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Byron White's presentation for Internet Marketing Club, August 31st, 2011.TRANSCRIPT
The Proven Methodology to Improve Conversions!
Byron WhiteChief Idea OfficerideaLaunch
Internet Marketing ClubWednesday August 31, 2011
10 Golden Rules
Content Marketing Chaos vs. Clarity
The ContentMarketing Revolution
Improve Conversions Intelligently—The Content Marketing Way
What isContent Marketing?
It’s the art of listening to your customers’ wants and needs
Search Box
Social Media
Web Analytics
Keyword Popularity
Customer Service
Questionnaires
And the science of delivering it to them in a compelling way
Articles
Blogs
Books
eBooks
RSS Feeds
Printed Books
Newsletters
Videos
Web
Widgets
It’s catching readers orbiting at high speeds
Applet
Desktop
Events
Information Portals
Mobile
Podcasts
RSS Feeds
Social Networks
News
With information they want and need
Love It Metrics
Downloads
Time on Site
Repeat Visitation
Send to Friend
Post to Network
Link to Page
It’s testing campaigns to learn what works best
A/B Testing
Multivariate Testing
Eye Track Testing
Segmentation Testing
Geo Target Testing
Usability Testing
Content Testing
And finding the most efficient path to engagement and sales
The Trust Pipeline
Score Engagement
Qualify Lead
Evaluate Intent
Induce Trial
Motivate Purchase
Get the Sale
Correlate Assets to Sale
Improve Conversions Intelligently– The Content Marketing Way!
A Sneak Peak at the Conversion Formula
Content: Are you earning trust with information customers want and need?
Usability: Is your content and imagery optimized for conversion?
Motivation: Do you have clear reasons to buy and not try the competition?
Incentive: Are you offering any incentives, trial or reward?
Friction: Have you identified potential resistance and reduced the pain points?
Anxiety: Have you pinpointed the concerns and resolved the issues?
Conversion = (Content + Usability + Motivation + Incentive) - (Friction + Anxiety)
The Six Step Content Marketing Process and Workflow
Step 1 Content Planning
What’s in the Content Plan?
Competitive Research
Customer Research
Market Share Research
Style Guide
Content Asset Allocation
Why create a Content Plan?
How much content?
How frequently?
How good is it?
What distribution channels?
Competitive Research
Content Asset and Topic Research
Competitive Quantity, Frequency and Quality
Competitive Social Research
Widgets and Apps Research
Research Summary
Content Asset YourSite.com Competitor.com
Traffic A C
PPC Spend B A
Content Portfolio B B
Content Authority C B
Publishing Frequency D C
Social Reach F D
Social Conversations F F
Testimonials A F
Partnerships B A
Internal Links C B
Inbound Links C C
SEO Strength A C
SEO Performance B A
Testing Methodology A B
Customer Research
• Search Box. Track what prospects are looking for and what they find.
• FAQs. Review what customers ask for and the language used.
• Customer Service Reps. Learn the FAQs and knowledge requests.
• Customers. Speak with customers and learn the wants and needs.
• Analytics. Discover the source of traffic and navigational pathways.
• Surveys. Ask for feedback on your content, navigation and methodology.
Customer Personas
Customer Personas
Style Guide
Step 2 Content Creation
How good? + Customer Wants and Needs+ Access to Industry Expert Writers+ Conversion Influence+ Cost for Conversion Ratio
How much? + Content Curation+ Topic Research+ Competitive Intelligence+ Link Popularity+ Market Share Value
How often?+ Competitive Publishing Frequency+ Timeliness and Contextual Relevancy+ Conversational and Contagious
Indentify your company’s mantra as the starting point
Winning is Everything Green Bay Packers
Think IBM
Fun Family Entertainment Disney
Save Babies March of Dimes
Healthy Fast Food Wendy’s
Kick Butt in Air and Space Air Force
The Art of the Start, Guy Kawasaki
Get in tune with customer 2.0 wants and needs
Customers Needs
• Credibility, Belief and Logic
• Exposure to New Information
• To Laugh
• Mystery and Bravery
• Surprise and Delight
Content Critical by Gerry McGovern and Rob Norton
2.0 Customers Needs
• Info in a Hurry
• Access to Specific Things
• Personalization
• Authority Advice
• Relevant Content
Hire great writers with great characteristics
Curiosity
Passionate Voice
Well Traversed
Make Meaning
Keep it Simple
Less is More
Short and Sweet
Fresh Insight
Results Driven
Inquisitive
Storytellers
Journalists
Researchers
Socratic
Optimizers
Knowledge Seekers
Wordsmiths
Deep Diggers
Big Picture Thinkers
Learn how and why to tell stories
Great Stories --> Solve problems
--> Teach us to be smart
--> Offer surprise and delight
--> Focus on “what happens next”
--> Introduce great characters
--> Are contagious
--> Engage readers
Sisomo by Kevin Roberts
Learn why some stories get passed on and on
Information A StoryFills You Up Moves You OnFacts ActsCiting ExcitingReams DreamsPromotional EmotionalStatic DramaticCheck lists Casts of CharactersCompiling CompellingAnnotated AnimatedFeeding the Brain Touching the HeartExpires Inspires
