critical competitive intelligence tools and tricks

The Proven Methodology to Improve Conversions!

Byron WhiteChief Idea OfficerideaLaunch

Internet Marketing ClubWednesday August 31, 2011

10 Golden Rules

Content Marketing Chaos vs. Clarity

The ContentMarketing Revolution

Improve Conversions Intelligently—The Content Marketing Way

What isContent Marketing?

It’s the art of listening to your customers’ wants and needs

Search Box

Social Media

Web Analytics

Keyword Popularity

Customer Service

Questionnaires

And the science of delivering it to them in a compelling way

Articles

Blogs

Books

eBooks

RSS Feeds

Printed Books

Newsletters

Videos

Web

Widgets

It’s catching readers orbiting at high speeds

Applet

Desktop

Events

Information Portals

Mobile

Podcasts

RSS Feeds

Social Networks

News

With information they want and need

Love It Metrics

Downloads

Time on Site

Repeat Visitation

Send to Friend

Post to Network

Link to Page

It’s testing campaigns to learn what works best

A/B Testing

Multivariate Testing

Eye Track Testing

Segmentation Testing

Geo Target Testing

Usability Testing

Content Testing

And finding the most efficient path to engagement and sales

The Trust Pipeline

Score Engagement

Qualify Lead

Evaluate Intent

Induce Trial

Motivate Purchase

Get the Sale

Correlate Assets to Sale

Improve Conversions Intelligently– The Content Marketing Way!

A Sneak Peak at the Conversion Formula

Content: Are you earning trust with information customers want and need?

Usability: Is your content and imagery optimized for conversion?

Motivation: Do you have clear reasons to buy and not try the competition?

Incentive: Are you offering any incentives, trial or reward?

Friction: Have you identified potential resistance and reduced the pain points?

Anxiety: Have you pinpointed the concerns and resolved the issues?

Conversion = (Content + Usability + Motivation + Incentive) - (Friction + Anxiety)

The Six Step Content Marketing Process and Workflow

Step 1 Content Planning

What’s in the Content Plan?

Competitive Research

Customer Research

Market Share Research

Style Guide

Content Asset Allocation

Why create a Content Plan?

How much content?

How frequently?

How good is it?

What distribution channels?

Competitive Research

Content Asset and Topic Research

Competitive Quantity, Frequency and Quality

Competitive Social Research

Widgets and Apps Research

Research Summary

Content Asset YourSite.com Competitor.com

Traffic A C

PPC Spend B A

Content Portfolio B B

Content Authority C B

Publishing Frequency D C

Social Reach F D

Social Conversations F F

Testimonials A F

Partnerships B A

Internal Links C B

Inbound Links C C

SEO Strength A C

SEO Performance B A

Testing Methodology A B

Customer Research

• Search Box. Track what prospects are looking for and what they find.

• FAQs. Review what customers ask for and the language used.

• Customer Service Reps. Learn the FAQs and knowledge requests.

• Customers. Speak with customers and learn the wants and needs.

• Analytics. Discover the source of traffic and navigational pathways.

• Surveys. Ask for feedback on your content, navigation and methodology.

Customer Personas

Customer Personas

Style Guide

Step 2 Content Creation

How good? + Customer Wants and Needs+ Access to Industry Expert Writers+ Conversion Influence+ Cost for Conversion Ratio

How much? + Content Curation+ Topic Research+ Competitive Intelligence+ Link Popularity+ Market Share Value

How often?+ Competitive Publishing Frequency+ Timeliness and Contextual Relevancy+ Conversational and Contagious

Indentify your company’s mantra as the starting point

Winning is Everything Green Bay Packers

Think IBM

Fun Family Entertainment Disney

Save Babies March of Dimes

Healthy Fast Food Wendy’s

Kick Butt in Air and Space Air Force

The Art of the Start, Guy Kawasaki

Get in tune with customer 2.0 wants and needs

Customers Needs

• Credibility, Belief and Logic

• Exposure to New Information

• To Laugh

• Mystery and Bravery

• Surprise and Delight

Content Critical by Gerry McGovern and Rob Norton

2.0 Customers Needs

• Info in a Hurry

• Access to Specific Things

• Personalization

• Authority Advice

• Relevant Content

Hire great writers with great characteristics

Curiosity

Passionate Voice

Well Traversed

Make Meaning

Keep it Simple

Less is More

Short and Sweet

Fresh Insight

Results Driven

Inquisitive

Storytellers

Journalists

Researchers

Socratic

Optimizers

Knowledge Seekers

Wordsmiths

Deep Diggers

Big Picture Thinkers

Learn how and why to tell stories

Great Stories --> Solve problems

--> Teach us to be smart

--> Offer surprise and delight

--> Focus on “what happens next”

--> Introduce great characters

--> Are contagious

--> Engage readers

Sisomo by Kevin Roberts

Learn why some stories get passed on and on

Information A StoryFills You Up Moves You OnFacts ActsCiting ExcitingReams DreamsPromotional EmotionalStatic DramaticCheck lists Casts of CharactersCompiling CompellingAnnotated AnimatedFeeding the Brain Touching the HeartExpires Inspires

