Building the Beast: 5 Steps to Creating an Actionable Content Marketing Strategy
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Transcript of Building the Beast: 5 Steps to Creating an Actionable Content Marketing Strategy
Building the Beast: 5 Steps to Creating an Actionable
Content Marketing Strategy
Carla Johnson
President, Type A Communications
@CarlaJohnson
AGENDA • Why a content strategy matters
• The difference between content
strategy and content marketing
• How to build a business case
• Steps to creating a strategy
• What to do next after you’ve set
your strategy
@CarlaJohnson
CARLA
JOHNSON President
@CarlaJohnson
@CarlaJohnson
WHY CONTENT
STRATEGY MATTERS 1 @CarlaJohnson
WHY
CONTENT
STRATEGY
MATTERS
@CarlaJohnson
Goldfish attention span = 9 seconds Human attention span = 8 seconds
93%
44% 42%
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
% B2B MarketersWho Say They UseContent Marketing
% Who Have aDocumented
Strategy
% Who Say TheyAre Effective at
Content Marketing
WHY
CONTENT
STRATEGY
MATTERS
2014 B2B Content Marketing Benchmarks, Budgets and Trends, North America, Content Marketing Institute/MarketingProfs @CarlaJohnson
CONTENT
STRATEGY
VS.
CONTENT
MARKETING
Content
Strategy
• Why, Who and How
• Knowing what your
audience wants
• Directs content with the goal of
generating a financial return
Content
Marketing
• What and When
• Creating and distributing what
your audience wants
• Guided by and overall strategy
that delivers specific content at
the right time and place
@CarlaJohnson
PURPOSE
OF A
CONTENT
STRATEGY
• Call out the goals of your
content marketing program and
how you’ll accomplish them
• Persuade your internal audience
(i.e. those who approve
budgets) that content is a true
resource and game changer for
your customers and prospects
• Create a ‘profile’ of successful
content types that others can
see for future reference and use
@CarlaJohnson
BUILDING A
BUSINESS CASE 2 @CarlaJohnson
BUILDING
A
BUSINESS
CASE of B2B marketers
say that it’s a
challenge to get
executive buy-in
for a content
marketing
program.
22%
2014 B2B Content Marketing Benchmarks, Budgets and Trends, North America, Content Marketing Institute/MarketingProfs @CarlaJohnson
BUILDING
A
BUSINESS
CASE
1. Tell them your purpose
2. Describe the current situation
3. Define content marketing and its value
4. Use data
5. Create an action plan
6. Ask for what you want
@CarlaJohnson
DEVELOPING A
CONTENT STRATEGY 3
CREATING
YOUR
STRATEGY
1.Define your objectives − What business objectives do you
want to accomplish?
─ What do you want your content to do?
─ Prioritize what’s most important, i.e….
• Build brand awareness • Establish your expertise • Educate buyers • Move leads through the sales
process • Improve retention
@CarlaJohnson
EXAMPLE
DEFINE
OBJECTIVES
A software consulting company wanted to shift the perception that consumers and prospects had of them from a vendor to one of a trusted advisor so they seek their advice earlier in the sales process. • They wanted their content to educate
people about changing technologies in our industry and how it impacts the business performance of companies
• Priorities: Establish expertise, educate buyers, build relationships with influencers
@CarlaJohnson
CREATING
YOUR
STRATEGY
2. Develop Your Story − Understand and articulate
what business you’re really in
─ It’s not about features and benefits; it’s about the difference you’re trying to make in your customers’ lives
─ Answer WHY
@CarlaJohnson
TOO MANY
COMPANIES
SOUND
LIKE THIS
ACME is one of the leading providers Florida. Since its inception in 1976, ACME’s signature has been its responsiveness to clients and its delivery of a superior product. Our commitment to excellence, combined with our responsiveness, has gained us an outstanding reputation in the transportation industry and more importantly, the trust and confidence of our clients. Today, we are one of the largest minority owned civil engineering firms in Florida and among the top in consulting engineering firms specializing in civil and transportation related projects. Our corporate headquarters are located in Miami with regional offices located in Pensacola, Tampa and Jacksonville.
@CarlaJohnson
Your
Competition
Isn’t
Your
Competition
What Does the Fox Say? 234,606,896 Views 1,673 Years of Human Time
@CarlaJohnson
Your
Competition
Isn’t
Your
Competition
Gangnam Style 1,824,814,573 Views 14,545 Years of Human Time
@CarlaJohnson
EXAMPLE
DEVELOP
YOUR
STORY
Old Story: We’re the leading organization in North America focused on marketing analytics, optimization and automation. New Story: We empower marketers to do their jobs better and with less effort.
@CarlaJohnson
DEVELOP
YOUR
STORY
Answer these questions: Why was your company started?
What have you always done well?
What have you failed at miserably?
If your company went away tomorrow, what would be missed?
