workbook how to create irresistible content...

How to Create Irresistible Content Marketing

Workbook

Stats, checklists, exercises and templates

https://find-freedom.co/

How to Create Irresistible Content Marketing 2

Table of Contents

3 Audience insights

13 Offering value

19 Creating your plan

26 How do you stack up?

28 Measuring your impact

30 Convincing your boss

35 Need help?

37 Notes

39 Appendix/Stats


Audience insights


AUDIENCE INSIGHTS

Key research methods.Below are a variety of research methods to help you gather thick data about your customers. Choose the approach that makes the most sense for you based on your timeline, budget and goals.

PROS CONS

What you already know (research reports, surveys, institutional knowledge of sales and account people, etc.)

Extremely cost-effective. Allows you to gather information quickly and efficiently. A very lean approach.

Assumes you know who in your organization has the knowledge you need.

Secondary research (industry trends, consumer trends are good for B2C while social trends, technology trends, interviews with people like your customers are good sources of information for B2B)

Helps you develop a big picture and understand the trends impacting your business.

You need strong research skills and know the keywords to use to find the information you’re looking for.

In-depth interviews The best way to understand motives and needs because you are able to talk to customers directly.

Can be time consuming.

Try it yourself. Experience your brand marketing from your customers’ perspective

By signing up for emails, downloading thought leadership, etc. you get a real sense of the customer experience of your marketing firsthand.

There really are no downsides. This is the easiest way to identify issues and understand what’s working.


Research checklist.Use these checklists to plan your approach to research, whether you leverage institutional knowledge or use secondary research.

AUDIENCE INSIGHTS

Checklist for Internal Research

Sales team

Government affairs team

Public affairs team

Customer service team

Membership team

Donor services team

Checklist for External Research

LinkedIn profiles

Analyst and research reports on the industry

Industry blogs and webinars

Competitors’ content

Twitter hashtags

Articles about or interviews with people that match your audience profile

Job descriptions


AUDIENCE INSIGHTS

Define your research questions.Don’t research for what customers like. Look for information that helps you understand them.

These questions will help you explore the larger context of your opportunity:

• What are the best practices?• What are the trends and innovations to consider? What are

the uncertainties? (these could include consumer behavior, technology, society or industry, etc.)

• Are there any policy changes to consider?• What is the current attitude and behavior of your customers?


Interview questions.Here are some sample questions to help jumpstart your research.

AUDIENCE INSIGHTS

Tell me about a time when … (the challenge for which you are the solution)—situation, process, decision factors.

• What was the situation?• What steps did you use? Ask for a referral? Research online, company website, etc.? • What information were you looking for? What is the most critical information when making a decision? • What type of content do you prefer: case studies, testimonials, long form vs short form content, video, etc. • What are your communication preferences and tech usage around these kinds of decisions?

What has been your experience with (Company X)?

• Why did you choose Company X/service/product?• What was your experience like? What worked well? What could be improved?• What do you value about working with Company X? What do they do better than others? • What would you say to someone considering hiring /buying from Company X?


Formulate your research question.Use this formula to identify how research will help you achieve an important goal.

AUDIENCE INSIGHTS

I want to find out more about so I can .


AUDIENCE INSIGHTS

Persona profile template.Use simple personas to make sense of your research.

Persona Name: Description:

Representative Quote:

Demographic Description:

Needs & Goals:

Tech Usage & Media Consumption:


AUDIENCE INSIGHTS

User studies.Use this formula to understand your product or service from your customer’s point of view.

I am a

I am trying to

but which makes me

so that I can ,

.

.

type of audience

problem to solve for

challenge or barrier emotion

goal


Role storming.Ask people to imagine themselves as your key audience (customer, client, member, donor, etc.) Why might they be dissatisfied? What would it take for them to to feel better about their experience or outcomes? What looks like a win for them? Role play and act out scenarios.

AUDIENCE INSIGHTS

Source: Gamestorming.com

http://Gamestorming.com


How to respond to common objections.

No time or it will take too long A small upfront investment can make all the phases of work go faster and run more smoothly

No budget We can conduct the research ourselves. Critical analysis of our assumptions costs nothing.

No resources Access to staff, a laptop and internet access is all we need

Source: Erika Hall, Just Enough Research, 2013

AUDIENCE INSIGHTS


Offering value


OFFERING VALUE

Market at the intersection of your purpose and your customers’ passion.

PASSION PURPOSE


OFFERING VALUE

Positioning statement.Complete Geoffrey Moore’s classic positioning statement for your company to define your unique promise of value.

For

our service is a

because unlike

who must

that provides

only we .

target audience

our category/business type

competitor

solve a specific problem

breakthrough benefit that solves problem

reason to believe


OFFERING VALUE

Collaborate and gain consensus.To build consensus and help people feel invested in the brand, use a team workshop to complete the formula.

Create a note for each blank to be filled, hang them on the wall and ask people to use Post-It notes to add their ideas for each blank.

Next, use dot voting with stickers for people to vote on the options they think best represent the company’s mission and brand purpose.


