does content marketing really work?

Does Content Marketing Really Work?

James Ellis @TheWarForTalent #ContentJam

Please tweet:

At #contentjam. @TheWarForTalent just rickrolled me and I loved it

Data! (Don’t be scared)

People who saw content…

Were 31% less likely to apply for a job

Does Content Marketing Really Work? NO.

james ellis VP, Inbound Marketing TMP Worldwide @TheWarForTalent saltlab.com

Thank you!

sorry.

Does Content Marketing Really Work?

Not the way most people do it.

Content Marketing Is Not Pixie Dust

You can’t just sprinkle it on your site and make magical things happen.

There’s a simple way to make it work

It’s not about the writing

There’s a simple way to make it work

It’s not about the creativity

There’s a simple way to make it work

It’s not about the design

There’s a simple way to make it work

It’s not about the social strategy

You only need to know one thing:

Whoever knows their audience better wins.

Tweet it! bit.ly/cjam2016

Know your audience?

•  What do you know about that person? •  Do you know how old they are and where

they live? •  Do they surf on their laptop or phone more? •  When they are on their phone, are they

more likely to be playing Pokemon Go or listening to a podcast?

•  When do they need your product? •  When do they usually realize they need your

product? •  When they need your product, is your name

top of mind? •  When someone needs your product, what

do they do next? Google? Consumer Reports? TheWirecutter? Their friends? Facebook and Twitter? LinkedIn? Yelp? Google Maps? Indeed?

•  Is there a long sales cycle? Do you need to focus on the top of the funnel or farther down?

You can’t talk to a million customers

You can only talk to one person

Super Bowl ads suck

It’s like pitching

•  Mid-wife services to a retirement community

•  iPhones to a Google conference •  Fiats at a NASCAR race •  Trump to Mexicans •  Cowboy boots to Toronto •  Drake music at a rodeo •  Trump at the Source Awards •  Hillary on Fox News •  Skydiving lessons to people scared of

heights •  Mops to people with maids •  Trump at a grammar convention •  Birth Control Pills at an LGBTQ rally •  OJ at a Bronco convention •  Taylor Swift at Kanye’s house •  Snowden to the CIA •  Sunlamps to goths •  Calm rational Twittering to Trump

Knowing your audience means:

Understanding the need, the tools, their process

Take a moment

Tweet it! bit.ly/cjam2016a

What you want is Relevance

Right message Right person Right time

Content is not aggregate

People don’t read your whole site. They read a page and then make a decision.

Which is another word for Intent

Who was the message intended for? What was it intended to make them do?

If you know the intention You can measure

the outcome

Attraction

Build consideration

Validate decision

Intent: Attract readers

Metric: Incoming traffic

Intent: Build consideration

Metric: New visit % Pages/visit Micro-conversion

Intent: Validate Decision

Metric: Conversion rate

Please note! One piece of content does ONE THING

Attraction content doesn’t convert Validation content doesn’t attract

james ellis VP, Inbound Marketing TMP Worldwide @TheWarForTalent saltlab.com

Thank you!