dana gagnon
TRANSCRIPT
How to build a content marketing strategy from
scratch
Dana GagnonD i r e c t o r o f B r a n d e d C o n t e n t , P l u r a l s i g h t
@ChicagoDana
• What’s content marketing and why does it matter?
• How to think about strategy
• Defi ning content pillars• Generating ideas
The lineup
“Either write something worth reading or do something
worth writing.”-Benjamin Franklin
78% of CMOs see content marketing as the future of marketing
70% of customers feel closer to a company as a result of content marketing
Costs 62% less than traditional marketing
On average, companies with blogs produce 67% more leads per month
Source: http://www.demandmetric.com/content/content-marketing-infographic
Why content marketing?
Where do you start?BlogSocialYour audience + goals
Start with a strategy. Start asking questions.
The audience:• Who are our customers/potential customers?• What are their challenges/concerns?• How do we reach them/where are they
online?
The content:• What stories do we want to tell?• What are our key diff erentiators? • What’s our voice and point of view?• How can we be helpful, not salesy?
Defi ne goalsLead gen, brand awareness, SEO, engagement, establ ish credibi l i ty?
Budget + who’s responsibleIn-house vs. external, publ ishing costs/tools? What are the r isks?
The logistics
Finding a strategy that works
“Focus on the core problem your business solves and put out lots of content and enthusiasm and ideas about how to solve that problem.” – Laura Fitton, Founder of OneForty.com (now
part of HubSpot)
Define your content pillars
Technical contentHow-tos, op-ed, new features, demos
Goals achieved: Thought leadership, brand awareness/credibi l i ty, SEO
CareerAdvice columns, training/interview tips
Goals achieved: Thought leadership, brand awareness/credibi l i ty, SEO
LifestyleSocial contests, pol ls/surveys, photo gal leries
Goals achieved: Engagement, establ ishing brand voice
Where do ideas come from?• Keywords• Q&A sites• Listening• Seasonal trends/dates
Ideas: Analytics – internal/external search
Ideas: Keywords in Google Suggest
Ideas: Google Keyword tool
Ideas: Google Keyword Tool
Ideas: Quora
Ideas: Industry-specific & internal forums
Ideas: Listening
• Customer service/support site• Sales team• Social• Customer stories
Ideas: Listening
Ideas: Seasonal trends/dates
Build a content calendar for:• Year-end/mid-year review• Content tied to “holidays”• Cycles within your industry
Ideas: Seasonal trends/dates
Ideas: Seasonal trends/dates
Ideas: Read daily!
Now what?
Quality content is king!