Create informational content that sells WITHOUT selling

Info Content

Speaking Events

White Papers

Webinars

Podcasts

Books

Online Courses

Workbooks

Press Releases

Step 3 Content Optimization

The SEO Plan

Competitive Intelligence

Keyword Research

Keyword Silos

Market Share Timestamp

Content Asset Allocation

Competitive Research: Lots of Free Tools

Free Research Tools

WordVision.com

SpyFu.com

Compete.com

Quantcast.com

SEOMajestic.com

Raven-SEO-Tools.com

Tools.SEOBook.com

SEOToolSet.com

LinkVendor.com

MarketLeap.com

Competitive Research

Competitive Research

Competitive Research

Competitive Research

Keyword Research and Filtering

Keyword Silos

Keyword Silo Strategy

Make easy for writers to optimize content for SEO

Make it easy for writers to score content for SEO

Time stamp the date you publish content

Time stamp the market share of your keyword silos

Time stamp your SEO performance in the search engines

Step 4 Content Editing

Advanced Editing Process

Content Plans

Topic Research

Style Guides

Writer Sampling

Editorial Revisions

Content Haiku

Brand Infusion

Fact Proofing

Technical Review

Legal Review

Engagement Testing

Delightful Verification

Great Editors are required to develop great content

“Writing is easy: All you do is sit staring at a blank piece of paper (screen) until the drops of blood form on your forehead.”

—Gene Fowler

“There’s nothing to writing. All you do is sit down at a keyboard and open a vein.”

—Red Smith

Great Editors know how to craft an engaging story

Information A Story

Fills You Up Moves You On

Facts Acts

Citing Exciting

Reams Dreams

Promotional Emotional

Static Dramatic

Check lists Casts of Characters

Compiling Compelling

Annotated Animated

Feeding the Brain Touching the Heart

Expires Inspires

Great Editors find your company’s Haiku and distinct voice

Haiku: Japanese 3 line poem, 17 syllablesDefine the style and tone that delights readers

Identify what type of content performs best

Modify content assets for different channels

Develop consistency within content assets

Great Editors understand the sales funnel

• Preliminary: Headlines, visuals, architecture and familial content.

• Investigating: Knowledge-seeking and trust-building opportunity

• Capability: Show how you solve problems and deliver on needs

• Action: Motivate sign up, download or buy

Step 5 Content Distribution

Distribution Channels

On-Site Distribution

Off-Site Distribution

Articles

Books

Courseware

eBooks

Podcasts

Printed Books

Tip Centers

Webinars

Whitepapers

Widgets

Workbooks

Video

Determine the right mix of content assets

On-Site distribution architecture with cross pollination

Off-Site distribution gets the words out and traffic in

Step 6 Content Performance

Listing Positions

Organic Traffic

Content Downloads

Sales Influenced by Content Assets

Time On Site

Return Visitors

User Acquisition Cost

Conversion Rates

Always test to mitigate the paradox of choice

• Too many choices with the new age of micro expansion

• New rules for complex decision making

• New meaning needs to be developed to find the best path

• New methodology needs to be formulated for big decisions

• New reward needs to surface with the right decision

The Paradox of Choice by Barry Schwartz

Apply the conversion formula to your testing workflow

Content: Are you earning trust with information customers want and need?

Usability: Is your content and imagery optimized for conversion?

Motivation: Do you have clear reasons to buy and not try the competition?

Incentive: Are you offering any incentives, trial or reward?

Friction: Have you identified potential resistance and reduced the pain points?

Anxiety: Have you pinpointed the concerns and resolved the issues?

Conversion = (Content + Usability + Motivation + Incentive) - (Friction + Anxiety)

Test “feel” words to improve conversion rates

Employment Sell Words

Entry Level Position

Excellent Growth Opportunity

Immediate Openings

Leading Company Seeks

Growing Company Seeks

Team Player

Strong Interpersonal Skill

Financially Motivated

Annual Performance Bonus

Team Environment

Financial Sell Words

You’re Already Pre-Approved

Cash Back Offer

Be Debt-Free in Weeks

Instant Financial Freedom

No Annual Fee

Pocket Extra Money

Low Introductory Rate

Fast Cash

Start Saving Now

Peace of Mind

Test “sell” words to improve conversion rates

Offers

Special Offer

Exclusive Offer

Limited Time Offer

Click Here

Right Now

Instant Access

Instant Download

Free Shipping

No-Fuss Signup

Easy Signup

Trials

Free Trial

First Time Trial

No-Risk Trial

Risk Free Trial

Buy After Review

Test Drive

Free Membership

Free Subscription

Join Beta Group

Free Trial with Feedback

Motivators

Free Gift

Pays for Itself

Limited Availability

As Seen on TV

Solve X

Stop Y

All Inclusive

Best Rated

Tested and Proven

Money-Back Guarantee

Test both positive and negative sell words

Negative Sell Words

Baffling

Blurred

Unclear

Bewildering

Mind-Boggling

Complicated

Convoluted

Perplexing

Puzzling

Mixed Up

Positive Sell Words

Persevering

Efficient

Hard-Driving

Proactive

Adaptable

Responsive

First-rate

Top-notch

Highly Competent

Powerful

Proven methodology delivers the conversion improvemement you demand

“The only marketing left is content marketing.” Seth Godin

Byron White, ideaLaunch

Chief Idea Officer

Twitter: @ByronWhite

Byron[at]ideaLaunch.com

Phone: 617-227-8800 x 201

Free 101 Content Marketing Tips Book DownloadVisit ideaLaunch.com