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The Ultimate Guide to Branded Content
© 2014 NewsCred / NewsCred.com / (212) 989-4100 / [email protected]
Content Marketing is More Than Great StorytellingIt’s a relationship-building tool that
empowers consumers to make
educated and informed decisions
about your brand. It’s an authentic
way for organizations to add value
to their customers’ lives, fueling
happiness and trust. It’s a powerful
driver for generating engagement,
providing entertainment, and
inspiring brand affinity.
You know great content when you
see it — but the process of creating
high-quality content is easier said
than done. The growing content
marketing ecosystem has amplified
demand for top writers, and
when you’re creating content and
distributing at scale you need all the
talented help you can get — and you
need them fast.
© 2014 NewsCred 3
The Ultimate Guide to Branded Content
This guide will help you master the art of:
› Crafting an operational framework that grows with your company
› Cultivating a team of all-star freelancers who are experts in their field
› Pinpointing the right content software and tools
› Measuring the ROI of your branded and licensed content
› Building a newsroom that can handle high-volume content production with ease
© 2014 NewsCred 4
The Ultimate Guide to Branded Content
Table of Contents
01 Branded Content & the Marketing Ecosystem
02 Brand Journalism: Working with Freelancers
03 Creating a Brand Newsroom
04 Measuring Success: Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)
© 2014 NewsCred 05
01 Branded Content & the Marketing EcosystemThe Ultimate Guide to Branded Content
Branded Content & the Marketing Ecosystem
It’s an understatement to say that content has
become the heart and soul of marketing. The idea
revolves around a fundamental trend in consumer
behavior that today’s buyers are highly self-
directed and research-driven. By the time that they
reach out to your organization’s sales team, they’ve
likely made a decision about whether or not to do
business with your brand. Great content is a key
influencer in this decision making process.
The end result of content marketing is clear ROI for
your business. When executed correctly, content
becomes a brand asset — generating a steady
stream of leads, sales, and revenue.
Evergreen content has an infinite shelf life. Unlike
paid channel advertisements or social media posts
that lose relevancy within a few seconds, content
lives on the Internet forever and has the potential to
generate leads for years.
Write one amazing article and it will appreciate in
value by gaining momentum through search engine
rankings and incremental exposure through social
channels — as audiences discover great content,
they’ll feel inclined to share it for years to come.
Here are a few statistics that
demonstrate how B2B brands think
about content marketing. It’s no
surprise that:
› 80 percent of B2B marketers who have
a documented content strategy are
creating more content than they did
one year ago1
› Using content-driven tactics saves an
average of 13% in overall cost per lead2
› 58 percent of B2B marketers plan
to increase their content marketing
budgets by the end of 20143
› 82 percent of marketers who blog see
positive ROI for their content-driven
marketing4
© 2014 NewsCred 06
01 Branded Content & the Marketing EcosystemThe Ultimate Guide to Branded Content
Yahoo! uses a mix of original content to power its technology thought-
leadership portal, Yahoo! Tech. In addition to original content, Yahoo! is
leveraging the power of sponsored content to fill its content pipeline and
engage new audiences.
Yahoo! worked with Ford and NewsCred’s NewsRoom writer James Raia to
publish an original piece covering the intersection of the technology and
automotive industries. By leveraging Raia’s experience as a syndicated
automotive writer, Yahoo! Tech published a sponsored article on solar-powered
cars, which showcases both the Ford and Yahoo! brands.
Case Study: Yahoo! Tech’s “Original” Take on Solar-Powered Cars
Yahoo uses a mix of original content to power its new technology thought leadership portal, Yahoo! Tech
© 2014 NewsCred 07
01 Branded Content & the Marketing EcosystemThe Ultimate Guide to Branded Content
Creating Content That Resonates: Quality is a Must Content creation is a major pain point for many
brands. Organizations will frequently delegate
writing tasks to entry-level employees or team
members who aren’t professional writers.
Businesses think that they are making a wise,
cost-effective decision, but here’s the thing: you
wouldn’t hire a lawyer to be your engineer, and you
wouldn’t hire an engineer to be your CPA. Writing,
just like any discipline, is a specialty that requires
both talent and genuine interest. Today’s audiences
can easily tell the difference between great,
mediocre, and terrible writing.
