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 carla@goTypeA.com www.goTypeA.com

Type A Communications @carlajohnson Carla Johnson Carla Johnson