Rebalance for Content, The New Marketing Equation
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Keynote from the Content Marketing Strategies Conference, Berkeley May 8, 2012
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Rebalance for Content, The New Marketing Equation
- 1. 1 Rebalancing for Content and the New Marketing Equation May 8, 2012 #Content Marketing Rebecca Lieb Industry Analyst @lieblink
- 2. Image by Mark Garbowski used with Attribution as directed by Creative Commons http://toomuchglass.net/2010/12/02/la-la-la-la/ We’re Tuning Out the Noise © 2012 Altimeter Group
- 3. #ContentMarketing 3 77% of Internet users do not engage with online advertising. A shift from ―push‖ to ―pull‖ marketing is imperative to brand survival. Source: Kramer, Staci D. "Pew: Online News Users Don’t Want To Pay—Or Look At Ads" The Economics of Digital Content. Mar. 2010. <http://paidcontent.org/article/419-pew-online-news-users-dont-want-to-pay-or-look-at-ads/>. © 2012 Altimeter Group
- 4. #ContentMarketing 4 Shifting from ―Push‖ to ―Pull‖ Company culture Resources and staffing Budgets Service provider relationships Training Tools vs. strategy Advertising integration © 2012 Altimeter Group
- 5. Image by wjklos used with Attribution as directed by Creative Commons http://www.flickr.com/photos/wjklos/196781213 It’s Time to Rebalance © 2012 Altimeter Group
- 6. #ContentMarketing 6 A Need for ―Rebalance‖ Advertising campaigns vs. continual initiatives New demands on marketing departments and the enterprise Emerging technology allows any brand to function as a media company © 2012 Altimeter Group
- 7. #ContentMarketing 7 Organizations that rebalance now will enhance and improve their marketing initiatives, spend more effectively, and align to meet changing consumer expectations. © 2012 Altimeter Group
- 8. Image by icebirdy used with Attribution as directed by Creative Commons http://www.flickr.com/photos/icebirdy/3153588850 Rebalance with Content © 2012 Altimeter Group
- 9. #ContentMarketing 9 Content marketing is a pull strategy— it’s the marketing of attraction. It’s being there when consumers need you, and seek you out with relevant, educational, helpful, compelling, engaging and sometimes entertaining information. © 2012 Altimeter Group
- 10. #ContentMarketing 10 Content Marketing Builds Stronger Brands Awareness Trust Purchase Intent Word-of-mouth Customer Engagement Lower Acquisition Costs © 2012 Altimeter Group
- 11. #ContentMarketing 11 Content Marketing Changes the Game Earned and owned media Long-term initiatives vs. short-term campaigns New skills as publishers, producers and community managers Evolution from advertisers to storytellers © 2012 Altimeter Group
- 12. Image by adamcnelson used with Attribution as directed by Creative Commons http://www.flickr.com/photos/adamcnelson/3593821772 Set the Stage with Strategy © 2012 Altimeter Group
- 13. #ContentMarketing 13 Three Types of Content Marketing 1. Entertains 2. Informs and Educates 3. Provides Utility © 2012 Altimeter Group
- 14. #ContentMarketing 14 Three Types of Content Marketing 1. Entertains – Old Spice, K-SWISS 2. Informs and Educates 3. Provides Utility © 2012 Altimeter Group
- 15. #ContentMarketing 15 Old Spice Uses Humor to Reach Younger Audiences © 2012 Altimeter Group
- 16. #ContentMarketing 16 K-SWISS Attracts Audiences and Sales with Kenny Powers Videos K-SWISS’ Kenny Powers videos earned millions of views online, resulted in a 1256% increase in Facebook fans, and contributed to a 250% increase in online sales. © 2012 Altimeter Group
- 17. #ContentMarketing 17 3 types of content marketing 1. Entertains – Old Spice, K-SWISS 2. Informs and Educates – AMEX, Mediative 3. Provides Utility © 2012 Altimeter Group
- 18. #ContentMarketing 18 AMEX Informs and Educates Customers with OPEN Forum Content © 2012 Altimeter Group
- 19. #ContentMarketing 19 Mediative’s White Papers, Webinars, Video and Blog Educate Their Customers © 2012 Altimeter Group
- 20. #ContentMarketing 20 3 types of content marketing 1. Entertains – Old Spice, K-SWISS 2. Informs and Educates – AMEX, Mediative 3. Provides Utility – GE, Charmin © 2012 Altimeter Group
- 21. #ContentMarketing 21 GE Transformers iPad App Proves Useful to Its Engineer Community © 2012 Altimeter Group
- 22. #ContentMarketing 22 Charmin’s Sit or Squat App Helps People Find Nearby Public Restrooms © 2012 Altimeter Group
- 23. Building a Foundation for Content Marketing © 2012 Altimeter Group
- 24. #ContentMarketing 24 Who Directs Content Initiatives? Content may ―live‖ in marketing, but stories and opportunities flow in from other departments Cross-departmental support and integration is critical to success Leader(s) must be empowered and understood by entire company, not just marketing © 2012 Altimeter Group
