All you wanted to know about content marketing but were afraid to ask

Neil Stoneman Velocity Partners

What senior marketers and sales

bods need to know.

@velocitytweets

B2B Content Marketing Agency with accent on tech

London

Clients all over the world

Content marketing is the single most important discipline for winning market share in markets where the purchase is considered.

Big Hairy Audacious

Claim

Content marketing is the single most important discipline for winning market share in markets where the purchase is considered.

Big Hairy Audacious

Claim

Buyers educate

themselves

Content marketing is the single most important discipline for winning market share in markets where the purchase is considered.

Big Hairy Audacious

Claim

Content marketing is the single most important discipline for winning market share in technology markets.

Sales cycles are

long

Buyers educate

themselves

Content marketing is the single most important discipline for winning market share in markets where the purchase is considered.

Big Hairy Audacious

Claim

Content marketing is the single most important discipline for winning market share in technology markets.

Tech and business

models are stupidly easy to copy

Sales cycles are

long

Buyers educate

themselves

Big Hairy Audacious

Claim, (restated)

The winners will be the companies who use the power of content to help buyers do the job of buying.

The full-court sales press days are over

The winners will be the companies who best use the power of content to help buyers do the job of buying.

Big Hairy Audacious

Claim, (restated)

Engage earlier

The winners will be the companies who best use the power of content to help buyers do the job of buying.

Big Hairy Audacious

Claim, (restated)

Engage earlier Educate

The winners will be the companies who best use the power of content to help buyers do the job of buying.

Big Hairy Audacious

Claim, (restated)

Engage early, sell

late Educate

Position your

company as experts

You’ve already got the most important (and hardest to fake)

asset for content marketing.

The Good News

The Not So Good

News 1

An over-reliance on competent, professional, intelligent, well-made,

on-strategy content leads to mediocrity.

Great content brands are built on home run pieces.

Goo

dies

Time

Great content brands are built on home run pieces.

Goo

dies

Time

They earn goodies

Great content brands are built on home run pieces.

Goo

dies

Time

They earn goodies

Turbo charge other

content

Great content brands are built on home run pieces.

Goo

dies

Time

They earn goodies

Turbo charge other

content

Escape search tyranny

Home run content also helps you overcome the most challenging

obstacle of all

Home run content also helps you overcome the most challenging

obstacle of all Inertia

To harness the power of your expertise, a lot needs to change.

The Not So Good

News 2

To harness the power of your expertise, a lot needs to change.

The Not So Good

News

New strategies &

tactics

To harness the power of your expertise, a lot needs to change.

The Not So Good

News

New strategies &

tactics

New people &

skills

To harness the power of your expertise, a lot needs to change. New

strategies & tactics

New people &

skills

New processes & technologies

The Not So Good

News

To harness the power of your expertise, a lot needs to change. New

culture

The Big 7 Principles (In Practice).

1.  Get started (simply) 2.  Find the right issues 3.  Heart & head 4.  Content mapping 5.  Psychographics 6.  Sweet spot 7.  Confidence

Culture change

We’ve been talking to the suits >>>>>>>> Now we need to talk to jumpsuits Selling stuff with great deals >>>>>>> Now we need to sell process benefits We’ve known our customer >>>>>>>>>>> Now we don’t know our customer The door’s been open >>>>>>>>>>> Now there are lots of doors to open

Small step

forward

1

How can we broaden our message to engage new people in 500 core business targets?

Research

Qualitative Quantitative

Rich Personas Psychographics

Social Media Twitter

LinkedIn Groups

Quora

Influencers Popular posts

Shares

First-hand customer contact

Desk

Finding issues that resonate.

2

3

as well as the head

Go for the heart

Get engaged. Stay together.

— ONE —

What you say

— TWO —

How you say it

Useful x Entertaining = Effective

Mapping content to

consideration stage

4

How?

Why?

What?

Who?

PyschographicTargeting

5

What your prospects care about

What you know

Sweet Spot

Sweet spot: all your content needs come from here

What your prospect

cares about

6

Great content is always confident content.

7

1. Target

2. Engage

3. Nurture

4. Convert

116,000 “unengaged” individuals found in 73% company targets

Content and context reinvented for new world

Engaged individuals join head nurture process

Some Essentials. Roles Stories Tactics Processes Technologies

The Essential Roles.

Content planner

The Essential Roles.

Content planner Storyteller

The Essential Roles.

Content planner Storyteller Community

builder

The Essential Stories.

What you believe.

The Essential Stories.

What you believe.

Why it matters.

The Essential Stories.

What you believe.

Why it matters.

Why I should believe you.

The Essential Tactics.

eBooks

The Essential Tactics.

eBooks SlideShares

The Essential Tactics.

eBooks SlideShares Videos

The Essential Processes.

Insight into Content

The Essential Processes.

Insight into Content

Content into Engagement

The Essential Processes.

Insight into Content

Content into Engagement

Engagement into Revenue

The Essential Processes.

Insight into Content

Content into Engagement

Engagement into Revenue

Measure. Everything.

The Essential Tech.

CMS

The Essential Tech.

CMS CRM,

Targeting & Marketing

Automation

The Essential Tech.

CMS CRM,

Targeting & Marketing

Automation Analytics

The content brand

A Great Content Brand is a brand that’s famous for producing intelligent, useful and entertaining content that’s always worth consuming.

The content brand

A Great Content Brand is a brand that’s famous for producing intelligent, useful and entertaining content that’s always worth consuming.

Be the buyer

The content brand

A Great Content Brand is a brand that’s famous for producing intelligent, useful and entertaining content that’s always worth consuming.

Be the buyer Be aurthoritative

The content brand

A Great Content Brand is a brand that’s famous for producing intelligent, useful and entertaining content that’s always worth consuming.

Be the buyer Be aurthoritative

Be strategic and prolific

The content brand

A Great Content Brand is a brand that’s famous for producing intelligent, useful and entertaining content that’s always worth consuming.

Be the buyer Be aurthoritative

Be strategic and prolific

Be human

Further reading

Thank you.