content marketing strategic workshop presentation

Content  Marke+ng  Workshop  Toronto,  Ontario  Canada  October  30,  2014  

Content  Marke+ng  Workshop  Toronto,  Ontario  Canada  October  30,  2014  

What’s our mission?

What’s Your 2020 Marketing Strategy?

You’re closer to 2020 -  than you are from the

introduction of the iPhone

-  than you are from your possible first tweet

-  than from the possible creation of a Facebook page

1. Evolution of

customer relationship

2. Democratization of content and

experiences

3. Marketing’s

evolution in the business

•  Similar to Production Era to Marketing Dept. Era

•  “Relationship” expectations have changed

•  Loyalty is to approach not product or service

•  Decline of “reach and frequency” as focus

•  Ease of publishing has created “small marketing”

•  Power AND risk of not maintaining a brand audience

•  Beyond organizing around technology or platforms

•  Marketing must be strategic differentiator

•  Creating value, not just describing it

The purpose of business is to create a customer. The business enterprise has two – and only two – basic functions: marketing and innovation. Marketing and innovation produce results; all the rest are costs. Marketing is the distinguishing, unique function of the business.”

- Peter Drucker, 1954

Integration of content as a core skill will be as critical as product development.

For some it’s already happening…

“Ideally, you’re writing your first line of content the same day as you're writing your first line of code.”

Dharmesh Shah, CTO Hubspot

82% & 50%  

Education is a key – a third of all marketing investment going into content marketing programs

For some it’s already happening…

“80% of our sales leads and 50% of our bookings are generated from our educational marketing program”

David Levin, VP Marketing - Clinipace

For some it’s already happening…

Marketing makes us more ambidextrous in terms of innovation by connecting the technology to needs. We define marketing as a combination of value and innovation, and that means that we had to look at marketers as innovators.

Beth Comstock, CMO GE

List  of  Headlines  Or  things  I  know  to  be  true  

“If you can’t describe what you’re doing as a process, you don’t know what you are doing”

W. Edward Deming!

-  Make the space -  Prioritize the time -  Have the discipline and

give permission to have a purpose.

“creativity is not a talent. It’s a way of operating”

John Cleese

We are marketers. Marketing is the unique distinguishing function of the business. We will help marketers transform the practice so that its purpose is to not only describe differentiating value, but create it; to delight audiences as a means to evolve customers from aware to evangelistic. In order to accomplish this – we must understand that content-driven experiences should be the unique value that differentiates our approach, and thus our business. Our content – the asset that differentiates us - deserves to be created, managed, published, promoted and measured as a strategic function within our business. This is content marketing. This is why we teach it. This is why we evangelize it. This is why we are here today.

Our Workshop Mission

We take the first steps today….

Act One The mission to measurement: Getting to a strategy

Act Two Starting with “why”: Getting to the heart of your story

Act Three Purpose-driven content Understanding the creation

Act Four Story mapping: Plotting the path to measurement

Lunch Break Yes, you’ll be working…

Act Five Context: Hear about CM in action

Curtain Call Let’s hear from you…

Act One The Mission To Measurement Getting to a strategy

WORKSHEETS URL HERE

Our CM Framework

STORY BEFORE MEDIUM A Mission For Content

Let’s Get To The Content Mission Put story first, media second “Content Mission is not about what you sell… it’s what you stand for. This will become the basis for your content plan. This is your mission. It’s based on the needs of your customers and prospects, and also inherently drives your business.”

- Joe Pulizzi

The Content Mission 4 Steps 1. What is our goal?

2. Who can satisfy that goal? 3. What valuable experience – separate from our product or service – can we deliver at that stage of their journey 4. What makes OUR approach to delivering this value different? What is the DIFFERENT story that we’re telling.

No channels yet, No blog, white papers, video no blah blah blah…

CONTENT MISSION: EXAMPLE

We deliver digital marketing insight for CMO’s & senior marketing executives. We offer marketing news and insights on diverse topics such as; online media, branding, online marketing and more. As a global leader in digital marketing we also offer exclusive digital marketing news and commentary and exclusive digital marketing resources. We also offer two weekly newsletters—“Top 10 Insights” and “News In Review”—free to subscribers.

