a broken call-to-action (CTA) link in an ebook.

4. Focus On Human Connection

Despite the rise of digital tools, the data is clear: Consumers still want and value human interaction. A chatbot may help to solve a quick issue, but many want to speak to and engage with an actual human. If this isn’t an option, your business runs the risk of creating a trust deficit with potential customers.

Unsurprisingly, over half (58%) of U.S. respondents said they value the ability to talk to a real person when they need support. Customers don’t want to get stuck in a phone tree; they want real support in real-time.

This doesn’t mean abandoning digital transformation, but it should strike a delicate balance with empathy. Human connection is valued throughout all stages of the customer journey, whether engaging with a social post or responding to a promotional email. Make human connection seamless and simple.

Key Takeaway: Digital tools can be helpful for enabling quick support, but they shouldn’t eliminate the option for human connection, especially when escalation is necessary. Invest in omnichannel experiences that offer the best of both worlds.

5. Ensure Value In Exchange For Data

Consumers are still willing to share their data, but only if they believe they’ll get something worthwhile out of it.

Banks, for example, are largely seen as trustworthy, with 69% of U.S. and 81% of UK consumers agreeing they trust banks to handle their data responsibly.

In contrast, social media platforms and AI tools (like ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity, and more) rank lowest when it comes to trust.

For content marketing leaders, this adds a layer of complexity to strategies for success. We know customers do want personalized experiences, but it comes with conditions. They expect brands to use their data only for meaningful interactions, not for profit or intrusive profiling.

The value exchange must be evident, meaning content standards must be set high. Content can no longer be drafted to meet a quota or stuff some keywords.

In addition to drafting relevant and helpful content that matches search intent, marketers should clearly disclose:

  • What data you collect.
  • What they’ll get in exchange for it.
  • How you protect it.
  • Why you collect it.

Key Takeaway: Make data transparency a part of your brand promise. Clearly disclose the benefit consumers will receive in exchange for their personal information. Create content that resonates with your audience, solves their pain points, and offers them clear value.

Framework For Turning Trust Into A Strategic Asset

To truly operationalize trust, marketing leaders must move beyond surface-level gestures and embed it into every layer of their customer journey. Trust must no longer be treated as a compliance issue but rather as a growth strategy.

Brands that build a reputation for responsible data use, transparent AI disclosure, exceptional customer experiences, and prioritize human connection will stand out in today’s marketplace.

Key actions for content marketing leaders to take include:

  • Audit CX for friction: Map key points of failure across your digital journey. Understand the types of content that are converting best and what needs reassessment. Continually measure content marketing performance to identify what’s landing well with your audience.
  • Be radically transparent: From AI disclosures to privacy policies, it’s better to overcommunicate to your audience. Share how and when AI is used.
  • Use AI responsibly: AI simply can’t match the expertise, strength, and emotion of human writers. Therefore, it should be used as an aid rather than a crutch when it comes to drafting content.
  • Reframe personalization: Personalization is a must, but not at the cost of frustrating customers. Use personalization strategically, ensuring it serves utility over novelty.
  • Empower cross-functional teams: Every team should have visibility into shared trust key performance indicators (KPIs) so each team understands how they can help grow consumer trust.

The future of marketing isn’t just about accelerating AI, personalization, or even digital transformation. It’s about trust.

Trust is what turns first-time buyers into lifelong advocates. It’s what enables brands to charge a premium, recover from mistakes, and stand out in crowded markets. In an era where consumer skepticism is high, trust must be earned through every stage of the customer journey, from first click to collecting payment.

For content marketing leaders, the takeaway is clear: Trust is your brand’s most valuable asset. Invest in it wisely.

More Resources:


Featured Image: DILA CREATIONS/Shutterstock

5 Content Marketing Ideas for October 2025

October 2025 presents content marketers with a rich mix of content themes and topics. Halloween headlines the month, but there are also inspirational cultural observances, industry celebrations, and seasonal transitions.

Content marketing is the process of creating, publishing, and promoting content such as articles, videos, or podcasts to attract, engage, and retain customers.

Content marketing is closely associated with search engine optimization, generative engine optimization, and social media marketing. While so-called evergreen content has its place, in 2025 search engines, large language models, and shoppers often seek fresh stories and angles.

What follows are five content marketing ideas your business can try in October 2025.