- 25. #ContentMarketing 25 Chief Content Officer Emerges as Leader Reports to: CEO/COO/CMO (depending on size) Summary: Oversee all marketing content initiatives to drive sales, engagement, retention, leads and positive customer behavior. Responsibilities: Think like a publisher, leading the development of content initiatives to drive business. Source: Joe Pulizzi, The Content Marketing Institute, http://blog.junta42.com/2011/05/chief-content-officer- job-description-sample-example-tempate/. Used with Permission. © 2012 Altimeter Group
- 26. #ContentMarketing 26 CCO Job Description, Continued Success criteria: Measured on the improvement of customer nurturing and retention, as well as the increase in new prospects into the enterprise. Experience: 10-15 years as a respected leader in multichannel content creation. Skills: A combination marketing and publishing mindset, with the most important aspect being to think ―customer first.‖ Source: Joe Pulizzi, The Content Marketing Institute, http://blog.junta42.com/2011/05/chief-content-officer- job-description-sample-example-tempate/. Used with Permission. © 2012 Altimeter Group
- 27. #ContentMarketing 27 Content: Other Supporting Roles Chief Marketing Officer Content/Editorial Director Conversation/Community Director Blogger Social Media Guru Copy Editor and Writer Outside Consultants PR Professional EVERYONE (or nearly!) © 2012 Altimeter Group
- 28. #ContentMarketing 28 Conduct a Content Audit to Determine Current Assets, SEO Potential Page/S Page Type of Source Owner/Ap What’s Support Findable Clean, Keyword/ ub- Name Content of prover/Pu It User/Busi & Used? Professional, Metadata/ Section Content blisher About? ness Analytics Logically SEO Goals? Organized? 1.1 Home xxxxxx xxxxxxx xxxxxx xxxxxx xxxxxx xxxxxx xxxxxx xxxxxx 1.2 Widget xxxxxxx xxxxxxx xxxxxx xxxxxx xxxxxx xxxxxx xxxxxx xxxxxx Page 1.3 About xxxxxx xxxxxx xxxxxx xxxxxx xxxxxx xxxxxx xxxxxx xxxxxx Acme Corp © 2012 Altimeter Group
- 29. #ContentMarketing 29 Generate a Keyword List Free SEO services like Google AdWords’ Keyword Tool can aid in generating a robust and comprehensive keyword list. © 2012 Altimeter Group
- 30. #ContentMarketing 30 Create an Editorial Calendar The editorial calendar should address the questions: how much content, how often, and specifically when it will publish. It includes content requirements, responsibilities and a schedule. Source: http://www.findandconvert.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/editorial-calendar-sample.png © 2012 Altimeter Group
- 31. #ContentMarketing 31 Reuse and Repurpose for Greater Impact Video PowerPoint Speech Deck on Slideshare on YouTube Create a Webinar Transcribe or Speech for Blog Post Training Turn Into a Extract Whitepaper, eBook or Charts and Column Infographics © 2012 Altimeter Group
- 32. Image by zetson used with Attribution as directed by Creative Commons http://www.flickr.com/photos/zetson/254608875 Achieve Content Maturity © 2012 Altimeter Group
- 33. #ContentMarketing 33 Altimeter’s Content Marketing Maturity Model © 2012 Altimeter Group
- 34. #ContentMarketing 34 Indium Corp Creates Engaging Blog Content Based on Targeted Keyword Phrases Indium’s 73 blogs and 17 contributors are fueled by keyword research, with the goal of turning content into contacts into cash. Rick Short, director of marketing communications, leads the hyper-targeted blogging strategy – one that increased customer contacts by 600% within a single quarter. © 2012 Altimeter Group
- 35. #ContentMarketing 35 The CDC Gets Creative to Reach Younger Audience The CDC’s well-timed blog post on how to prepare for the Zombie Apocalypse was so popular that it crashed their servers and sent their message about disaster- preparedness viral. © 2012 Altimeter Group
- 36. #ContentMarketing 36 Eloqua Expands its Content Marketing with Creation of VP Content Marketing Role Joe Chernov launched Eloqua’s corporate blog and later used it to promote the company’s other content— made trackable by requiring users to provide contact information. This enabled Chernov to measure effectiveness, directly attributing $2.5M in revenue to four free guides in 2010. Lieb, Rebecca. Content Marketing: Think like a Publisher – How to Use Content to Market Online and in Social Media. Indianapolis: Que, 2012. © 2012 Altimeter Group
- 37. #ContentMarketing 37 Nestlé’s Blackshaw Takes Senior Leadership on Inspirational ―Field Trip‖ to Silicon Valley © 2012 Altimeter Group
- 38. #ContentMarketing 38 Salesforce Leverages Video to Share Product Demos, Webinars, Events and More Salesforce’s 2,600 YouTube videos receive upward of 11K views per day. The company has valued its product demo views (av. 2 minutes per view) as equal to customers receiving service from 66 hyper- efficient sales representatives. © 2012 Altimeter Group