Create informational content that sells WITHOUT selling
Info Content
Speaking Events
White Papers
Webinars
Podcasts
Books
Online Courses
Workbooks
Press Releases
Step 3 Content Optimization
The SEO Plan
Competitive Intelligence
Keyword Research
Keyword Silos
Market Share Timestamp
Content Asset Allocation
Competitive Research: Lots of Free Tools
Free Research Tools
WordVision.com
SpyFu.com
Compete.com
Quantcast.com
SEOMajestic.com
Raven-SEO-Tools.com
Tools.SEOBook.com
SEOToolSet.com
LinkVendor.com
MarketLeap.com
Competitive Research
Competitive Research
Competitive Research
Competitive Research
Keyword Research and Filtering
Keyword Silos
Keyword Silo Strategy
Make easy for writers to optimize content for SEO
Make it easy for writers to score content for SEO
Time stamp the date you publish content
Time stamp the market share of your keyword silos
Time stamp your SEO performance in the search engines
Step 4 Content Editing
Advanced Editing Process
Content Plans
Topic Research
Style Guides
Writer Sampling
Editorial Revisions
Content Haiku
Brand Infusion
Fact Proofing
Technical Review
Legal Review
Engagement Testing
Delightful Verification
Great Editors are required to develop great content
“Writing is easy: All you do is sit staring at a blank piece of paper (screen) until the drops of blood form on your forehead.”
—Gene Fowler
“There’s nothing to writing. All you do is sit down at a keyboard and open a vein.”
—Red Smith
Great Editors know how to craft an engaging story
Information A Story
Fills You Up Moves You On
Facts Acts
Citing Exciting
Reams Dreams
Promotional Emotional
Static Dramatic
Check lists Casts of Characters
Compiling Compelling
Annotated Animated
Feeding the Brain Touching the Heart
Expires Inspires
Great Editors find your company’s Haiku and distinct voice
Haiku: Japanese 3 line poem, 17 syllablesDefine the style and tone that delights readers
Identify what type of content performs best
Modify content assets for different channels
Develop consistency within content assets
Great Editors understand the sales funnel
• Preliminary: Headlines, visuals, architecture and familial content.
• Investigating: Knowledge-seeking and trust-building opportunity
• Capability: Show how you solve problems and deliver on needs
• Action: Motivate sign up, download or buy
Step 5 Content Distribution
Distribution Channels
On-Site Distribution
Off-Site Distribution
Articles
Books
Courseware
eBooks
Podcasts
Printed Books
Tip Centers
Webinars
Whitepapers
Widgets
Workbooks
Video
Determine the right mix of content assets
On-Site distribution architecture with cross pollination
Off-Site distribution gets the words out and traffic in
Step 6 Content Performance
Listing Positions
Organic Traffic
Content Downloads
Sales Influenced by Content Assets
Time On Site
Return Visitors
User Acquisition Cost
Conversion Rates
Always test to mitigate the paradox of choice
• Too many choices with the new age of micro expansion
• New rules for complex decision making
• New meaning needs to be developed to find the best path
• New methodology needs to be formulated for big decisions
• New reward needs to surface with the right decision
The Paradox of Choice by Barry Schwartz
Apply the conversion formula to your testing workflow
Content: Are you earning trust with information customers want and need?
Usability: Is your content and imagery optimized for conversion?
Motivation: Do you have clear reasons to buy and not try the competition?
Incentive: Are you offering any incentives, trial or reward?
Friction: Have you identified potential resistance and reduced the pain points?
Anxiety: Have you pinpointed the concerns and resolved the issues?
Conversion = (Content + Usability + Motivation + Incentive) - (Friction + Anxiety)
Test “feel” words to improve conversion rates
Employment Sell Words
Entry Level Position
Excellent Growth Opportunity
Immediate Openings
Leading Company Seeks
Growing Company Seeks
Team Player
Strong Interpersonal Skill
Financially Motivated
Annual Performance Bonus
Team Environment
Financial Sell Words
You’re Already Pre-Approved
Cash Back Offer
Be Debt-Free in Weeks
Instant Financial Freedom
No Annual Fee
Pocket Extra Money
Low Introductory Rate
Fast Cash
Start Saving Now
Peace of Mind
Test “sell” words to improve conversion rates
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Test both positive and negative sell words
Negative Sell Words
Baffling
Blurred
Unclear
Bewildering
Mind-Boggling
Complicated
Convoluted
Perplexing
Puzzling
Mixed Up
Positive Sell Words
Persevering
Efficient
Hard-Driving
Proactive
Adaptable
Responsive
First-rate
Top-notch
Highly Competent
Powerful
Proven methodology delivers the conversion improvemement you demand
“The only marketing left is content marketing.” Seth Godin
Byron White, ideaLaunch
Chief Idea Officer
Twitter: @ByronWhite
Byron[at]ideaLaunch.com
Phone: 617-227-8800 x 201
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