The Content Mission It’s developing a Product – then developing A campaign to promote it.

CONTENT  MARKETING  CAMPAIGN  

CONTENT  MARKETING  CAMPAIGN  

PLAN  TACTICS  “let’s  do  a  blog”  

CREATE  CONTENT  TO  FEED  “we  need  posts”  

SET  GOALS  BY  TACTICS  “conversion  rates  etc..”  

TIME  FRAME  “based  on  ability  to  execute.”  

SUCCESS  BY  CONTRIBUTION  “measurement  at  channel”  

CONTENT  MARKETING  CAMPAIGN  

CONTENT  MARKETING  MISSION  

STORY  FIRST  “what’s  the  valuable  experience”  

HOW  WILL  IT  EXPRESS  ITSELF  “channels  –  by  <me”  

HOW  WILL  WE  SUSTAIN  IT  “responsible  management”  

WHAT  IS  SUCCESS  “what  business  goals”  

HOW  DO  WE  ENABLE  IT  “let’s  build  value”  

EMAIL

SOCIAL

VIDEO

SOCIAL

PRINT PRINT

MOBILE MOBILE

WEB WEB

WEB WEB

EVERGREEN EPHEMERAL

PRODUCED

EXECUTIONAL

MISSION “create wonderful vacation solutions for busy families”

INSIGHT & INTENT “better consumer data

& increased purchase intent”

EVERGREEN EPHEMERAL

PRODUCED

EXECUTIONAL

MISSION “create delicious meal

solutions for busy families”

INSIGHT & INTENT “better consumer data

& increased purchase intent”

AGENCIES  

MARCOM  SOCIAL  AGENCY  

MEDIA  AGENCY  

1.  Develop your content mission

1.  What is the goal? 2.  Who satisfies that goal? Who needs the value 3.  What VALUABLE experience(s) - separate

from our product or service - can we deliver at this stage of that buyers journey

4.  What makes OUR approach different?

2.  Then – with story FIRST - how will that content express itself 1.  Channels > Process > Promotion > Measure

CONTENT IS NOT A TACTIC

LET’S REVIEW: Write It Down. Make It Real.

GOALS: Pick two business goals. 1.  Where you could improve

something you’re already doing 2.  A Stretch Goal that you think an

innovative content marketing program could achieve

Format: X Goal in Y Time With Z Constraint Example: Deliver 25% more leads in 9 months w/ same CPL or less.

IDEAS: Two ideas to meet these goals 1.  What would you change to something

you’re already doing to infuse CM? What out-of-the-box idea would you try if you could?

Example: •  Create content to entertain people and

make them laugh about what might be considered “serious” heavy machinery.

•  Create a thought leadership program that will drive better leads into sales

1. CAT – Built For It

2.4m views / earned

2. Demandbase Education $1m new business

Act Two Starting With Why The Heart Of The Story

“The opportunity today is not thousands of markets with millions of buyers. It’s millions of markets each with thousands of buyers.”

560 / Day

3,000 / Day

13,000 / Day

In 2015 it’s the delight that matters. We have to not only GRAB attention from the audiences that matter. We have to hold it, so that WE matter to them.

Ryan asks Miley to the prom

What does the fox say?

Corning: A Day In The Life OF Glass

1,000,000 Views

6 Years Human Time 400,000,000 Views

1,200 Years Human Time

21,000,000 Views220 Years Of Human Time

But that’s not even the most interesting thing…

2m – Avg over first week7.4 million in first month

1.3 Approx: TV Rating

Rosanna Pansino

1.3 TV Rating – 2 million viewers 6/14/14

4  WEEK FLIGHT!!5 Minute Commercial!$50K 30 SEC = $500,000

1  Week  Of  Videos  Average:  200  Views    Some:  10,000  views    

Avg. <7,000 Views

New Audiences For Blog

Direct engagement with specific customers AT&T New York Times, Verizon

1st Cisco content aired on TV - For Free

The Network Effect

1,000,000 Views But Only 1 Counted

Audience

•  Alumni

•  Staff / Professors / Contractors

•  Local Businesses

•  State Businesses

•  National Businesses

•  Government (Local, State, Federal)

•  Non-Profits •  Sports Franchises

•  And on and on….