- 39. #ContentMarketing 39 Red Bull Recognized as Content Empire, Adds E-commerce Site to Media Strategy © 2012 Altimeter Group
- 40. #ContentMarketing 40 Blendtec’s ―Will It Blend‖ Videos Boosted Sales 700% © 2012 Altimeter Group
- 41. Content Channel Confidence © 2012 Altimeter Group
- 42. Where is Content Confidence Held? Base: 56 marketers; Size of bubbles above reflect marketers' intention to increase/decrease use of that content type over the foreseeable future. * Based on question: What are the most effective types of content you’ve used to promote your brand? ** Based on question: Which type(s) of content do you plan to phase out, use less of, or have found ineffective?; Source: Altimeter Group © 2012 Altimeter Group
- 43. #ContentMarketing 43 Top-Level Findings Content initiatives are a significant investment. Rebalancing requires departmental integration and cultural shifts. Content and advertising should be interrelated. Marketers are distracted by new channels and technologies. Over the next five years, content marketing will permeate the organization. © 2012 Altimeter Group
- 44. How Will You Rebalance? © 2012 Altimeter Group
- 45. THANK YOU Rebecca Lieb rebecca@altimetergroup.com rebeccalieb.com/blog Twitter: lieblink Disclaimer: Although the information and data used in this report have been produced and processed from sources believed to be reliable, no warranty expressed or implied is made regarding the completeness, accuracy, adequacy or use of the information. The authors and contributors of the information and data shall have no liability for errors or omissions contained herein or for interpretations thereof. Reference herein to any specific product or vendor by trade name, trademark or otherwise does not constitute or imply its endorsement, recommendation or favoring by the authors or contributors and shall not be used for advertising or product endorsement purposes. The opinions expressed herein are subject to change without notice. © 2012 Altimeter Group
- 46. ABOUT US Altimeter Group is a research-based advisory firm that helps companies and industries leverage disruption to their advantage. Visit us at www.AltimeterGroup.com or contact info@altimetergroup.com. © 2012 Altimeter Group
Editor's Notes
- Source:http://paidcontent.org/article/419-pew-online-news-users-dont-want-to-pay-or-look-at-ads/Pew Internet Project – 2010—Online advertising: The same survey looked at attitudes to online advertising: 81 percent said they didn’t mind online ads but 77 percent said they either don’t click on them (42 percent) or “hardly ever” click (35 percent). Younger users and the most frequent online news users are slightly more likely to pay attention to ads but not by a large enough number to suggest online advertising is a slam dunk.Shift from push to pull requires a huge degree of new thinking and processes.
- Company culture (goes beyond the marketing dept - enterprise level demands, breaking down silos)Resource & Staffing - new skillsBudgets (content isn't "free")Service provider relationshipsNeed for TrainingAbility to not focus on bright shiny objects, but instead strategyIntegrating content with advertising and other marketing initiatives
- Content marketing, or creating and publishing media rather than “renting” advertising time and space, has always existed. Emerging digital technologies, platforms and channels now enable any brand to function as a media company, with very real advantages: building branding, awareness, trust, purchase intent, word-of-mouth, lowering acquisition costs and increasing engagement with target audiences. Unlike advertising, content initiatives are continual, placing new demands not just on marketing organizations but also across the enterprise as a whole. This report, based on qualitative interviews with 56 brands and agencies, looks at how organizations are shifting priorities and resources to strategically and effectively leverage content marketing to amplify marketing messages while lowering advertising expenditure. We believe there are four stages organizations evolve through in their quest to market efficiently with content. Not every company will reach every stage; the pinnacle is more aspirational than real for most. Yet to effectively market with content organizational change and transformation must be driven from the top level of the organization. Left to the marketing department alone, success will be limited. New skills must be developed and training offered, both in digital technologies as well as in job functions more aligned with the responsibilities found at a newspaper, magazine or broadcaster than in classic marketing functions. Content requires more speed and agility than does marketing, yet at the same time it must be aligned with metrics that conform to the business’ strategic marketing goals.
