Amplify your thought leadership. A documented content strategy that’s strategically aligned with your corporate story is critical to success.

In the age of the customer, content marketing has shifted from a

“nice to have” to a “must have.” With nearly 60 percent of the buying

process occurring via customer research prior to speaking with a sales

representative, content has become a company’s voice to its customers

and plays a significant role in shaping the customer experience.1

To meet the ever-increasing need for content, more than 90 percent of

B2B marketers now develop content as part of their marketing strategy.

In 2013, more than 70 percent of marketers claimed that they planned

to increase the amount of content produced in 2014.2

Since the dawn of the self-service buying process, marketers have

struggled to balance the art of quantity versus quality. The need to have

content easily found on the Web led many marketers to succumb to

content marketing tactics focused on high quantity, low-quality content

saturated with keywords and phrases and structured around industry

buzz words rather than corporate messaging in order to attract the

search engines to their websites.

This tactic of using high volumes of content to drive site traffic falls

short when the potential customer engages and the content provided

does not bring value to the buying process. Consequently, only 42

percent of marketers believe the content they produce effectively

achieves specified business goals. This is not surprising because only

44 percent of marketers have a documented content strategy. Those

B2B marketers who do have a documented content strategy in place

consider themselves to be effective at a much higher rate than those

who do not have a documented strategy in place — 66 percent versus

11 percent.3 Needless to say, having a documented content strategy in

place can make the difference between success and failure.

3Amplify your thought leadership. | A documented content strategy that’s strategically aligned with your corporate story is critical to success.

B2B marketers with a documented content strategy consider themselves to be effective at a much higher rate than those who do not have a documented strategy in place — 66 percent versus 11 percent.

4 Amplify your thought leadership. | A documented content strategy that’s strategically aligned with your corporate story is critical to success.

A documented content strategy is rooted in your Corporate Messaging Platform, which

identifies your go-to-market positioning and the value your company brings to customers,

along with key messages that allow you to deliver a clear, compelling and consistent

corporate story at every customer touchpoint.

A content strategy aligns your business goals, thought leadership positions and the

challenges and pain points your customers experience to the services and solutions your

business offers. The documented content strategy is a framework for how your content

can shape this overall customer experience with your company. It is a roadmap for how

you will communicate with and engage with your customers so that you may truly earn

thought leadership status in the market.

What is a documented content strategy?

“A documented content strategy is a roadmap for

how you will communicate with and engage with

customers so that you truly earn thought leadership

status in the market.”

5Amplify your thought leadership. | A documented content strategy that’s strategically aligned with your corporate story is critical to success.

As noted previously, the self-service nature of the buying journey has led to an influx

of content posted to the Web. In fact, 92,000 articles are posted to the Web each day.4

The sheer volume of content created in response to the new buying journey provides an

additional obstacle for marketers …

How can we elevate our content amid all the clutter on the Web?

The answer … deliver high-quality, customer-centric content that adds value to your

customers’ buying journey and elevates your business as a thought leader — a thought

leader that is able to shape the collective thinking of a target audience or effect actual

change within an industry.

Thought leadership content supports and connects back to specific thought leadership

positions — statements architected to include the thought leader’s own-able positions

as they relate to specific market trends, topics or visions as well as the impact these

positions have on the target market(s). A thought leadership position may be specific to an

individual or to multiple target personas.

What is thought leadership?

“A thought leader is able to shape the collective

thinking of a target audience or effect actual change

within an industry.”

6 Amplify your thought leadership. | A documented content strategy that’s strategically aligned with your corporate story is critical to success.

Does your content truly extend and amplify your corporate message? An effective content strategy — one that is aligned to your corporate messaging and

shaped by thought leadership positions — guides content development so that it remains

on message and delivers a clear, compelling and consistent story at every touchpoint.

An effective content strategy provides a framework from which to measure success

because all content development efforts are moving toward the goal of owning defined

thought leadership positions within the minds of your customers.

An effective content strategy also extends and amplifies your corporate message, elevating

your content above the clutter of content on the Web and creating a consistent and

compelling experience for your customers at every stage of the buying journey.

In the end, a documented content strategy that is anchored in thought leadership

positions and aligned with your corporate story will help create a more compelling and

differentiated customer experience.

7Amplify your thought leadership. | A documented content strategy that’s strategically aligned with your corporate story is critical to success.

Effective content strategies guide content development so that it remains on message and delivers a clear, compelling and consistent story at every touchpoint.

1 “The Digital Evolution in B2B Marketing.” The Digital Evolution in B2B Marketing. CEB, n.d. Web. 08 Feb. 2015.2 B2B Content Marketing 2014: Benchmarks, Budgets, and Trends — North America. Rep. Content Marketing Institute and Marketing Profs, 1 Oct. 2013. Web. 9 Feb. 2015.3 B2B Content Marketing 2014: Benchmarks, Budgets, and Trends — North America. Rep. Content Marketing Institute and Marketing Profs, 1 Oct. 2013. Web. 9 Feb. 2015.4 “A Day in the Life of Web Content.” A Day in the Life of Web Content. Chartbeat, n.d. Web. 08 Feb. 2015

About OnMessage

OnMessage is a messaging infusion company with a proven

model for helping you develop a clear, compelling and consistent

corporate message. Our methodology aligns your company’s

strengths and true points of difference with customer needs to

create a messaging platform that elicits optimal engagement

throughout the customer experience. This methodology, when

combined with our organizational change, sales enablement,

content development and brand integration services, enables you

to achieve a higher return on every connection you make.

We do this through five highly integrated service offerings

that enable you to:

> Develop and deliver a clear, compelling and consistent

corporate message

> Train employees so they can bring your corporate

message to life

> Provide sales with engaging messages, stories and tools

> Extend and amplify your story with compelling content

> Integrate your corporate message with captivating

brand creative

By partnering with us and infusing consistent messaging

in all five of these areas, you can create a differentiated

customer experience that will accelerate business growth.

© Copyright OnMessage, Inc. 2015 | All rights reserved.

For more information

For more valuable and informative resources

that can help you improve your customer’s

experience, go to: itsonmessage.com/resource

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Robyn ShortManaging Director / Content Development

As managing director of content development,

Robyn leverages more than 15 years of experience

developing winning thought leadership and branded

content strategies to help clients maximize audience

engagement and accelerate business growth.