With the end of a year – and start of a new one – in mind, this quarter’s round-up contains some big-picture articles, as well as some tips of the trade.

1. CMOs’ five key learnings from 2021

So maybe these aren’t all that surprising, but now’s a good time to keep in mind these fundamentals.

2. Use loyalty content to sustain your hard-won customer relationships

We’re big fans of super-serving our existing clients – retained business makes so much more sense than a conveyor belt of new business and high churn rates. The CMI helps show you how.

3. Peloton doesn’t care about your TV spoilers, and neither does social media

We initially bookmarked this piece because of Peloton’s lightning-fast reaction to a plot twist in the Sex and the City spin-off. If only they knew the twists and turns still to come.

4. 5 reminders about creativity from The Beatles: Get back

While not everyone is a Beatles fan – blasphemy! – no one can deny ‘the greatest band ever’™ holds some lessons for how any of us approaches creativity.

5. Content matrix: The key to creating a results-focused content strategy

Did someone say Matrix? This isn’t a cashing in on another big reboot but shows a clear way of mapping content types to different stages of engaging prospects.

6. The Animalz’ ‘Content Marketing Benchmark Report 2021’

Over the years, we’ve spoken about our respect for agency Animalz (big hello!) – and its 2021 Content Marketing Benchmark Report is worth a look, especially for those of us ploughing the B2B and tech furrows.

7. 8 dos and don’ts of creating marketing videos — with video creative director AJ Muffett

In at number 7 are these eight video tips. We like the sound… although quirky advice of ‘Do and don’t use stock footage’. But don’t stop there.

8. Banksy’s shredded painting is a great lesson in sales

This piece on Medium by Elad Simchayoff is a fascinating read about how the process of Banksy’s ‘creative destruction’ (stretching the term a bit there) added value because of the story.

9. 9 cool tools writers should be using in 2022

At number 9, we have nine tools for writers – and, while they’re not all for us, there is some good variation and thinking in here. Curated by the folks at Crowdfire.

10. 50 stunning call-to-action buttons that convert like candy

We can’t get much more tactical than 50 buttons that get that next click. The idea is that your content has earned this next step from your prospect, so choose wisely.

11. 15 unconventional advertising ideas that set the world on fire

Lastly, this piece is something we saw recently — although we’re breaking our rule because it’s a couple of years old. But this piece on Jeff Bulla’s site will get you thinking creatively.

Good luck for 2022, whatever your content goals.

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