Buyers •  Parents •  Students

You should never have trouble developing a WHO.

If your buyer persona is someone who “doesn’t consume content” –there is an AUDIENCE WHO DOES.

Do this: Walk through your main persona’s buying cycle and then ask yourself – where they typically enter your sales cycle. If it’s at the middle or the end ask yourself “who influences that?”

Your First Homework Assignment…..

…draw an influence map.

An example…

Product Engineers

Procurement Manager

Awareness Stuff

RFI Received Proof Demo RFP Procurement

Product Designer

CEO

CONCEPT

What story can we tell to CEO’s & Product Designers?

Student  

Parent  

Alumni  

Local  Business  

Na+onal  Business  

Local  Government  

An example…

Core Persona: Student

Audience Personas:

•  Parent

•  Alumni

•  Local Business Owners

•  National Business Executives

Prod. Dev. R&D People Procurement

CUSTOMER: CEO’s Associations Food Magazine Editors Chefs / Bartenders Planners

A Different Story:

Instead of creating content trying to influence the Product Development people. Create content around being a “taste-maker” and influence Chefs and Bartenders about the newest flavors that are becoming hip.

AUDIENCE:

An example…

The Windows Integrated Management Program (the WIMP) Let’s look at some audience personas – and how we might start to develop them Our “Buyer Persona” is the CIO or VP of Technology. Buuuut… we seem to always be called in during the RFP process… never before

Welcome to Wimpy Tech….

•  Meet Jeremy •  Mid 30’s – Coffee Lover

•  Works at a bank

•  Responds to email: phone not so much

•  Young, family man

•  Sales USP: Enable Jeremy to be 25% more effective

•  Personal (Audience) UVP: Give me more time to be me

•  Where does Jeremy’s UVP – tie into the brand story we want to tell

•  Free online tools for predicted time saving

•  Content on how peers are creating a quality life

•  News and trends that keeps him up to date

Let’s get to the personal UVP…

•  Meet Cheryl •  The CFO at the bank…

•  Influential in creating demand

•  Sales USP: Save the organization 100’s of thousands of dollars

•  Personal (Audience) UVP: make me a CFO Rockstar

•  Thought leadership: predictive analytics change CFO’s manage finances

•  Invite HER to write about how she leverages technology (or her peers)

•  CFO-Only Events on how dashboards are changing the industry

Getting to the personal UVP….

Put your reporter hat on...

•  WHO is the persona ... emotionally attached

•  WHAT does he/she do? What does her day look like?

•  WHERE is the gap in his needs/wants Even beyond our product or service

•  WHEN do they need to close this gap

•  WHY does he care about US - Not our product

Go get the real story

DEVELOP  TWO  IDEAS    

Take your goals and your idea and as we go through this next section – think about choosing one of each, and deciding on a WHO (either audience or core) you will target with this.  

“Today, TV is a bigger business than the old narrowly defined movie business ever was. Had Hollywood been customer-oriented (providing entertainment) rather than product oriented (making movies), would it have gone through the fiscal purgatory that it did?”

- Theodore Levitt Marketing Myopia

“People don’t buy WHAT you do, they buy WHY you do it.”

- Simon Sinek

“The king walked through the misty forest, the prince walked through the misty forest and the queen walked through the misty forest.”

- Plot

as they danced... the trees transformed into giant dragons.....”  

“The king walked through the misty forest, followed by the queen and prince who danced through the misty forest...

- Story

Modular Data Centers Typical Services Methodology: Plan, Design, Build, Maintain Benefits/Features We’re Better, We’re Faster, We’re Cheaper

Content Marketing Program: Directed at the IT (CIO) side of the business. Topic/Idea: Modularized Data Centers: The Future

•  Blogs talking about how they work •  Success stories about them.. •  Video of time lapse of building one... •  How our company does them faster... •  Types of infrastructures - detailed

specifications...

Getting to why…

Content Marketing Program: Directed at the IT (CIO) side of the business. Topic: Modularized / Containerized Data Centers: The Future

Why is this topic important to CIO’s

Because our MC Data centers are less expensive and more agile than traditional data centers

The 5 Why’s…

Why is it important for CIO’s to have less expensive and more agile data centers?