- Rebalancing, or realigning resources, budgets, staffing, company culture and agency and service provider relationships, will make marketing organizations both more effective and prepared to meet ever-changing digital challenges. Organizations that rebalance now will enhance and improve their marketing initiatives, spend more effectively, and align to meet changing consumer expectations.
- Opt-out vs. Tune-inEpisodic vs. OngoingOwned and Earned vs. Bought
- Content marketing, or creating and publishing media rather than “renting” advertising time and space, has always existed. Emerging digital technologies, platforms and channels now enable any brand to function as a media company, with very real advantages: building branding, awareness, trust, purchase intent, word-of-mouth, lowering acquisition costs and increasing engagement with target audiences. Unlike advertising, content initiatives are continual, placing new demands not just on marketing organizations but also across the enterprise as a whole. This report, based on qualitative interviews with 56 brands and agencies, looks at how organizations are shifting priorities and resources to strategically and effectively leverage content marketing to amplify marketing messages while lowering advertising expenditure. We believe there are four stages organizations evolve through in their quest to market efficiently with content. Not every company will reach every stage; the pinnacle is more aspirational than real for most. Yet to effectively market with content organizational change and transformation must be driven from the top level of the organization. Left to the marketing department alone, success will be limited. New skills must be developed and training offered, both in digital technologies as well as in job functions more aligned with the responsibilities found at a newspaper, magazine or broadcaster than in classic marketing functions. Content requires more speed and agility than does marketing, yet at the same time it must be aligned with metrics that conform to the business’ strategic marketing goals.
- Content marketing is owned and earned media.Unlike advertising, which is push messaging in rented time or space in print or broadcast media, content marketing is pull marketing, the marketing of attraction, in media that belongs to the organization creating the message. This can be a social channel, such as Facebook or YouTube, or a wholly owned web site or app.Creating and publishing media places enormous new demands not only on marketing departments, but on the enterprise as a whole.Due to shifts in consumer attention, companies are challenged to move beyond episodic, short duration “push” campaign initiatives into longer-term, often continual “pull” content marketing initiatives that require new strategic approaches. To continually attract and engage consumers requires companies to develop new skills. They must learn to think and to function as publishers, producers and often, as community managers. Content creation and distribution places new and continual demands on the enterprise as a whole, not just the marketing department. And frequently, content necessitates operating in real-time environments, including evenings, weekends and holidays. To meet this challenge, organizations must rebalance.They must evolve from advertisers into storytellers. Advertisers interrupt consumers with messaging that’s overwhelmingly ‘me’ oriented: my product, my service. Storytellers attract, beguile, entertain and inform. They are sought out and revisited. Often, they’ll enter into dialogue with their audience. They’re attuned to nuanced reactions and will adjust their narratives accordingly, whether a shift in tone of voice or a deeper dive into what was originally just a backstory.
- K-Swiss and agency 72andSunny raised eyebrows in 2010 when they debuted a campaign for K-Swiss’ new Tubes shoe fronted by the foul-mouthed, burned out HBO’s Eastbound & Down’s pitcher character co-created and played by Danny McBride.The campaign was notable for a few reasons, not least of which was the simple fact that a marketer was putting its brand in the hands of such a spectacularly non-aspirational (fictional) athlete. But the campaign also marked an unusual three-way co-branding exercise, simultaneously promoting Tubes, season 2 of Eastbound, which was scheduled to launch a month after the campaign broke, and a Hollywood star on the rise.Powers’ return is an indicator of the success of that inaugural campaign, and not just as a giant Eastbound promo. The videos earned millions of views online (a million on FunnyorDie), resulted in a 1256% increase in Facebook fans and landed the brand atop the “biggest buzz” list in industry trade Footwear News. Perhaps more to the point, K-Swiss also reports a 250% increase in online sales post-Powers.K-Swiss has continued making the Powers videos to promote other products after the success of its Tubes sales. SOURCE: http://www.fastcocreate.com/1679194/kenny-powers-returns-for-second-k-swiss-campaign
- **Reference in book: Chapter 6 – Content That Informs and Educates, Branded Content That Informs and Educates (final section to the chapter) for Amex OPEN case study
- http://www.enquiro.com/whitepapers/
- Sales are a criterion when new apps are considered for development at GE, but utility matters just as much, as does speed-to-market. As far as GE is concerned, the time to develop apps for customers is now, before the wow factor wears off and while the company can still impress customers with an app's added value. Ease-of-use is also key. One app, geared to engineers in the field, is avilable on the iPhone, but also on the iPad. Why? "Because engineers wear gloves."Transformers: This colorful and vivid app allows customers, GE sales teams, and field service engineers to remotely monitor and diagnose GE transformers and transformer stations that supply electricity to homes and business around the country. The real-time sensor data helps improves efficiency and problem solving, which benefits both GE and its customers.
