content marketing 2016 conference in prague by dominik grau

Transforming a 200-year old

media companyNovember 2016, Prag

@dominikgrau

Dominik GrauChief Innovation OfficerEbner Media Group

• 2011-2015: Managing Director, Ebner USA• 2007-2011: Director Online, IDG Germany• 2006-2007: Editor in Chief, Burda (BurdaYukom)• 2003-2006: Author/Trainee, Burda (Chip.de)• 2002-2004: Research & IT, University of Munich• 1995-2002: Website Projects, IT Infrastructure

@dominikgrau // [email protected]

Special Interest MediaB2B MagazinesWebinars, EventsProduct DatabaseCataloguesPhone Books, DirectoriesApps, Videos, Podcasts

We‘re a niche media company

In 2011 we were very profitable but our business declined

If content is our core asset…..

…..do we treat it like this?

Are we really getting the most out of it?


Think about your White Target Group


What a tremendous waste of energy!

We did reach only a few readers due to the physical limitation of our vehicle

Researching, Analysing, Testing, Traveling, Interviewing, Photographing, Thinking, Writing, Rewriting, Layouting,

Printing, Shipping


Don‘t try to innovate in old structures•We reorganised the company •Not the product, the community (= target audience) is pivotal

•New structure, new hierarchies, new job descriptions, new responsabilities


Content and knowledge matters

They don‘t want ads

Deeply analyze your target group•Analyze their search habits•Monitor their social media habits•Build personas• Identify the influencers•Create multiple touchpoints


Essential Strategy: Unlock the power of MIUs•Minimum Information Units (MIU)•Every piece of content consists of many MIUs•MIUs can be distributed widely•They can be powerful tools to grow your reach


One Article = Tons of Content•10 MIUs

•4 main text modules structured from 1 to 4•1 interview•4 abstracts•1 checklist


Print and Forget?Recycling!!!

Write and Reuse!


The Principle of Embedded Marketing

"As you know, the age of the Internet has turned editors into marketers who are responsible for their content.“ Don Nicholas, Mequoda Group

The editor‘s job: create the widest possible reach


„analyze!“ (the topic)„define!“ (the channels)„investigate!“ (the story)„produce!“ (the content)„market!“ (through all channels)„measure!“ (your success)

What we tell our editors


An approach like this alienates a typical editor

We needed editors with a different approach. People who were willing not only to report but to contribute.

Transaction Editors (TE)


Traditional Editor- writes high-quality content- has industry expertise, is widely respected- helps new editors to create evergreens New Role: Transaction Editor- turns print content into digital evergreens- works closely with traditional editor- knows social media, videos, mobile, analytics- manages paid content, shop products


The transformation resulted in a profit growth

of 71% vs 2014


Evergreen Content is a key element of our

transformation


Digital growth at a typical Ebner brand


• Short lifespan• Short engagement• Low growth potential• No must-haves• Commodity• Slow monetization

News

• Long lifespan• Constant engagement• High growth potential• Must-have content• Exclusivity• Deep monetization

Evergreens

Transformation = Focus on Evergreens!


Evergreen Content?

Photo: Getty Images @dominikgrau // [email protected]

Evergreen Content!


Ebner Evergreen Workflow & Tools

Illustration: Mequoda; Ebner @dominikgrau // [email protected]

The 7-Step Evergreen Strategy


Step 1: AUDIENCE – create personas

Step 2: KEYWORDS – identify & test topics

Step 3: SCHEDULE – daily, monthly, yearly

Step 4: UPDATE – every 90 days

Step 5: AMPLIFY – social media evergreens

Step 6: REPURPOSE – information units

Step 7: CONVERT – to e-mail & paid


• Analyze: find at least 2 potential audience groups• Ask: why do they need, how/when will they read my content• Goal: perfectly understand your audience’s world• Result: description for each persona, assign names

Step 1: Define audience, create personas

Photos: Ebner Media Group

4 Ebner personas


From Personas to ChannelsHannah Halbtag Katja Kann-Alles Arne Anspruch Paul Passiv

Website

Dienstleistungen

Weekly NL

Needs marketing how-tos and know how by experts

Wants personal advice and customized content for C-level readers

Needs newsletters and websites with user-centric content


• Research: find keywords (high volume, low competition)• Reconfirm: Google Trends; Adwords sample check• Retest: test social posts, analyze share patterns• Ebner websites: up to 7,000 keywords, 300 topics

Step 2: Build keyword families, identify potential topics

Illustration: Mequoda.com @dominikgrau // [email protected]

Step 3: Create a content plan and 24-hour schedule

Daily Schedule• 1 evergreen per weekday• Publish morning or evening

Monthly & Yearly Plan• 4 uber topics per month• Strategic focus, seasonal

Photo: Getty Images @dominikgrau // [email protected]

January 2017: Optimize full text, add photos/videos

October 2016: Minor updates, deep SEO review

July 2016: Add more text (100+ words)

April 2016: Add photos/videos/text (50+ words), SEO review

January 2016: First evergreen version (500+ words)

Step 4: Update every 90 days, promote across all channels

Illustration: Ebner Media Group @dominikgrau // [email protected]

One evergreen = many amplifiable information units!

• 45-day policy: repost evergreen links every 45 days• Facebook: retarget website users• Twitter: share evergreen links• LinkedIn: great for amplifying B2B evergreens• Youtube: publish evergreen videos or slideshows

Step 5: Social media amplification schedule


Step 6: Turn one evergreen into many evergreen pieces

Print Website

Newsletter

Facebook

Youtube

LinkedIn

Twitter

External Blogs

Wikipedia

Amazon eBook

Pinterest

PR Portals

1. FULL POST x x x2. Excerpts x x x x x x x x x3. Illustrations x x x x x x x x x x4. Key Facts x x x x x x x x x5. Photos x x x x x x x x x6. Audio x x x x x x7. Video x x x x x x


Step 7: Evergreens as conversion blockbusters

• Create Newsletter: automated updates, daily and weekly• Convert users to e-mail: popup, scroll bar, sidebar boxes• Goal 1: convert 1% of monthly uniques to newsletters• Goal 2: convert 10% of email users to paid (after 1 year)

Illustration: Mequoda.com @dominikgrau // [email protected]

CREATE1) AUDIENCE

2) KEYWORDS

3) SCHEDULE

COORDINATE4) UPDATE5) AMPLIFY

6) REPURPOSE

CONVERT to E-Mail

CONVERT to Paid

Evergreen Conversion = Digital Growth & Revenues


Enlarged Target Group

Core Target Group(Collectors, Aficionados)

MagazinePortal

NewsletterFacebookYoutubeLinkedIn

Xing (Germany)

BlogsCompany Homepages

Wikipedia

Amazon

Twitter

Pinterest

PR Portals

New Ebner = Evergreen Content & E-Commerce


Dominik GrauChief Innovation Officer, Ebner Media Group

Twitter: @dominikgraulinkedin.com/in/[email protected]

Thank You!