@CarlaJohnson
CREATING
YOUR
STRATEGY
3.Develop Buyer Personas ─ Composite of characteristics of a
group of people
─ Help you to understand their perspective, fears, drivers and content needs
─ Types of content: • How they access it
• What messages resonate with them
• What matters when in the buyer’s cycle
@CarlaJohnson
Senior Director, Director (head of e-commerce)
@CarlaJohnson
Profile Technology background - online/digital marketing, programming, web development. Oversees a team comprised of online strategists within the marketing organization that may also include social media, marketing automation, demand generation, campaigns, database administration, mobile and marketing infrastructure. Oversees a small team usually ranging from three to 15 employees. Consumption of content depends on time of day – smart phones and tablets in the morning, addition of laptops during the day. Uses laptop in the evening for heavy reading. Primarily use laptop when looking for content for research and decision-making.
@CarlaJohnson
Frustrations/Pressures/Concerns: • Battling a preconceived notion of IT’s need to control technology spend • Challenged to keep up with changes in technology
Priorities/Drivers: • Raising the profile of marketing’s knowledge of technology so they are
involved as part of the business strategy and don’t operate from a tactical level • Establishing and communicating the need to improve IT applications and
infrastructure and overall efficiency
Messaging: • Demystifying the technology by telling a story that relates it to people
and the business • Set the context by starting with the business perspective and get down
to technical details • Ability to “test drive” software before making a decision
@CarlaJohnson
Content Needs: Type of content depends on where he is in the buying cycle. Conducts initial research through analyst reports and white papers. The closer he gets to the desired vendor of choice, the more he wants to interact with them directly. Requires one-to-one interaction before making a decision.
Content Sources/Types: • Webinars • Research reports • Analyst reports • White papers • Case studies • Vendor demo sites • Google search • Conferences –programming and technical • Peers/Word of Mouth • Blog posts
@CarlaJohnson
CREATING
YOUR
STRATEGY 4. Content Audit / Mapping
─ What content do you already have that you want to continue to use?
─ What type is it? What topic?
─ What persona does it address?
─ What condition is it in?
─ Once you’ve created the list, are there obvious holes that you need to address?
@CarlaJohnson
EXAMPLE
CONTENT
AUDIT
Content Type
Content
Topic Target
Persona Location Comment
Web page Product Karen Olson URL Content is solid but needs updating to reflect brand story
White Paper (PDF)
Trends in marketing automation platforms
Jeff Smith Online (URL) Marketing portal
Highly technical product information for last stage decision making
Video 3 Things to Look for in a Marketing Automation Partner
Maria Jensen
YouTube (URL)
90 seconds, geared toward YouTube to help ignite the conversation of what to look for in a partner
@CarlaJohnson
CREATING
YOUR
STRATEGY
@CarlaJohnson Source: CatapultWorks
BUYER’S
JOURNEY Problem Awareness
Something isn’t right
What’s the difference
you want to make?
Education
What’s my problem?
Thought leadership
ID problems
Possible Solutions
What do I need to do?
How you’ve helped others
Vendor Search
Who can help me?
Detailed, technical
information
Selection
I want to feel good about my decision
Prove ROI
Retention Upsell
Evangelism
Reinforce my choice
How to use, Success stories
Bigger Story Detailed Story
+ Proof Points
@CarlaJohnson
CONTENT
MAPPING Problem Awareness
Persona #1
White paper
Tradeshow Case
Studies
Education
Persona #1
Persona #2
Cust Event Articles Solution
Briefs
Possible Solutions
Persona #2
Case Studies Videos Blogs
Vendor Search
Persona #2
Persona #3
Product specs
User Stories Testimonials
Selection
Persona #1
Persona #2
Prove ROI Testimonials
Retention Upsell
Evangelism
Persona #2
Persona #3
Cust Events User
Stories Blogs
Bigger Story Detailed Story
+ Proof Points
@CarlaJohnson
CREATING
YOUR
STRATEGY 5. Determine Measurement
Metrics
─ Tie to your business objectives
─ Know what you’re willing to change
─ Measure what drives the behavior you want
─ Use metrics to make refinement
@CarlaJohnson
CREATING
YOUR
STRATEGY
@CarlaJohnson
Consumption Metrics
Sharing Metrics
Lead Generation
Metrics
Sales Metrics
Source: Convince & Convert
EXAMPLE
MEASUREMENT
METRICS
FOR CONTENT
CONSUMPTION
Content Consumption
Page Views 1,796
Video Views 323
Document Views 293
Download 197
@CarlaJohnson
MEASUREMENT
AND
METRICS
What metrics support your business objectives? Build awareness
Educate buyers
Engage influencers
Generate leads
Lead nurturing
Better engage existing customers
Cross sell / up sell
@CarlaJohnson
Carla Johnson, President Type A Communications
(720) 344-0987 [email protected] www.goTypeA.com
Type A Communications @carlajohnson Carla Johnson Carla Johnson