AI-Generated Halloween Fun

AI image of grade-school-age kids trick or treating.

Marketers can feature AI tools prominently for Halloween 2025. This image is AI-generated.

Halloween is a key retail sales event. In 2024, for example, U.S. shoppers spent nearly $12 billion on costumes, candy, and decorations.

For content marketing, Halloween shopping guides and party suggestions are staples. So add artificial intelligence to freshen things up and expedite the process!

Merchants can employ AI for Halloween content in at least three ways:

  • Interactive AI-powered tools. Imagine an online party supply shop that “vibe codes” an AI-powered Halloween party planning tool. The tool asks shoppers questions, and based on the answers, it delivers a full party plan, complete with games and a shopping list.
  • Entertaining articles. Just about any merchant can publish articles with themes of “We Asked AI for the Most Outrageous…” or “We Asked AI to Design the Spookiest Costumes of 2025.”
  • Offer AI prompts. The same party supply shop could publish a list of the 10 best Halloween party planning prompts, such as “10 ChatGPT Prompts for the Perfect Halloween Party.”

National Manufacturing Day

Screenshot of Origin's home page showing a male outdoors

Origin, a direct-to-consumer apparel brand, appeals to shoppers seeking U.S.-made products.

National Manufacturing Day, observed on the first Friday in October, began in 2012 to showcase modern manufacturing and inspire skilled workers.

In 2025, the occasion falls on October 3 and is part of a broader Manufacturing Month coordinated by the National Association of Manufacturers.

For ecommerce businesses, Manufacturing Day is an opportunity to showcase suppliers and how they make products. Shoppers like this sort of supply chain transparency. For example, Origin is a direct-to-consumer apparel brand with an engaging manufacturing story. How and where it produces products is a vital part of the brand’s appeal to shoppers seeking U.S.-made products.

National Manufacturing Day is beneficial for seemingly all direct-to-consumer brands and an opportunity to share a founding story.

Italian-American Heritage Month

Mr Porter is a leading example of retail content marketing. The site’s articles align with engaging topics and popular products.

Every October since 1989, the United States has observed Italian-American Heritage Month, acknowledging the profound impact of Italian immigrants and their descendants on American culture.

From cuisine and fashion to construction and music, Italian-American contributions weave into the fabric of daily life.

For ecommerce businesses, the observance inspires content that connects products to heritage and the Italian-American experience.

Kitchen supply stores could particularly benefit. Italian cuisine has a broad appeal worldwide. Imagine showcasing how to make a ragu or pizza while promoting cookware, utensils, or specialty ingredients.

There are certainly other ways to connect products sold to Italian culture. Menswear retailer and marketplace Mr Porter has a history of producing content related to Italy. Here are some examples.

In each article, Mr Porter promotes between 12 and 20 products.

World Space Week

Illustration of rockets in space

World Space Week is a chance to engage with tech-savvy shoppers and space enthusiasts.

The United Nations established World Space Week in 1999. More than 90 countries now recognize it.

World Space Week takes place from October 4 to 10 each year, commemorating the Soviet Union’s launch of Sputnik in 1957 and the signing of the Outer Space Treaty in 1967.

The week provides many content opportunities.

Educational retailers could publish activity guides that highlight space-themed toys, puzzles, and kits. A home decor shop might curate collections of space-themed bedding, wall art, or lighting. Hobby stores and craft shops could capitalize, too.

Winterization Listicles

AI-produced image of a residential house in the snow.

October is a time to get ready for the cold season.

October is the heart of autumn in the Northern Hemisphere. Temperatures creep downward, and the trees blaze with fall colors. It is time to prepare for winter.

That preparation presents an opportunity to publish helpful winterization listicles. These lists should offer practical, scannable guides that help consumers prepare for the cold.

Here are a few example headlines.

  • A home improvement retailer could publish “10 Steps to Winterize Your Home.”
  • An auto parts store could create the list “15 Essentials to Prepare Your Car for Winter.”
  • An online outfitter might write “12 Gear Must-Haves for Cold-Weather Adventures.”

Checklists and practical advice position merchants as problem solvers. It also nudges shoppers toward timely seasonal purchases they may not have planned, potentially increasing basket size and driving early Q4 revenue.

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Why this session is essential:

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This webinar will help you unlock AI’s full potential and optimize your content to improve your marketing performance.