Because the needs of computing in the business are rising exponentially, and CIO’s need to have faster/less expensive ways to manage their costs

The 5 Why’s…

Why is it important for CIO’s to know about ways to manage costs and be faster?

Because if they stay current with these future trends, then they can expand their business more quickly and have a competitive advantage.

The 5 Why’s…

Why is it important for CIO’s to about how future trends can give their business a competitive advantage?

Because if they don’t stay ahead of the curve, their company may go out of business, or they may be out of a job.

The 5 Why’s…

Why is that important to CIO’s?

Because their livelihood depends on having this knowledge.

The 5 Why’s…

We believe in the office of the CIO But things are changing fast - and in order for them to stay competitive on the job market, they must stay ahead of the curve or they (or their company) will be out of business. So, we help them stay current by delivering the most important future trends to help them expand their business and create competitive advantage. The needs of business computing are rising exponentially, and CIO’s must keep up with ways to do things faster, and less expensively. Modularized, Containerized Data centers - and the trends and best practices in deploying them are a powerful new way for the CIO to stay competitive.

5 ���

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1  

And now – a bit of magic….

Content Marketing Program: Topic/Idea: The Lean And Mean CIO •  Why You aren’t ready for a mission critical business? •  CIO Profiles: The missing component from a mission critical

career?

•  Is Big Data Portable - Smart CIO’s Are Making Big Data Smaller.... •  Are YOU ready for Global data management •  MissionCriticalByDesign.Com

Getting to why….

Take the one of your goals – and one of your ideas – choose your persona and write them down. Find a partner, and go through the “5 Why’s”. Get to your deeper story. Create the mission. Bonus – for starting to think how it will work across different areas & types (e.g. Sales, PR, Social, etc…

Act Three Purpose Driven Content

Promoter Professor Preacher Poet

Professor Preacher Poet

B2B Financial Services Firm The Plan – “Let’s do some content”

•  Website: Daily - 3 “How To” Articles •  Blog: “The World’s Largest FAQ” Post •  Social: Daily posts on FB, Twitter Etc.. •  LinkedIn: Company Page, Blog Posts

From “Meh” to Okay…

•  SEO Results: Top 10 across 20 keywords •  Websites - 25% increase in traffic •  Blog: 100% increase in traffic •  Social: Thousands of likes, 5K followers

B2B Financial Services Firm The Plan: “Let’s Differentiate With Content”

•  More traffic not actually better •  SEO results great - but who cares? •  Realized - Less content and more “tentpole pieces” and re-use provided better quality traffic, helped sales more.

From Okay to “Good”:

•  Research studies (8 weeks production) •  Aggregate client data (quarterly, yearly) •  Industry/Influencer expertise

Financial Services Strategy Firm Plan: “Let’s delight our customers w/ content”

•  Average Approx 100 Subscribers •  Passionate Subscribers •  Top 5 reason for renewal •  4 New engagements from new clients

•  “You Are The Program” Conference •  150 Attendees (Limited) •  Waiting list now •  25 new projects (hallway conversations)

Professor Preacher Poet

1.  How can you create purpose-driven content?

•  Ask why you are creating that content? What is its purpose?

•  How does it fit into my ecosystem of content creation for my content mission?

•  Should I segment it by team? By agencies? Both?

2.  Where should I apply purpose-driven content? •  Probably at a stage of the funnel.. •  But maybe integrated for every experience… •  Or both. The key is to make a conscious

choice.

WHAT IS YOUR CONTENT’S PURPOSE

LET’S REVIEW: Write It Down. Make It Real.

Move from pairs to teams…. In your teams, use the pitch you’ve created (it will be rough) and take 5 minutes each to brainstorm 5-7 different types of content – for each category Goal: Get at least one or two types or initiatives of content for your idea in each category

Worksheet:  Content  Re-­‐Purposing  Review  Review  your  mission  &  your  ideas  for  content.  Start  thinking  how  they  might  flow  across  channels.    Collaborate  with  your  team  –  and  ul+mately  by  the  end  of  lunch  –  pick  one  of  your  ideas  to  work  on  as  a  team.  

