Post on 10-May-2015
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THE PERFECT RECIPE:Spice Up Your Marketing
Content
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Today’s Presenters
Janelle JohnsonDirector, Demand Genjanelle.johnson@act-on.com@janelle_johnson
Linda WestManager, Demand Genlinda.west@act-on.com@misslindawest
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Agenda
1. The Rise of Content Marketing
2. Your Content Recipe
– Values
– Persona
– Hitting the Sweet Spot
3. Quick Tips
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THE RISE OF
CONTENT1
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The Fall of Mass Marketing
• The old marketing paradigm: reach is paramount
• Messaging centered around conformity & narrow ideals
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The Rise of Content Marketing
Access
+ Choice
_________________
Increased Fragmentation &
Accelerated Change
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The Rise of Content Marketing
Consumers direct their own buying journey– 78% start the buying process with a web
search
– 50% turn to social media and peer reviews
Source: DemandGen Report
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The Rise of Content Marketing
• The new marketing paradigm: content is king
• Content should be mapped to buyer journey
Whitepaper Download
Confirmation Email with
link to asset
Recorded webinar on same topic
eBook on similar topic
Corresponding Infographic
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The Failure of Demographics
70% of buyers view 4 or more pieces of
content when considering/making a
purchase
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The Failure of Demographics
B2B vendors that invest in content/take time to customize their online
offerings generate 67% more leads than their
competitors.
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The Failure of Demographics
Content creation is ranked as the single most effective SEO
technique
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The Failure of Demographics
Content marketing costs 62% less than traditional marketing
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New Challenges:
• Unique Content - don’t blend, don’t get lost
• Content Quantity - maintain high volume and high quality
• Content that actually sells (subtly)
The Rise of Content Marketing
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YOUR CONTENT RECIPE:VALUE + PERSONA = KILLER
CONTENT2
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The Recipe
turkey
peppernoodles
THE MEAT:
Your company and product values
+ THE SPICE:
Your Customer Personas_____________________________
THE 5-STAR MEAL:
The expert combination of value and persona
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The Meat
turkeyTHE MEAT:
Your company and product values
• You probably already have these!
• Identify driving values behind your company
• Connect values to products and product benefits
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The Meat
Apple 1977 - Values
• Empathy
• Focus
• Impute / Design
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The Spice
pepperTHE SPICE:
Your Customer Personas
• Avatars for your primary buying groups
• Defines buyer’s personality, values, attitudes, interests, and lifestyle
• Defines buyer’s primary goals & concerns, as related to your product
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Behaviordesktop
Collecting Persona Data:
• Customer focus groups
• 1-to-1 customer interviews
• Internal interviews
Questions to Ask:
• What is their job level and job function?
• What keeps them up at night?
• What are their personal and professional goals / aspirations?
• Where do they spend time online?
• What problem do you help them solve in their day-to-day lives?
• What do they perceive as valuable?
• What some common objections your product or service offering?
The Spice
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Age: 25Gender: MaleJob Level: ManagerGoals: Seeking a promotion w/in 12 monthsWhat keeps him up at night?• Maintaining work/life
balance• Budding relationshipsCharacteristics: • Tech savvy• ambitious Spends time online at: Industry blogs, twitter, linked in, reddit
The Spice
What Does a Persona Look
Like?
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The 5-Star Meal
noodles
THE 5-STAR MEAL:
The expert combination of value and persona
• Finding the overlap between persona and product values
• Good content is symbiotic, it subtly sells, while also proving value to your prospect
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The 5-Star Meal
Empathy FocusDesign
THE SWEET SPOT
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The 5-Star Meal
Apply the company values to the persona.
Leading Questions:What do your corporate values mean to this avatar? How does it play out in this person’s life?
EmpathyWhat does empathy mean to this individual?FocusWhat is this individual focused on? What do they perceive as most important in their life?Impute/DesignWhat visual influences inspire and attract this person?
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The 5-Star Meal
Empathy+ Budding Relationships & Work/Life Balance___________________________________
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CHEF’S SECRETS:QUICK TIPS3
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Quick Tips
earthTIP 1:
Import your ingredients
• Get input from sources outside of marketing
• Set up a network of regular contributors to support content volume.
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Quick Tips
Sources to Tap:
Sales – they know common objections
Customer service – they know pain points
External contributors – fresh perspective
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Quick Tips
cookTIP 2:
Dress up your leftovers
• Solid content sometimes just needs some dressing to make a hearty meal
• Format matters – cut content into smaller chunks
• re-position old content for a new persona
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10-page Whitepaper
4+ Blog Posts
Quick Tips
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Quick Tips
clockTIP 3:
Serve at the right time and temperature
• Context matters: position your content in the context of current events
• Try newsjacking – piggyback on hot topics to get more leverage
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Map your
existing
content to
your buyer
personas to
identify gaps
and
opportunities
Take an
inventory of
your existing
content
Map out your
buyer
personas
12
3
Your Next Steps…
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Learn More About Act-On Software
Interested in a demo?Call +1 (877) 530-1555Email sales@act-on.com
Web www.act-on.com
THE FORRESTER WAVE™ LEADERS
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