- Reports ToChief Executive Officer/Chief Operating Officer (smaller enterprise) or Chief Marketing Officer/VP of Marketing (larger enterprise)Position SummaryThe Chief Content Officer (CCO) oversees all marketing content initiatives, both internal and external, across multiple platforms and formats to drive sales, engagement, retention, leads and positive customer behavior.This individual is an expert in all things related to content and channel optimization, brand consistency, segmentation and localization, analytics and meaningful measurement.The position collaborates with the departments of public relations, communications, marketing, customer service, IT and human resources to help define both the brand story and the story as interpreted by the customer.ResponsibilitiesUltimately, the job of the CCO is to think like a publisher/journalist, leading the development of content initiatives in all forms to drive new and current business. This includes:Ensuring all content is on-brand, consistent in terms of style, quality and tone of voice, and optimized for search and user experience for all channels of content including online, social media, email, point of purchase, mobile, video, print and in-person. This is to be done for each buyer persona within the enterprise.Mapping out a content strategy that supports and extends marketing initiatives, both short- and long-term, determining which methods work for the brand and why. Continuous evolvement of strategy is a must.The development of a functional content calendar throughout the enterprise verticals, and defining the owners in each vertical to particular persona groups.Supervising writers, editors, content strategists; be an arbiter of best practices in grammar, messaging, writing, and style.Integration of content activities within traditional marketing campaigns.Conducting ongoing usability tests to gauge content effectiveness. Gathering data and handle analytics (or supervise those who do) and make recommendations based on those results. Working with owners of particular content to revise and measure particular content and marketing goals.Developing standards, systems and best practices (both human and technological) for content creation, distribution, maintenance, content retrieval and content repurposing, including the real-time implementation of content strategies.Leveraging market data to develop content themes/topics and execute a plan to develop the assets that support a point of view and educate customers that leads to critical behavioral metrics.Establishing work flow for requesting, creating, editing, publishing, and retiring content.Work with technical team to implement appropriate CMS.Conducting periodic competitive audits.Supervising the maintenance of content inventories and matrices.Ensuring consistent global experience and implement appropriate localization/translation strategies.Participation in the hiring and supervising of content/story leaders in all content verticals.Creation of a strategy for developing SMS/MMS outreach and advertising, apps, etc. as needed.Work closely with company's Chief Design Officer on all creative and branding initiatives to ensure a consistent message across channels.
