john lane - centerline digital - dmfb conference 2014 - how to walk on the sea of content
DESCRIPTION
How To Walk On The Sea Of Content. There are two really big things that keep content marketing from working as well as it could for you: 1. Too much focus on quantity, rather than quality. 2. Not truly understanding your audience. And they are related. I think that most people revert to creating more rather than "more valuable" because they don't understand their audience well enough to know what more valuable means. So on quantity... we are in our own way. We're content hoarders. We think if a piece of content gets 1 view per month it must be good and worth keeping. That simply isn't true. Be willing the edit – promote more, iterate or replace. And we'll never be able to stop the quantity problem completely. Because even if we only put out the best quality content around a topic, we'll still be competing with all the content made be everyone else in the space. And that's where audience understanding comes in. The better we know our audience — as humans, not canned personas — the better we can create the content they crave, and the better optimized it will be for the right audience to find it, engage with it, and share it. That type of understanding is an ongoing process, not a moment in time. This presentation given at the Digital Marketing For Business conference covers those two points, and provides strategies on overcoming both challenges. For more info, please visit http://www.centerline.net or contact me (John Lane) via Twitter: @johnvlane Thanks!TRANSCRIPT
| @johnvlane
We…
content…| @johnvlane
We are drowning in
content.| @johnvlane
…what we need is more
| @johnvlane
How To Walk On The Sea Of Content
Big Point 1.There’s too much focus on
quantity of content as the path to content marketing success.
| @johnvlane
| @johnvlane
| @johnvlane
What does drowning look like?
| @johnvlane
680,000+ Videos when searching for “IBM”
12,100+ Videos when searching for “IBM System z”
| @johnvlane
44,987+ Instagram Images Tagged #IBM
Accurate?Owned?Is all this content…
On Brand?
| @johnvlane
You’re not IBM. !
But you have the same challenge. !
(Or worse.)| @johnvlane
164,000,000+ Results For “Content Marketing Agency”
| @johnvlane
Specifc Searches Don’t Necessarily Narrow The Field (But They’re Important)
| @johnvlane
| @johnvlane
We’re Content Hoarders
| @johnvlane
We’re Content Hoarders
YOU ARE HERE
| @johnvlane
Big Content v. Small Ball
| @johnvlane
| @johnvlane
BUY
COMPARE
SOLVE
LEARN
AWARENESS
LANDING PAGES/ MICROSITES
CUSTOMER REFERENCES
THOUGHT LEADERSHIP PIECES
SALES ENABLEMENT TOOLS
ASSESSMENT TOOLS/ ROI CALCULATORS
SERIOUS GAMES/ SIMULATIONS
PRODUCT/SERVICE DEMOS
DIGITAL ADS SEO/SEM
TRADITIONAL ADS
OVERVIEW VIDEOS/ ANIMATIONS
Goals Are About Movement
| @johnvlane
Yes, content marketing is a daily discipline (kind of). !
But it’s actually more of a relevance discipline.
| @johnvlane
Quantity of content is a problem we can never completely overcome. !
(We can only control ourselves.)
| @johnvlane
Big Point 2.We truly believe we know our audience
| @johnvlane
but we really don’t know them at all.
Persona Creation
But…
| @johnvlane
Who The Hell Are These People, Really?
| @johnvlane
Who The Hell Are These People, Really?
What’s so funny?
And why doesn’t she get the joke?
| @johnvlane
Heisenberg’s Uncertainty Principle
| @johnvlane
“We’re looking at who’s written those comments, what their influence is and what comments have the most potential for helping us create new content.” !
Iain Tait - Global Interactive Creative Director at Wieden+Kennedy
| @johnvlane
So… What Really Comes First?
To strengthen the connection between audience and content:
Focus on relevance.
| @johnvlane
| @johnvlane
How do you determine what relevance means? !
(And address both our big points.)
| @johnvlane
| @johnvlane
Content Inventory, Audit, Gap Analysis.
| @johnvlane
Content Inventory, Audit, Gap Analysis.
| @johnvlane
Create New Math
World Relevance
Age + Accuracy + Utility + Channel Distribution
Brand Relevance
Message + Design + Effectiveness
Map To “Moments Of Need”
| @johnvlane
Tools To Help You Get To “Why”
| @johnvlane
Feedback Loops
| @johnvlane
Feedback Loops
CREATE
DELIVER
ACTIVATE
Edit — The Content Lifecycle Optimization
Replace Iterate Promote
| @johnvlane
PLAN MONITOR &!MEASURE
| @johnvlane
Staying Afloat? Swimming? Walking On Water?
| @johnvlane
| @johnvlane
Thank you!Connect here:
Here: Here: Here:
And here, too:
centerline.net twitter.com/johnvlane twitter.com/centerline linkedin.com/in/johnvlane facebook.com/centerlinedigital
| @johnvlane
ResourcesTom Webster: “Why You Don’t Need Content Strategy” “Rolex: How A 109-Year-Old Brand Thrives In The Digital Age” Rand Fishkin: “Content Marketers Could Become Their Own Worst Enemy” “Content Marketing Will Never Work” from Travelblather “The Big Problem Of Ad Fatigue” Centerline Digital: Content Planning Guide “How To Create and Customize Pivot Tables In Excel” 5 Whys (via Wikipedia) The Brand Gap Book The Brand Gap on SlideShare
| @johnvlane