Great content can help your brand
accomplish the following goals:
1. Tell a unique and compelling story
2. Demonstrate subject matter expertise
3. Entertain and educate audiences at scale
Hiring an intern just isn’t going to cut it. In a few
years, they may become amazing writers, but
when interns are just starting out, they’re not
going to have the subject matter expertise that
your brand’s audiences crave. Paying an overseas
content creator ten dollars a blog post isn’t going
to cut it either. Forcing your data crunchers to take
time out of their days to blog definitely won’t cut
it, and will only present a distraction from core job
responsibilities.
When it comes to content creation, quality is a
must. Online audiences are bombarded with
information — and the competition for consumer
eyeballs is fierce. Studies on web use have shown
that humans have an attention span of about
eight seconds. A pet goldfish? Approximately nine
seconds. To stand out, inspire audiences, and add
value for your brand, your content needs to be
awesome. “Good enough” won’t be enough.
By creating lackluster content — for the sake of
creating a high volume of content — brands actually
waste money. Create amazing content, however,
and your brand will lay the foundation for a high-
value lead pipeline.
Where Branded Content Fits In
You have several options for creating branded
content.
High-performing content strategies require a mix
of licensed, original, and social content. Licensed
content provides a powerful way to connect
audiences with high-quality information at scale
and in real-time. Contributed audience content
provides an opportunity for your brand’s best
advocates to share their unique and authentic
perspectives and experiences.
Branded content will take your marketing to the
next level. By creating an asset that doesn’t exist
anywhere else on the web, you’ll distinguish your
brand as a thought leader, developing instant
credibility and new audiences by working with
writers who are established industry experts.
Attention span of a
goldfish? 9 seconds.
A human? 8 seconds.
© 2014 NewsCred 08
01 Branded Content & the Marketing EcosystemThe Ultimate Guide to Branded Content
License content from publishers
Social content(user-generated content across channels, employee-generated content)
› High-value content from top
publishers is readily available, at
scale, for virtually any topic
› Highly cost-effective
› Vetted content that has undergone
multiple layers of editorial review
› Some of the best content that you’ll
find on the Internet — that already
has a track record for audience
engagement
› Extremely low-cost content channel
— it’s usually free
› Employees are typically available
and enthusiastic about helping
› In-house content can help build a
passionate brand culture
› Builds engagement with existing
stakeholders
› Some contributed articles may be
extremely compelling and high-
quality
› Brands have to renew licensing on a
semi-regular basis, even for evergreen
content
› NewsCred offers content from more than
4,500 publishers
› NewsCred provides access to millions of
full-text articles, images, and video
› NewsCred ensures that content is safe
and legally compliant for licensing
purposes
› Content requires detailed curation for
quality control
› Brands have limited control over
editorial direction
› Brands may need to tell their
audiences “no” to publishing a piece
of content (which is likely to upset
them)
› Editorial queues can be extremely
challenging to plan
› NewsCred has developed a library
of resources that explains how to
incorporate community engagement into
a holistic content strategy
StrengthsType of content Challenges Where NewsCred fits in
© 2014 NewsCred 09
01 Branded Content & the Marketing EcosystemThe Ultimate Guide to Branded Content
Create branded content
› Requires dedicated resources and
strategic planning
› Workflow can take time to fully
develop
› The process of sourcing writers can
be a challenge (they’re typically paid
extremely well and in high demand)
› NewsCred is the resource on content
marketing, and we’ve vetted and found
the best freelancers for your branded
content. The best freelancers work with
us because we don’t take any fee on
content – every dollar you spend on
original articles goes directly to your
freelance team. As the world’s leading
content marketing platform, we’ve also
partnered with some of the most world-
renowned content producers, including
Getty Images and Visually
› Additionally, our platform makes it easy
for you to manage your team of writers
and create real relationships with them.
They become an extension of your team
and brand
› Finally, freelancers love us. That’s
why we have the best. We’re taking
care of the difficult stuff like invoicing,
tax documentation, and payment
processing. You never have to worry
about getting your Accounts Payable
department to pay your freelancers – we
take care of that for you
› NewsCred’s Content Marketing Cloud
provides tools for brands looking to
source writers, build workflows, and
measure ROI
› You will tap into the expertise of
established, high-demand content
creators
› You will have an inventory of
dedicated, branded content from
writers with established track records
for inspiring audience engagement
› These are professionals who
know how to integrate your brand
perspective in all freelanced content
› Freelancers can help your organization
build a content production engine to
create high-quality pieces at scale
› Technology is available to help
streamline the content production
process
› Freelancers are often influential,
and are happy to share your brand’s
content with their own networks
StrengthsType of content Challenges Where NewsCred fits inStrengths
© 2014 NewsCred 10
02 Brand Journalism: Working with FreelancersThe Ultimate Guide to Branded Content
Brand Journalism: Working with Freelancers
When we think of freelancers, several stereotypes
come to mind:
› They’re constantly hungry (and desperate) for any
work
› They couldn’t cut it in the real world
› They’re not invested in your brand, and won’t take
the time to understand your goals
› Their core talents are writing and writing only
Marketing leaders who buy into these stereotypes
will face a shocking surprise. Freelancers are in
high demand and are often paid extremely well —
some earn more than $1,000 per blog post. These
professionals left the traditional workforce because
they are subject-matter experts. They’re constantly
recruited for full-time roles, but will frequently
turn these opportunities down. They’re extremely
hardworking, client-focused professionals who
chose self-employment as a path to becoming
leaders in what they do.