- Success CriteriaThe CCO is measured on the continual improvement of customer nurturing and retention through storytelling, as well as the increase in new prospects into the enterprise through the consistent development and deployment of content to each persona group. Success criteria include:Positive brand recognition and consistency across chosen published channels.An increase in defined customer engagement metrics (measured by users taking the desired action…i.e. conversions, subscription, purchase, etc.).Website and social media traffic growth.Conversion metrics definition and growth.Social media positive sentiment metrics.Customer feedback and survey data.Increases in key search engine keyword rankings.A decrease in sales/buying cycles.Clearly defining content distribution during particular stages of the buying cycle (lead nurturing).Identifying up-sell and cross-sell opportunities through content analysis, and deploying content assets for higher conversion rates.Primary criteria for success are customer and employee affinity. Success is measured around lifetime customer value, customer satisfaction, and employee advocacy.Experience and Education RequiredBachelor's degree in English, Journalism, Public Relations or related communications field. MBA in marketing a plus.10-15 years of experience as a respected leader in multichannel content creation (publishing, journalism, etc.).Experience with creating compelling messages for different target demographics. Crisis communications experience a plus.Expertise in all major business software applications (Adobe Creative Suite, Microsoft Office, etc.).HR-related experience including hiring, managing, performance reviews, compensation packages, etc. required.Multilingual abilities (specifically Spanish and Chinese) a major plus.Audience development and subscription strategies experience a plus.Skills RequiredThe CCO requires a combination marketing and publishing mindset, with the most important aspect being to think “customer first”. In essence, the CCO is the corporate storyteller that must be empathetic toward the pain points of the customer. Specific skills required include:Proven editorial skills. Outstanding command of the English (or primary customer) language.Training as a print or broadcast journalist and has a “nose” for the story. Training in how to tell a story using words, images, or audio, and an understanding of how to create content that draws an audience (it is critical that the CCO retain an “outsider’s perspective” much like that of a journalist.)The ability to lead and inspire large teams of creative personnel and content creators to achieve company's stated goals.Skill at both long-form content creation and real-time (immediate) content creation and distribution strategies and tactics.The ability to think like an educator, intuitively understanding what the audience needs to know and how they want to consume it.A passion for new technology tools (aka, using the tools you preach about) and usage of those tools within your own blogs and social media outreach. Social DNA a plus!Clear articulation of the business goal behind the creation of a piece (or series) of content.Leadership skills required to define and manage a set of goals involving diverse contributors and content typesProject management skills to manage editorial schedules and deadlines within corporate and ongoing campaigns. Ability to work in a 24 hour project cycle-utilizing teams or contractors in other countries.Familiarity with principles of marketing (and the ability to adapt or ignore them as dictated by data).Excellent negotiator and mediator.Incredible people skills.Basic technical understanding of HTML, XHTML, CSS, Java, web publishing, Flash, etc.Fluency in web analytics tools (Adobe Omniture, Google Analytics), social media marketing applications (HootSuite, Tweetdeck, etc.) and leading social media monitoring platforms (Radian6, etc.).A willingness to embrace change and to adapt strategies on the fly.Great powers of persuasion and presentation (Visio, PowerPoint)Experience creating a resource or library of content organized indicating SEO, translations and version control.Needs to be continually learning the latest platforms, technology tools and marketing solutions through partnerships.Able to screen out sales pitches and look for the relevant brand and customer story.Comfortable with acting as the company's spokesman and advocate via media appearances, interviews, sales calls, trade shows, etc.
- Content audit - Assessing current content and determining how to make it work best with SEO principles - what content should be used as-is? Tweaked? Thrown out?-- Try to find a CASE STUDY that talks about content siloing - does it work?2. Keyword Research is only the beginning - Tons of SEO data is locked up in social graphs - how do you access that?3. Editorial calendar - include what keywords each piece of content will focus on -- Factoring in where content should be places in the site IA to create stronger SEO content silos – all part of the editorial calendar – more on this later, in education and training4. Connect to specific measurement KPIs 5. Focusing on the long-tail - The highest search volume words don't always represent the way the content writers would prefer to position their products - how to handle these problems? How can content be drafted and implemented to focus on the longtail? -- Some of the content examples in the balloon chart are much more longtail - win on lots of keywords that draw small amounts of traffic over time
- Based on SEO research, your Keyword List is a list of words and phrases most critical to your business, products and services when it comes to being found on the Web. If you don’t have an SEO expert on staff, anyone and everyone involved in content creation should receive foundational training in SEO and how to appropriately use keywords (and other SEO principles) in content creation.
- An editorial calendar establishes what content will be created when, in what format, and for which content channel. A digital editorial calendar also tracks the connections for that content, including how the content will be repurposed and amplified in social media channels.The editorial calendar should contain a list of all content approved for publication. It should address the questions: how much content, how often, and specifically when it will publish. It includes content requirements, responsibilities and a schedule.Source of editorial calendar example: http://www.findandconvert.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/editorial-calendar-sample.png
- Slice 'n' dice: example: write a speech, create a deck, video speech, blog speech, post video to YouTube, deck to Slideshare, transcribe presentation. extract charts and infographics. Make the talk a whitepaper. An ebook. A column. Maybe it can be a webinar, or a training sessions.