Register now to learn how to get your content loved by AI, LLMs, and most importantly, your audience. Can’t attend live? Don’t worry, sign up anyway, and we will send you the on-demand recording.

5 Content Marketing Ideas for September 2025

In September 2025, ecommerce content marketers will find inspiration in holidays, both serious and quirky.

Content such as articles and videos can build a relationship with shoppers and keep folks visiting a business’s website. Content drives visibility in generative AI platforms and organic search and fuels social media and email marketing.

The content challenge, however, is generating new topics and material.

What follows are five content marketing ideas your business can use in September 2025.

Labor Day

Photo of a male cooking outdoors on a grill

Labor Day signals seasonal change, creating content marketing opportunities.

Celebrated in the U.S. on the first Monday of September, Labor Day has its roots in the 19th-century workers’ movement, when unions fought for higher wages, better working conditions, and shorter work days at the peak of the Industrial Revolution.

While it retains some of its workers’ pride, the holiday now represents the unofficial end of summer and an occasion for grilling, parades, and Autumn preparation.

It’s a major retail event, too.

Taken together, the day’s history, emphasis on seasonal change, and revenue value make it an exceptional marketing opportunity.

Here are some example article or video titles.

  • “Ultimate Guide to Hosting a Last-Minute Labor Day BBQ” could list products such as grilling accessories, BBQ rubs, and similar.
  • “How to Dress for Labor Day 2025” would feature inspiration styles and the option to “buy the look.”
  • “Get Your Home Ready for the Fall” could leverage the season’s “fresh start,” offering tips on decluttering, organizing, or swapping out decor.

Classical Music Month

A female playing a cello.

Classical Music Month provides ideas beyond music and instruments.

President Bill Clinton established Classical Music Month in 1994.

“Classical music is a celebration of artistic excellence. It spans centuries and generations, delighting and inspiring listeners of all ages. During Classical Music Month, we recognize the many talented composers, conductors, and musicians who bring classical music to our ears and enrich our lives,” wrote Clinton in his official proclamation.

Classical Music Month is an obvious marketing opportunity for music stores, but plenty of other retailers could benefit. Here are example titles:

  • A kitchen or party supplier: “The Perfect Classical Music Playlist for a Relaxing Evening”
  • A formal wear shop: “What to Wear to the Symphony This Fall”
  • Niche memorabilia store: “The 10 Greatest Classical Movie Themes”

National Read a Book Day

A man reading a book on a couch next to a dog

Reading is a pastime and a marketing opportunity.

According to various “national day” websites, September 6, 2025, is National Read a Book Day. It’s hardly an official holiday, but there are plenty of opportunities to create blog posts, long-form articles, videos, or podcasts aimed at bibliophiles.

Marketers can frame National Read a Book Day not to sell books, but rather a holiday celebrating quiet, comfort, and imagination. This approach opens up myriad content options.

Here are some example article or video titles.

  • “19 Gift Ideas for Readers Who Already Own Too Many Books”
  • “How to Create the Ultimate Reading Nook at Home”
  • “Evening Reading Routines That Make You Sleep Better”

National Salami Day

Photo of salamis and crackers on a cutting board

National Salami Day is ripe with content marketing flavor.

There is no doubt that September 7th’s National Salami Day is a playful observance, meant to bring a little laughter and food to its celebrants.

Merchants selling items such as charcuterie boards, knives, specialty foods, cheese, wine, or picnic accessories will likely have the most success with salami articles, videos, and podcasts. But folks in other industries can attract readers and viewers, too.

Consider that Newsweek addressed National Salami Day, and t-shirt shop Redbuddle has several salami-themed products.

Instructional and How-to

Mr. Porter has long been an example of good ecommerce content marketing.

How-to articles and videos are the foundation of ecommerce content marketing, delivering on the three pillars of attracting, engaging, and retaining shoppers.

Instructional content is also a powerful lead magnet and can fuel search, social media, newsletters, and shoppable videos.

Take inspiration from many retail websites. Here are five how-to articles from The Journal by men’s apparel merchant Mr. Porter:

5 Content Marketing Ideas for August 2025

Marketers hoping to drive traffic and convert visitors in August 2025 can produce content tailored to students, pet owners, readers, spa enthusiasts, and value shoppers.

Content marketing is the act of creating, publishing, and promoting articles, videos, podcasts, and the like to attract, engage, and retain customers.