When it comes to content marketing, your freelance
contributors will become invaluable business
partners. They’ll help you cultivate your brand’s
strategy and share insights about what they’re
seeing every day on the playing field.
It’s in your company’s best interest to treat these
business partners with ultimate respect. If you want
great content, you need to pay your writers well.
You need to woo your writers and build a strong
rapport with them, especially with the demand for
high-quality content being higher than it has ever
been. Skilled content creators know that clients
(and amazing opportunities) will always be there.
Make it worth their while!
© 2014 NewsCred 11
02 Brand Journalism: Working with FreelancersThe Ultimate Guide to Branded Content
Why Top Content Creators Are Tough to Wrangle Marketing managers may think that recruiting
freelancers is as easy as reaching out to writers by
email or through LinkedIn. You may be surprised
that this process is much tougher and more time
consuming than you think.
Freelancers are small business owners who are
responsible for all business operations ranging
from sales to accounting and client services. In
other words, they’re unbelievably busy. They book
their services several months in advance, and
they’re spending their days doing more than just
writing. They’re highly focused on finding steady,
high-quality work. By building a reliable stream of
revenue with a client, freelancers can minimize the
administration necessary to manage their customer
relationships.
Brands can attract top freelancers by offering
competitive rates, being organized, and
communicating upcoming business plans. Focus
on building relationships, and get to know your
freelancers on an individual level. The more you
integrate freelancers with your full-time team, the
more empowered they will be to do great work for
your brand. Not to mention, you’ll have consistent
access to talented experts who will jump at the
chance to work with you.
Brands also need to be strategic about their
recruiting. Freelancers have varying interests,
skill sets, and areas of expertise. If you’re looking
for a technology writer, make sure that you’re
recruiting for the right background. Request to see
their portfolio, and check if they’ve freelanced for
notable brands. The more you can rely on your
writers’ expertise, the easier your job will be as a
marketer, brand editor, or program manager.
© 2014 NewsCred 12
02 Brand Journalism: Working with FreelancersThe Ultimate Guide to Branded Content
10 Best Practices to Embrace Your freelancers have the potential to be invaluable
business partners for your brand. Successful brand
editors are skilled team leaders who take the time
to get to know their freelancers on an individual
level and cultivate great ideas from their contributor
networks. Follow these ten best practices to build
the strongest relationship possible.
1. Share your brand strategy, editorial guidelines,
and goals Content marketing is strategy-driven.
Your freelancers will be well-positioned to deliver
great content when they can wholly understand the
goals behind your marketing campaign. The more
they understand your brand’s needs, the more
empowered they’ll be to recommend ideas and
insights as well.
2. Work with a consistent team of freelancers Your
freelancers are in it for the long haul. They care
about your brand and want to help you succeed.
These relationships take time to fully cultivate. A
consistent team of freelancers will take the time to
learn and care about your company’s marketing
goals.
3. Assess your freelancers’ strengths and
passions Top freelancers are in tune with their
skillsets. Give them the flexibility to create content
they’re passionate about. This enthusiasm will take
a project from good to amazing.
4. Pay freelancers immediately Every freelancer
— at some point — has been burned by non-paying
clients. Paying freelancers immediately is invaluable
to building trust. While your freelancers may not
be starving, they are likely wondering if and when
they’ll get paid. Independent contractors don’t have
the same legal safety nets of a big brand. Paying
freelancers upon submission is a powerful sign that
your brand values these business relationships.