- BACKGROUNDIndium is a 75-year-old manufacturer of electronics assembly materials. Rick Short, director of marketing communications, has been there 25 years. Short realized several years ago that social media could be a powerful marketing force and he began experimenting with it on his own, blogging about topics of personal interest unconnected to Indium. When he began thinking about adding social media to Indium’s marketing mix, he first needed to help people at Indium understand that the tools in social media are available and can be effective for B2B. A blogging strategy was initially fought, as leadership believed it would violate social culture. However, Short disagreed:“Through the 75 years of our company we have always been about earning (customers) by developing great products or showing them how to enhance their process whether it’s through a technique or a product. So we’ve always had this great need to be socially adept and appealing to the needs of our customers… so it was a natural process to say, hey, there are some new tools available, why don’t we throw those into our bag of tricks?” Indium’s CEO and other leadership also believed that blogging would not be a good idea for the organization, as “blogging can live forever.” However, Short argued that other media can as well in the digital age and that the long-lasting nature of a blog is not a reason to inhibit its use. Rather than creating an Indium policy specific to blogging, Short led the creation and implementation of a more all-encompassing social media policy as a kickoff to the company’s blog strategy, setting a solid foundation for Indium’s foray into social media.STRATEGYShort started formulating Indium’s blogging and social media strategy with keyword research. He identified 73 of the most important keywords his prospective customers would search for. Then he created 73 different blogs that focused on each keyword and assigned a dozen employees to write those blogs.Blogging is now the most prevalent social media platform at Indium. The ultimate goal is to produce face-to-face contacts and relationships. Blogging advances close contact and, through the inclusion of video, photos, commenting, emails and phone numbers, Indium can invite customers to engage in conversations offline.Indium now has 15 blogs with 17 dedicated bloggers maintaining them (many of whom are engineers). The bloggers write about the nuances of each market segment, focusing on the keywords uncovered by Short’s research. Indium’s blog posts feature buyer oriented keywords likely to be searched. Headlines like “Wave Solder Flux Deactivation Temperatures Explained” and “Using Integrated Preforms for Solder Fortification” may not be interesting to most people, but if you’re on the market for solder, these are the details you need to know to specify the right solder. RESULTSOnce the blogs took off, customer contacts increased 600% in a single quarter. And everyone who contacted a blog author, commented on a blog post or downloaded a white paper opted in to the company’s customer database. “Most people in the world can’t believe that people really care about this stuff,” Short told Ann Handley and C.C. Chapman, authors of the book Content Rules: How to Create Killer Blogs, Podcasts, Videos, Ebooks, Webinars (and More) That Engage Customers and Ignite Your Business. “But my customers do… They love this stuff!” Customers like circuit board manufacturers, solar panel manufacturers and the semiconductor industry. So what can you learn from Indium? It doesn’t matter how obscure your product or service is. As long as you fill a need in the marketplace, you have customers.“The mantra of my content program is simple: content to contact to cash,” states Short.SOURCES:http://www.socialmediaexaminer.com/how-to-create-content-that-engages-prospects-and-customers/http://sarahsturtevant.com/wordpress/search-engine-optimization/indium-corp-proves-the-value-of-birthing-a-corporate-blog/http://www.briansolis.com/2011/03/b2b-social-media-lead-generation-explained/http://books.google.com/books?id=sFhq-cdX89wC&pg=PA259&lpg=PA259&dq=indium+corp+social+media&source=bl&ots=DpbAePsJif&sig=FFlQXZ4nSyKJBEZ1SoeLgnmBRI4&hl=en&ei=_5nmTpuHA8eziQLv7LX-Bg&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=4&ved=0CDUQ6AEwAzgK#v=onepage&q=indium%20corp%20social%20media&f=false
- Eloqua is a privately held company that sells digital marketing automation software. The company was already creating some content when Joe Chernov was promoted to the newly created role of vice president of content marketing. Given the metrics-driven nature of the company’s products and services, Chernov knew he would have to prove the value of his own marketing efforts while creating content that positioned Eloqua as a thought leader in the marketing industry. Chernov launched a corporate blog and worked on a series of free ebook guides, white papers, webinars, infographics, and other educational content. He also hired a former journalist as a full time corporate reporter.Leveraging internal experts as bloggers, Eloqua's corporate blog reached the Ad Age Power 150 within its first year. Chernov used the blog to promote the company’s free content, made trackable by requiring visitors to provide their name, email, phone number, company and job title in order to download it. This data enabled Chernov to connect the dots between revenue and content. Four free guides were directly attributable to $2.5 million in revenue in 2010. Not only can Eloqua directly connect revenue with content, they can also evaluate lead quality. On average, 17 percent of visitors to Eloqua.com are VP or higher, but 25 percent of visitors who find the site via content pieces are VP or higher. The Takeoff stage of Altimeter's content marketing maturity model requires an organization to implement a measurement framework to demonstrate content’s value to the organization.
