building your content marketing strategy

rightsourcemarketing.com

Content Marketing Strategy

January, 2014

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About Me

Chief Marketing Technology Officer

Content Marketing Institute Consultant

Dad, BBQ Fan Featured in Gourmet

Magazine @willdavis @rightsource

#MDSG


The Game Has Changed



6


The Game Has Changed Buyers are educating themselves Corporate Executive Board - 60% of a buyer’s decision-making

process in B2B is complete before they even talk to a salesperson

Sirius Decisions cites that number at 70% IDG Research: Enterprise organizations download an average

of 10 informational assets during the purchase process.


The Game Has Changed78% of chief marketing officers think custom content is the future of marketing. (Source: Hanley-Wood Business Media)

78%

The average, annual spend on branded content outsourcing was a $371,364, and $987,417 for companies that exclusively outsource. (Source: Custom Content Council)

$987,417

58% of consumers trust editorial content. (Source: Nielsen)

58%

Companies with over 1,000 employees typically allocate 24% of their marketing budget to content. (Source: Content Marketing Institute and Marketing Profs)

24%

82% of consumers like reading content from brands when it’s relevant. (Source: The CMA)

82%

http://hanleywoodbusinessmedia.com/files/custom_solutions_brochure.pdf

http://www.customcontentcouncil.com/news/new-survey-shows-continued-growth-content-spending

http://www.google.com/url?q=http://heidicohen.com/infographic-how-to-make-the-case-for-content-marketing/&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNHlr-ZjGC5HouYklESaqeUwy1aXxw

http://contentmarketinginstitute.com/2012/10/2013-b2b-content-marketing-research/

http://www.the-cma.com/uploads/documents/cma-01.jpg


Content Marketing Planning Only 44% of B2B Marketers have a written content marketing

strategy Only 11% of companies that rate content marketing as

ineffective have a written strategy B2B Marketers with a content marketing strategy are 600%

more likely to be effective 2/3 of B2B Marketers without a content marketing strategy

are creating more content now than they did in the previous year

View full CMI Research

http://contentmarketinginstitute.com/research/


Strategy Still Wins

Image Source: Placester.com


What is Content Marketing?

Content marketing is a marketing technique of creating and distributing relevant and valuable content to attract, acquire, and engage a clearly defined and understood target audience – with the objective of driving profitable customer action.

Image Source: Content Marketing Institute


The Content Marketer’s Mindset

Content marketing is not another tactic

Content marketing is not another line item

Content marketing impacts marketing AND customer service, public relations, recruiting and more


How Do I Attack Content Marketing?First, understand that content creation is merely one, isolated, basic step.

Content Planning Content Creation Content Optimization Content Distribution Content Reporting and Analysis


Why Are We Doing This?

“Brands have to become publishers”

…but brands have different business models and business goals than publishers.


Content Supports Business Objectives

Yours probably isn’t selling ad impressions

How does your content marketing strategy fit in with the business strategy to drive business results?


Content Supports Business Objectives

Business Objectives

Business Strategy

Marketing Objectives

Marketing Strategy

Content Objectives

Content Strategy

Content Tactics

Content

Metrics

Credit: Jay Baer/CMI


Content Strategy Comes From:

Business Objectives

Business Strategy

Marketing Objectives

Marketing Strategy

Content Objectives

Content Strategy

Content Tactics

Content

Metrics

Business objectives (business plan)

Marketing objectives (marketing plan)

Content objectives (content plan)


Answer these 12 questions

1. Why are we doing this?2. What’s the goal?3. What is our unique story?4. Who is our audience?5. Who is on our team? What

is everyone’s role?6. Who will handle each

piece of content marketing?

7. What are our primary themes?

8. What types of content should we create?

9. When will each piece of content get published?

10. How will we distribute each piece of content?

11. How will we report on the content marketing effort?

12. What’s the budget?


Understanding Your Audience Who are your buyers and influencers? What do they care about? What problems do

they face? How can you help

solve them? What are their

objections?