5. Set expectations Failed business relationships
are, more often than not, the result of one major
pain point: failed communication. Brands need to
keep the dialogue open with freelancers. Let them
know ahead of time how much (and when) they’ll
be compensated, how well-researched a piece
needs to be, as well as the formatting requirements
and number of editing cycles expected of the
freelancer. Setting expectations ahead of time will
save time by minimizing the revision process. If you
fail to plan, you are planning to fail.
© 2014 NewsCred 13
02 Brand Journalism: Working with FreelancersThe Ultimate Guide to Branded Content
6. Make freelancers a part of your marketing
team Be as transparent as possible. Share planning
documents, editorial calendars, and content
performance. Freelancers work with multiple
clients and are valuable consultants for your brand.
They’re on your site and want to help your company
reach key performance goals.
7. Let them know how their work performs
Freelancers care about your company and will do
everything in their power to help your marketing
initiatives succeed. Like you, they are excited to test
new ideas and add maximum value with their work.
8. Provide constructive feedback Not happy? Talk
to your freelancers about it. They’re human and
open to learning. Work together, grow together,
and strive to improve as a team. Your freelancers
appreciate the feedback and are always striving to
become better in their work.
9. Give freelancers beats and areas of focus
Trusted freelancers can be given “beats,” much like
a newsroom, or other areas of creative specialty.
Trust your team to pitch stories in their areas of
interest and expertise. These beats will make a
brand editor’s job much easier — spend more time
optimizing your marketing program and less time
brainstorming ideas to write about.
10. Give credit to your freelancers Your freelancers
are proud of their work. They’re excited to share
bylined pieces with their social media communities
and other clients. Freelancers depend on their
track records to secure new business and evolve
in their careers. Give credit by giving them bylines
and providing great testimonials. Remember that
a simple “thank you” can amplify the success of a
business relationship.
© 2014 NewsCred 14
02 Brand Journalism: Working with FreelancersThe Ultimate Guide to Branded Content
LogisticsA successful content strategy requires both
right-brained and left-brained planning. Success
requires structure, which is easier said than done.
Many brand editors will manage their freelancer
relationships over the phone or by email. That
works if you’re managing three freelancers. But
when you’re working with 10 or 20? Back-and-forth
communication becomes a mess. Word documents
and emails will quickly become your arch nemesis.
Remember that time is finite. You need to spend
your time brainstorming amazing content and
empowering writers to produce great work. If you
waste time chasing down back-and-forth emails in
your inbox, your content program will suffer. Using
a workflow tool like NewsCred’s Content Marketing
Cloud can streamline your pitch to publish process
with workflows, editorial calendars, and publishing
and distribution tools all in one place. Research the
marketplace and find a brand publishing tool that
best serves your brand’s needs.
Content Marketing Software
Method Pros
Excel Spreadsheets and Word Docs
› Workflows available offline
› Completely customizable
› Relatively inexpensive
› Software is already available and widely used within most organizations
› Includes tracking history for edits
Google Docs › Resources are easy to share with multiple writers and editors
› Collaboration is possible in real-time
› Cloud-based workflows are available from anywhere
› Documents can be fully customized for a brand’s specific workflow
› Drafts of all revisions are readily available and easy to access
› Free
Editorial Calendars
› Manage content creation, editorial calendars, writer assignments, and drafts in one place
› Solutions are designed for planning
End-to-end Marketing Software
› Plan your entire content marketing program
› Commission the world’s best writers, designers, and creatives from an exclusive network
› Manage content teams of any size
› Ideal solution for high-volume brand newsrooms
› Designed specifically for content marketers with full integration support for payments and
analytics
› Manage freelancers and content production from one central platform
› License content from top tier publishers and niche industry publications
› Integrate with all of your company’s brand publishing tools — including social media
accounts
© 2014 NewsCred 15
02 Brand Journalism: Working with FreelancersThe Ultimate Guide to Branded Content
Method Cons
Excel spreadsheets and Word docs
› Limited automation, spreadsheets need to be consistently updated
› Customizations are limited to software features
› Excel and Word were not designed for collaboration with freelancers
› Disconnected from payment systems — payroll needs to be managed separately
› Track changes can quickly become a nightmare
› Revisions can get lost
› Integration with analytics resources is nearly impossible without engineering resources
Google Docs › Google docs need to be updated manually
› Workflows need to be built from the ground up, and tracking spreadsheets require constant updates
› Payment systems are disconnected
› Google docs as a tracking system is impossible to scale to accommodate multiple projects or just a few writers
› Virtually no automation
Editorial calendars
› Limited integration features for payment systems
› Few are designed with automation, analytics, and performance in mind
› Many editorial calendars are hosted on open source WordPress platforms
› Limited support features
› Do not support workflows with multiple team members
End-to-end marketing software
› Price may be too high for some content marketers
© 2014 NewsCred 16
03 Creating a Brand NewsroomThe Ultimate Guide to Branded Content
Creating a Brand Newsroom
Brand newsrooms are foundational to an
organization’s publishing efforts. Typically these
roles include a mix of strategists, editors, writers,
fact-checkers, analysts, and freelancers. These
roles require well-defined workflows and feedback
loops between production, engineering, and
analytical teams.