OFFERING VALUE

Personality exercise.Need a simple way to define your brand personality? Create a set of adjective cards. Generate as a many as you can. Aim for around 50. Get a group together to review each adjective one by one, voting whether or not the term describes your brand.

Another option is to gather writing samples that relate to your organization and its mission, then place them on a wall. Choose writing from your communications and from other sources. Vote on samples that resonate the most to you.

Need help agreeing on your brand personality? Use this card deck to identify your brand’s key characteristics.


OFFERING VALUE

Brand personality template.Use this template to flesh out your personality by describing how your brand behaves and what your tone of voice is.

How We Should Appear How We Should Sound


Creating your plan


CREATING YOUR PLAN

Define your goals.Gain clarity and generate consensus around your content marketing by identifying key business goals or strategic initiatives it will support.

Why do you want to use content marketing? How will it support your mission or vision? How will it support your business goals?

Boost brand awareness

Change brand perception

Launch a new product or service

Generate leads

Improve your sales process

Convert users of other brands

Attract past customers

Engage existing customers

Reward loyalty

Something else?


Customer Need Role of Content Marketing Your Goal

CREATING YOUR PLAN

Connect your goals to customers’ goals.You know what you need. Connect your goals to your customers’ needs or pain points.


CREATING YOUR PLAN

Assess your relationship.To help you identify where content marketing can have the greatest impact, evaluate what parts of your client relationship you can deliver the most value.

What are the points in your relationship where marketing can have an impact?

Instead of your sales cycle, focus on your customer relationship cycle. Consider the length, nature of the interaction, etc.

I don’t know that I have a need/issue problem

I know I need help with something not sure what

I know what the problem is

I am looking for answers

I am choosing/considering between options

I am buying from you

We are currently working together

I have bought from you in the past


Needs/MotivationsStep Themes & Messages Content Types Channels

CONTENT PLANNING

Content plan template.Build your strategy around your customer relationship cycle.


CREATING YOUR PLAN

Make collaboration easy.No matter what platform you use, from a spreadsheet to robust content management and publishing platforms, you need to make collaboration easy.

Get everyone on the same page with a shared calendar to plan content over time and across channels for unified brand communications and a cohesive brand impression

Build individual channel calendars to manage communications and cadence at the brand touchpoint level

Structure the channel calendars to mimic the structure of your content (email, social, ad, etc.) so you can compose, edit and approve in one place

Include a system to organize and share assets


Write audience-centered copy.To create irresistible content, develop copy that shows you understand your customers’ challenges and can help customers overcome them.

CREATING YOUR PLAN

StepAudience Need Message

Headline 1 Headline 2

Subhead 1 Subhead 2

CTA 1 CTA 2


How do you stack up?


How customer-centric is your content?Leverage what you already have. Keep content that is relevant, identify what needs to be updated and get rid of content that doesn’t serve you.

HOW DO YOU STACK UP?

Audience Challenge Message Date Developed

Step in the Relationship Cycle Content Type Notes Score 1-10


Measuring your impact


The problem with measuring the effectiveness of marketing.You can’t tell why someone took the action they did. So why not ask them directly in a simple survey?

To identify reach—how many people were exposed to your marketing—ask:

• Which of our marketing communications have you seen? Check all that apply. • List your marketing: ads, emails, social media etc. and include a line for “Other” where

people can write in anything they saw you didn’t include.

To understand the role marketing played in an audience’s decision to act (buy, register, download, etc.), ask:.

• What were the key factors that impacted your decision? Check all that apply. • Create a list based on the particular action you are tracking. For example: cost,

marketing, a colleague recommended it, reviews, etc. Don’t forget to include a line for “Other.”

MEASURING YOUR IMPACT


Convincing your boss


CONVINCING YOUR BOSS

Content marketing costs less and is more effective than traditional marketing.

3xContent marketing generates

the leads per dollar spent when compared to paid search marketing.

Kapost and Eloqua

62% lessDemandMetric

Compared to traditional marketing programs, content marketing costs

and generates approximately 3x the volume of leads.

6x higherAberdeen Group

On average, conversion rates are

for companies and brands using content marketing than those that aren’t, at 2.9% vs. 0.5%, respectively.

https://www.oracle.com/webfolder/mediaeloqua/documents/Content+Marketing+Kapost+Eloqua+ebook.pdf

https://www.demandmetric.com/content/content-marketing-infographic

https://www.percussion.com/Assets/www.percussion.com/resources/whitepapers/Aberdeen-ContentMarketingROI-Report.pdf



Great content drives purchase decisions.

85% of consumers regularly seek out content from trusted experts when considering a purchase.

Consumers engage with 11.4 pieces of content on average prior to making a purchase.

By a factor of 3 to 1, B2B buyers educate themselves by going to sellers’ websites and learning about their offerings before making a purchase decision.

Sources: Nielson 2014, Forrester 2015

https://www.inpwrd.com/the_role_of_content_inpowered.pdf

https://www.forrester.com/Brief+Marketing+And+Media+Efficiency+Outcomes+Drive+Content+Marketing/fulltext/-/E-RES128042



Building your case for content marketing.Use this formula to succinctly describe the impact content marketing can have in your organization.