BEFORE WE BREAK

LUNCH

Act Four Storymapping

EVERGREEN EPHEMERAL

PRODUCED

EXECUTIONAL

MISSION “create delicious meal

solutions for busy families”

INSIGHT & INTENT “better consumer data

& increased purchase intent”

AGENCIES  

MARCOM  SOCIAL  AGENCY  

MEDIA  AGENCY  

Financial Services Strategy Firm Mission: “Let’s delight our customers w/ content through a book club”

•  Promoter Content: •  Blog posts, email newsletter, brochure, etc..

The online community…

•  Professor Content •  The book reports,

•  Preacher Content •  Summaries of book reports in newsletters, and

testimonial posts for new members

•  Poet Content •  The books

Let’s start with success – what does it look like? What needs to be true? List/Prioritize in rank order. Showstoppers, and Easily tested Now – ideas/projects to make these true. Map them into phases. If a critical assumption isn’t true – then revise, learn and iterate. Lots of small steps.

Ingredients  Of  A  Story  Map  1.  THE  WHY  

Our  Content  Mission  A.  Who?  B.  Content  Mission  (Story)  C.  Narra+ve  +meline  

 2.  THE  WHAT  

The  Business  Mission  A.  Our  Goal  (success)  B.  Differen+a+on  C.  Integra+on  into  

marke+ng    

Then it becomes a question of.. 3… How?

Here are most marketing projects: Broad range of campaigns Winnow and place our bets on campaigns/projects Map into phrases:

Plan, Development, Launch, Manage Separate these phases by stage gates.

Go/No Go – Move On or Kill It

Experiences are not campaigns… Key decisions based on: •  What we know – prior results •  What we’re guessing – WAG •  Current risks – Can we

deliver? What does that do? •  Risky, innovative – potentially

meaningful - things always die •  Incremental “safe” things go

forward •  We Koboyashi Maru the

results

The goal remains the same – but assumptions to reach the goal are what must be changed. Leaders in the business can help clear the way for the assumptions rather than view practitioners as trying to move the goalpost. Most failure in marketing comes from failing to ask the right question, not because of the accuracy, detail or our ability to get an answer.

Shine the light on meaning, not numbers

Business Case: Mapping Measurement IDEA:

We can help our clients live their lives more fully. Our audience is the busy, overworked investment banker.

They don’t have time for much more than work. We believe, that our passion and expertise, can deliver

value about books to read, movies to watch and events to attend that would help them not be better investors

but to live their lives more fully.

INSERT YOUR CONTENT MARKETING MISSION HERE

Business Case: Mapping Measurement

? What needs to be true…. And by when!! -  We need to be building audience and subscribers

right away. And we need to get at least 25 clients engaged right away for a test to build test case

-  We need to be adding at least 60 clients a month by six months in.

-  We need to review much of the content internally – and buy books to drop ship – review costs over time and bulk buys

-  We need to increase renewals from 70% to 84%.

AWARENESS

ESTABLISH HERO

LIFTOFF

90 DaysContent Creation80% Preacher20% Professor

250 Subscribers150 In LinkedIn GroupIncrease renewals by 20%

Expand Into New Physical Events.

75 Subscribers50 In LinkedIn GroupFirst books go out.Averaging 60 signups per month.Value Test Validated

25 SubscriberBeta TestTest Books – And ReportsAverage 50 signups In first Month.

90-180 DaysContent Creation40% Preacher60% Poet

180 - 270 DaysContent Creation10% Preacher / Curated5% Professor80% Poet

EditorialStrategy &Calendar

A Story Map

A Story Map Example

A Story Map Example

Take  your  “pitch  idea”  and  start  your  story  map.  What  does  it  look  like?    Iden+fy  phases,  rollout  among  channels  and  iden+fy  the  metrics  for  success.    It  becomes  your  ini+al  form.  Remember  the  ask  is  the  process,  not  the  form.  But  it  can  be  the  proof  of  concept  –  or  beta  –  or  test  to  go  get  buy-­‐in  from  your  team.    

Curtain Call Your turn to report back…