- Nestlé is the world’s largest nutrition, health and wellness company with global revenues exceeding CHF 109M. When Pete Blackshaw became global head of digital and social media, one of his first orders of business was fostering a “culture of content” within the executive leadership ranks. While Nestlé had long recognized the importance of content proliferation as part of its global marketing and sales strategy, Blackshaw believed further development was necessary if Nestlé wished to remain top-of-mind with its social-savvy consumers and boost product speed to market.Blackshaw flew a team of senior managers from company headquarters in Vevey, Switzerland to visit entrepreneurial and fast-moving digital companies in Silicon Valley, notably Facebook. Nestlé’s executives were inspired by the social network’s constantly evolving and listening-focused company culture. Blackshaw cites the executive “field trip” as a success in helping the company more quickly adapt to changes in the digital landscape. He plans to continue content marketing training in 2012 with the launch of a company-wide training initiative. Other companies within the Ascend stage of Altimeter Group’s content marketing maturity model may pursue similar executive development opportunities to aid in the adaptation and advancement of their company culture and content strategies on divisional levels, as well as throughout the enterprise.
- Jamie Grenney, VP of Social Media and Online Video for Salesforce:“Salesforce.com is the enterprise cloud computing company -- more than 67,000 customers use our cloud platform and apps to help run their businesses. Of the various social media channels we use to engage our community, YouTube has emerged as the most important for our business because it allows us to deliver a rich and concise message with perfect fidelity.We looked at a number of different approaches to publishing video both on our own website as well as other sites on the web. Given that YouTube is such a large percentage of online video, we knew it was a platform that we couldn't overlook. View counts are weighted heavily in search and are an important part of what makes a video interesting to other viewers.Today, all our video content is hosted on YouTube and we use the YouTube APIs to serve up videos in branded players on our website.”SOURCES:http://www.slideshare.net/Salesforce/video-creation-for-b2b-marketers (updated stats vs. interview below)http://ytbizblog.blogspot.com/2010/02/five-questions-for-jamie-grenney-senior.html
- Red Bull, the Austria-based energy drink company with 3.78B euros in annual revenue, has long been recognized as a content powerhouse. It produces high-energy, maximum impact, visually stimulating artifacts that directly tie in to its extreme energy drink branding and related sports and aviation sponsorship. Its focus on permeating global culture with its branded and brand-related content has proven so successful that Red Bull continued to “soar” with the addition of RedBullContentPool.com – an e-commerce website that allows (primarily commercial) users to license clips from the brand’s extensive video content library.In addition to the ability to license nearly 8,000 videos on RedBullContentPool.com, users interested in Red Bull’s photography may visit an alternate site that offers more than 42,000 photos free to anyone using them for editorial purposes. The company also offers specific pieces of content for download via iTunes, owns a record label and publishes a print magazine, among many other media initiatives. Red Bull’s complex distribution model allows it to utilize content to its maximum potential in both revenue generation and impact on global culture. Other companies within the Soar stage of Altimeter Group’s content marketing maturity model may pursue similar commercial media licensing, syndication and distribution models to grow the reach, impact and ROI of their content, ultimately creating additional opportunities to generate earned media in the process.
- Not Free: Certainly, content marketing reduces media spend, but the more mature a company’s content marketing efforts, the better they understand that effective content initiatives require significant investment in internal staff, production and distribution resources, and often new sources of strategic support. Culture: Rebalancing requires deep departmental integration and cultural shifts across the enterprise, as well as education, training and new digital skill sets for staff within and beyond the marketing organization. Integrate: Increasing confidence in and reliance on content marketing is causing marketers to reevaluate, and often to cut back, on advertising and shift those dollars to content production and distribution. For optimal impact and maximum success, content and advertising should be integrated, or at least interrelated. In tandem, the two can more fully express a brand story. Bright, Shiny Objects: In their enthusiasm for marketing with content, we found many marketers who we interviewed for this report distracted by channels and technology at the expense of strategy and fundamentals. Organizational Change: We believe that over the next five years, content marketing will permeate the organization. Led by the marketing department, finding, producing and disseminating content both internal and external to the organization will become a core marketing function, but it will require cross-departmental support, primarily in the form of input and creation from senior management, sales and product teams. To seek out stories, trends, questions and the other “raw materials” of content marketing, shoe leather is a requirement. Like beat reporters, those charged with creating content must continually travel throughout their companies and indeed, their industries, to keep a finger on its pulse and to find the stories and ideas that can be turned into content.