A downside of the tactic is the seemingly unending need to produce new material. With this in mind, here are five content marketing ideas your company can use in August 2025.

Discoverable Back-to-School Lists

A mom and a grade-school daughter in front of a school bus

Back-to-school product listicles can appear in Google Discover, leading to a surge in traffic.

Google Discover is a personalized article feed in Google’s Search mobile app, Chrome app, and various mobile pages.

The feature is Google’s way of helping folks discover relevant, interesting, and timely content, with an emphasis on timely.

Some professional search engine optimizers believe that Discover favors recent articles, such as news stories or seasonal shopping listicles. There is no guarantee Google Discover will pick up an article, but it can drive significant traffic when it does.

Most content marketers launch back-to-school content in July, yet August could be the month to publish product listicles aimed at Discover.

Here are some example titles:

  • “21 Essentials Every High School Student Forgot to Buy.”
  • “15 Back-to-School Deals You Cannot Afford to Miss.”
  • “10 STEM Toys to Boost Your Kid’s Grades.”

Celebrate Cats and Dogs

Photo of a cat and a dog

August 2025 has a “day” for both cats and dogs.

August 2025 features International Cat Day on the 8th and International Dog Day on the 26th.

This duo of pet-centered remembrances can honor our feline and canine companions while also raising awareness about their overall well-being.

For content marketers, the cat and dog days offer an opportunity to engage with the millions of pet-loving shoppers.

Roughly two-thirds of American households own at least one pet, according to Forbes. Sixty-five million families have a dog, and 47 million keep a cat.

Certainly pet supply retailers can capitalize on the two occasions, although nearly any online store could likely connect pets to the products it sells. Here are some example titles.

  • A Pet Supply Store: “10 Ways to Spoil Your Pup on International Dog Day”
  • An Outdoor Gear Company: “The Ultimate Checklist for Hiking with Your Dog”
  • A Home Goods Retailer: “5 Tips for a Stylish and Pet-Proof Home”
  • A Car Accessories Store: “The Best Car Accessories for a Dog”

National Book Lovers Day

Photo of a female in an outdoor patio reading a book

National observances offer an opportunity to associate content with real-world events.

Almost any national observance — such as National Book Lovers Day on August 9 — can serve as a content anchor. It’s an opportunity to associate your marketing with timely, real-world happenings, however niche.

The trick is connecting your products to the day’s theme.

Imagine an online home decor shop. The company does not sell books, but it can still write about Book Lovers Day. For example, it could publish an article titled “How to Decorate the Perfect Reading Nook.”

Similarly, an electronics store could produce a video sharing “The Top eReaders for National Book Lovers Day.” A tea merchant might publish clever genre pairing guides.

National Relaxation Day

Photo of a 20-something female in a swimming pool

Relaxation can mean different things to consumers, making it ideal for content marketers.

Observed on August 15, 2025, National Relaxation Day is about taking a breather. For some, it will be a day at the spa. For others, relaxation will be watching the Seattle Mariners play the New York Mets at Citi Field.

Regardless, National Relaxation Day comes at an opportune time. As summer ends, many folks look to unwind. It’s an opportunity for businesses to position products for self-care and stress relief.

Here are some ideas.

  • Beauty boutique: “Step-by-Step Guide to an At-Home Spa Day”
  • Candle purveyor: “5 Calming Scents for Your Home”
  • Hobby shop: “5 Screen-Free Hobbies for Relaxation”

Interactive Pricing

Content marketing is evolving to include interactive site experiences, AI-generated.

Generative artificial intelligence has become ubiquitous. Content marketers often prompt genAI platforms for article topics and outlines.

In August 2025, take your company’s AI use to the next level. Instead of just generating articles, create an interactive price-related tool using your favorite AI model and also a code generator such as Replit.

Here’s an example using an online secondhand clothing shop.

This shop carefully curates clothing from thrift shops and estate sales. The staff cleans, repairs, and sells the items on the shop’s ecommerce site. But some shoppers question the store’s prices. “Aren’t these items just used shirts and pants?”

To respond, the store’s content team utilizes AI to generate an interactive “cost per wear” calculator, reframing the conversation from “price” to “value.” It’s a tangible, data-driven justification for a higher-priced, quality purchase.

Once generated, deploy the tool on product detail pages, category pages, and even social media campaigns.