We should be

We need to

but

by

.

.

goal

your POV/solution

challenge that stands in our way

proposed approach


Formulate your plan.Outline what you need from research topics, resources and budget to who will help with the research.

CONCINCING YOUR BOSS

WHO OR WHAT ARE WE RESEARCHING?

WHAT IS OUR TIMETABLE?

WHO WILL CONDUCT THE RESEARCH

WHAT IS THE BUDGET?

WHERE WILL WE FIND THE INFORMATION WE NEED?

(INCLUDE # OF INTERVIEWS IF APPROPRIATE)

WHAT QUESTIONS DO WE NEED TO ASK OR ISSUES DO

WE NEED TO RESEARCH?


Need help?


Tackle important challenges.I’m Leigh George and I founded Freedom—a strategic branding and marketing un-agency—to help marketers innovate and tackle important challenges. I remove the stress and uncertainty around critical branding and marketing decisions by helping you connect deeply with your audiences and uncover new opportunities to engage with them.

Engagements are structured based on what you need, but typically include:

Research & Insights Organization, audience, competitor and market research, personas and journey mapping, brand audits.

Brand Strategy Naming, brand architecture, brand positioning, messaging, personality and voice, brand guidelines.

Marketing Strategy Acquisition and engagement plans, multi-channel content calendars, training.

Leigh George, PhDEmail: [email protected] Twitter: @leighgeorge

NEED HELP?

LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/leighgeorgeWebsite: find-freedom.co

mailto:[email protected]

http://twitter.com/leighgeorge

http://linkedin.com/in/leighgeorge

http://find-freedom.co


Notes


Write it down.

NOTES


Appendix/Stats


Consumers can access brand information (pricing, reviews, etc.) and shop anywhere, anytime. Source: The Comprehensive Modern Consumer Shopping Habits Study, BigCommerce & Square, 2016

https://www.bigcommerce.com/blog/consumer-behavior-infographic/#is-it-that-shoppers-arent-shopping


In B2B Sales, your content is your sales rep.

68%of B2B customers prefer to

research independently online.

60% of buyers would rather not

communicate with sales reps as their primary information source.

62% say they can now develop

selection criteria or finalize a vendor list — based solely on

digital content.

Source: Forrester

https://go.forrester.com/blogs/the-ways-and-means-of-b2b-buyer-journey-maps-were-going-deep-at-forresters-b2b-forum/


More content than ever is vying for a share of consumers’ time.


People spend most of the day on a wide range of media.

Source: Nielsen Total Audience Report, 2019

https://www.nielsen.com/us/en/insights/report/2019/q3-2018-total-audience-report/


People are inundated with content.

27 million pieces of content are shared everyday.

Source: AOL/Nielson 2013


The battle for attention is fierce.

Source: SJ Insights

ADS/DAYADS/DAY2,000 5,000In 1984, a person

saw an average ofBy 2014, we saw around


People can’t focus.

Source: Microsoft

At 8 seconds,

we have a shorter attention span than

a goldfish.

https://www.iflscience.com/brain/do-you-have-lower-attention-span-goldfish/


People check out.

Source: TrackMaven

35% 17%In 2015, branded content

output climbedbut content engagement

decreased by


People ignore you.

Source: Vidyard

Marketing emails only see click-through rates of 1.5%.This means that when we email 10,000 people, only 150 click through, on average.

https://www.vidyard.com/blog/attention-economy-marketers-killing-not-capturing-attention/


They avoid you.

Source: AdKeeper™ and WPP’s 24/7 Real Media

Online display ads have a click through rate of less than one-tenth of 1%.

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/Top-Reason-Users-Dont-Click-iw-129671171.html?x=0&.v=1


Almost half U.S. consumers now subscribe to streaming video services.


You get blocked.

Source: Digital Information World, 2019

Source: Statitsa, 2018

Source: PageFair 2017 Global Adblock Report

47%of internet users globally use

an ad-blocker today.

More than

615 MILLION

devices now have ad-blocking software.

Ad blocking in the US has increased from 15% to

30% in the last four years.

https://www.hubspot.com/marketing-statistics

https://pagefair.com/blog/2017/adblockreport/

https://pagefair.com/blog/2017/adblockreport/


You give consumers a reason to care about and listen to you.

The top 3 things that make content effective:

AUDIENCE RELEVANCE ENGAGING & COMPELLING STORYTELLING

TRIGGERS A RESPONSE/ACTION

58%

Source: LinkedIn Technology Marketing Community

57% 54%

https://www.slideshare.net/hschulze/b2b-content-marketing-report-40688285


You build relationships and establish trust.

66% of consumers say they are likely to switch brands if they are treated

like a number instead of an individual.

Source: State of the Connected Customer Report, Salesforce Research

https://www.salesforce.com/connectedcustomer?d=7010M000000NkvP&nc=7010M000000NlIY


Source: Deloitte, July 2017

Your business grows.

Customer-centric companies are

6 %more profitable compared to companies that

are not focused on the customer.

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