A mismanaged team leaves significant room for
error — without the right tools and systems in
place, chaos will ensue. It’s easy to lose track of
content, misinterpret data, or overlook crucial
metrics for performance measurement.
That’s why software is such an invaluable part of
your company’s content strategy — organizations
with streamlined workflows are in the best position
to develop creative, compelling, and growth-
focused marketing strategies.
© 2014 NewsCred 17
04 Measuring Success: Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)The Ultimate Guide to Branded Content
Measuring Success: Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)
Success in content marketing doesn’t happen
overnight. Content programs require testing,
iteration, and refinement. In other words — test,
learn, measure, repeat.
Content marketing KPIs are a direct reflection of
your company’s conversion funnel. Metrics should
track a lead’s movement through the funnel by
answering the following questions:
› How effective is your content in exposing new
prospects to your brand?
› How effective is your content in building interest
and engagement with your brand?
› To what extent does your content inspire
customers to do business with you?
› Overall, how effective is your content strategy in
driving revenue?
Metrics like brand awareness, page impressions,
and search rankings need to sync up with bottom-
line concepts like costs, revenue, profits, and
pipeline. The following framework will help you
connect the dots:
© 2014 NewsCred 18
04 Measuring Success: Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)The Ultimate Guide to Branded Content
ConceptGoal Metrics
Reach, Brand Awareness, and Virality
Loyalty and Engagement
Leads
Opportunity and Mobility
Revenue
Do your customers trust you, and do they see you as a reliable source of information? Are they sharing your content with their networks? Are they valuing your brand’s content over your competitors’ content?
Are you effectively boosting awareness about your brand? Is your marketing generating an echo effect that inspires audiences to share your content organically?
1. Growth in overall traffic to website across multiple channels including email, SEO, and social media2. Growth in traffic to blog, videos, e-books and other resources across multiple channels including email, SEO, and social media3. Time spent on individual pieces of content4. Pages consumed per visit5. Backlinks to content
1. Return visits2. Social media shares across channels including Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, LinkedIn, and Pinterest3. Subscriber count
Are prospects converting into customers? Are you connecting with new audiences, or strengthening relationships with existing customers? Where do you lose your leads?
What is the overall efficacy of your content program?
1. Proportion of consumers who make their way to the next stage of the conversion funnel2. Conversely, % drop-off
1. Deals closed2. Monthly recurring revenue3. Long-term value of all customers4. Long-term value as a proportion of customer acquisition
cost
1. Subscriber count2. Aggregate growth of leads3. Visits to “contact us” page from articles, videos, or webinars
Are your audiences interested in doing business with you? Is your content successfully pulling your audience through the sales funnel?
Metrics like brand awareness, page impressions, and search rankings need to sync up with bottom-line
concepts like costs, revenue, profits, and pipeline. The following framework will help you connect the dots:
© 2014 NewsCred 19
04 Measuring Success: Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)The Ultimate Guide to Branded Content
Creating great content is only half the battle.
You need the right software that can evolve
and grow with your organization — and you
can’t waste time by relying on disparate
sources for freelancer recruitment, editorial
management, and analytics.
Your brand newsroom has the potential to be
a powerful revenue source for your business.
This type of operation will need to balance
editorial creativity and storytelling with
strategy and analytics. With the right software,
analytical framework, content creators, and
marketing goals, your brand will shine.
NewsCred designed the Content Marketing
Cloud to be the brand marketer’s most
comprehensive, go-to tool. With the Content
Marketing Cloud, you have access to the
largest marketplace of licensed content,
paired with the world’s best branded content
writers, the distribution tools to find the right
audience at the right moment, and workflows
and calendars that streamline the chaos of a
content marketing brand newsroom.
Conclusion
© 2014 NewsCred 20
04 Measuring Success: Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)The Ultimate Guide to Branded Content
© 2014 NewsCred / NewsCred.com / (212) 989-4100 / [email protected]