VP Marketin

g

CFOIT Director


Example: Consulting Firm Helps clients solve complex challenges across the

industry spectrum From public companies to private companies to

investors A nimble, experienced, unique team of expert

advisors, analyzers and problem solvers


Buyers/Influencers Large Company BD (VP Strategy or BD) Smaller Firm C-Level Exec (CEO, COO) Investors, VCs (Managing Partner) Chief Financial Officer Chief Technology Officer Chief Medical Officer


What Are Their Questions? Address Who can help us commercialize our tech? Who can we acquire that does XYZ? What is their background? Who have they worked with that’s like me? What are their specialties? How do they understand my company’s unique

challenges? How do they work?


…And So Many More From: Talking with your clients Talking with your prospects Talking with your got-aways Talking with your sales team Reviewing analytics Reviewing industry trends Online research RFP Questions


Informed Content - Keywords


Informed Content – Keyword Trends


Address Questions With Content Different content topics for different buyers Different content topics for different stages

Different content types for different buyers Different content types for different stages


Editorial Calendar


Content Plan


Content Pyramid


The Content Creation Challenge Goal for each piece of content– In line with overall marketing goal?

Stick to the plan– If you wander, the audience wanders

Dedicated content staff– Content creation duties can’t be shoehorned into existing

jobs– Hire dedicated staff or outsource– Writers should be great, not just good


The Content Creation Challenge Provide writers (internal or outsourced) with: – Background– Story framework– Access to experts– “Garbage in, garbage out”

Have content ready as back-up for emergencies Enlist staff for content ideas


The Content Creation Challenge Keep the pipeline full of ideas– Brainstorm– What questions are customers/prospects asking? – Spin off new topics from a successful idea– Create series

Make sure enough content is in progress at all times Edit– Anything less than remarkable will be lost in the sea of

mediocrity


Make It Remarkable

2,000,000 blog posts

294,000,000,000 emails

864,000 hours of video


Content Optimization Not just for search engines (the robots) but buyers

(the humans) too What do you want them to do? What calls to action (CTAs)

should you include? AKA – “Uh, Now what?”


Content Optimization - Lead Capture “Forms are the enemy of spread” – but… “You can’t have a prospect if you don’t know who

they are” Determine what information is worth a “gate” (fewer,

but known readers) and what isn’t Determine follow-up process – be helpful but not

creepy


Content Distribution Where does your target audience live, online and off

(Google, Compete, Alexa) Write down 5 sites right now!– Social media as part of your content strategy– Guest blogging– Co-branded webinars, seminars, events– Email (don’t miss out on this one)– Print – Mobile


Email: The Oldest Social Network 1-Offs and Group Newsletters


Content Distribution: A Story

July 25, 2013: Shared/viewed by 100s



July 26, 2013: Shared/viewed by 10,000s



August 2, 2013: Shared/viewed by 100,000s



August 2, 2013: Shared/viewed by 1,000,000s?


Content Marketing vs. Social Media

44

Image Source: Pew Internet

Don’t let the social media tail wag the content marketing dog!


Set Up Conversion Opportunities eBook Guide Webinar

(live or recorded) Email Newsletter White Paper


Content Reporting & Analysis

Consumption • Traffic• Page views• Downloads

Sharing• LinkedIn shares• Tweets• Emails

Lead Generation• Lead forms• Phone calls

Revenue• $$$$

Measure everything that you possibly can But - report very few, very business-focused KPIs Discard vanity metrics wherever possible How do KPIs align with business objectives?


Tools Of The Trade


Track And Manage Prospects Leverage your best content for your best leads Use technology to nurture your leads Do everything you can to track activities to revenue

generated


Track And Manage Prospects


Closed Loop ROI


Additional Benefits Recruiting Client Retention Employee Retention Sales/Marketing Relationship Raising Capital Reinforce Company Messaging Public Relations …and more


Thank You!

will@rightsourcemarketing.comwww.rightsourcemarketing.comwww.marketingtrenches.com

Free eBook: How

to Grow Your Business with Content

Marketing

Will DavisRight Source Marketing@willdavis

http://www.rightsourcemarketing.com/featured-ebook/?utm_source=ama&utm_medium=presentation&utm_campaign=amabaltcm




building your content marketing strategy

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