Content marketing is more than just creating and sharing content to engage potential customers; it’s individual elements that can be used separately or together to create highly customized materials for individual audiences. Included in this eBook is a periodic table of content types showing you how you can combine elements into a substance that matters to your target audiences.

1. Content Marketing
Substances and
solutions: Creating
content that matters
ART+SCIENCE
A GLOBAL COMPUTERSHARE COMPANY

2. Art meets science
At Pepper, we truly do walk the walk and
talk the talk—meaning our tagline creative
thinking, strategic results actually is the way
we do business. Follow this guide, and you’ll
see how to put science behind every creative
idea. You’ll also learn how to make intelligent
decisions when it comes to marketing’s most
buzzworthy topics.
ART+SCIENCE
CONTENT MARKETING
2

3. ART+SCIENCE
CONTENT MARKETING
3
93% of B2B marketers do some form of content marketing, whether they realize it or not
(MarketingProfs.com, The State of B2B Content Marketing, 2013). In fact, despite such wide
participation in this realm, 56%of firms don’t even have a plan or strategy surrounding
content marketing (CMI, 2013).
The fact that so many people are participating in content marketing and don’t realize it makes for an interesting
conundrum. Is the term too ambiguous? Possibly—but that’s probably because it’s grown from a marketing trend to a
way of life. And, like substances and elements, content comes in an ever-growing number of forms, each of which will
cause varied reactions with different segments in your target audience.
Just as some metals are magnetic, some solutions are viscous and some solids are heavy, different content can be
engaging, sticky, weighty—and the intensity of those properties can change depending on the situation. For instance,
if you’re sending an engineering technician a witty infographic, she might not react the same way your head buyer
might. But, you could transform the same information into a whitepaper and get a more engaged reaction from
that engineer.
When dealing with content marketing and what it can potentially mean for you, it’s critical to understand all the
elements involved—choosing what information to present, what form to put it in, how to push it out to your audiences
and so on. Then you can start designing a plan for how to combine elements the right way to ignite reactions with
your audience.
Get started by learning about the practice at hand:
Content marketing is a technique of creating and/or distributing relevant and valuable content to attract, acquire,
and engage a clearly defined target audience with the objective of driving action. It’s about:
1. Adding value
2. Providing an incredibly valuable resource
3. Creating more interactive storytelling
4. Presenting information in a variety of ways for a variety of learners
Targeting different segments of your audience is as simple as taking your story and telling it in different
ways—formats, channels, frequencies—so it sticks. That is what makes up your content strategy.
Goal
Subject
matter
Team
Creation
Audience
development

4. ART+SCIENCE
CONTENT MARKETING
4
High
Medium-High
Medium
Low-Medium
Low
Periodic Table of Content
SaSample
Print and Online
In-person
Print
Online
People Other
Actions &
initiatives
Types of contentContent tactics
Stickiness Content weight
Element symbol
Element name
Periodic table of content
Combining elements into substance that matters to your target audiences
High
Medium-High
Medium
Low-Medium
Low
Periodic Table of Content
SaSample
Print and Online
In-person
Print
Online
People Other
Actions &
initiatives
Types of contentContent tactics
Stickiness Content weight
Element symbol
Element name

5. ART+SCIENCE
CONTENT MARKETING
5
Sample molecules
With B2B marketing, there are plenty of people who can influence purchases, especially when dealing with things that
one group manages but everyone uses—IT resources, for example. Even though upper management or procurement
may sign the deals, influencers like your everyday “IT guy” and even end users can affect the purchase decision. With
different segments of varying levels of technical savvy, you can push content that will speak to all segments and tell
your story in different ways:
m-High
m
Medium
Content
SeSEO/SEM
InfInfluencers
Online
People Other
Actions &
initiatives
Types of content
High
riodic Table of Content
Webcasts
/webinars/vodcasts
eCardsBlogs Mobile apps
/content
Sponsored content Gated content Data visualization Segment
SeSEO/SEM
InfInfluencers
Print and Online
Print
Online
People Other
Actions &
initiatives
Types of contentContent tactics
ss Content weight
High
Medium-High
Medium
Low-Medium
Content
SeSEO/SEM
InfInfluencers
Online
People Other
Actions &
initiatives
Types of contents
Periodic Table of Content
Interactive gamesVideos
WbWebcasts
/webinars/vodcasts
Whitepapers eBooksComparison charts
eCeCards
BgBlogs
CsCase studies
MbMobile apps
/content
ScSponsored content
GcGated content
Custom media User-generated
content
VisData visualization
Editorial calendar
SSegment
Harvester Th
SeSEO/SEM
InfInfluencers
Forums
Print and Online
In-person
Print
Online
People
Actions &
initiatives
Types of contentContent tactics
Sced content
GcGated content
tkcontent
mm media
LocLocalized content
UgcUser-generated
content
VisData visualization
EdgEditorial guidelines
EdcEditorial calendar
SSegment
EdEditor
HHarvester
CtaCall to action
ThThought leadership
SeSEO/SEM
InfInfluencers
People Other
Actions &
initiatives
Types of content
eriodic Table of Content
IgInteractive games
VVideos
WbWebcasts
/webinars/vodcasts
eBeBooks
eCeCards
BgBlogs
MbMobile apps
/content
ScSponsored content
GcGated content
CmCustom media
UgcUser-generated
content
VisData visualization
EdcEditorial calendar
SSegment
HHarvester
ThThought leadership
SeSEO/SEM
InfInfluencers
FmForums
on
Print
People Other
Actions &
initiatives
Types of contentContent tactics
Periodic Table of Content
Interactive gamesVideos
WbWebcasts
/webinars/vodcasts
eBooksComparison charts
eCeCards
BgBlogs
CsCase studies
MbMobile apps
/content
ScSponsored content
GcGated content
Custom media User-generated
content
VisData visualization
Editorial calendar
SSegment
Harvester Thought leadership
SeSEO/SEM
InfInfluencers
Forums
Print and Online
In-person
Print
Online
People Other
Actions &
initiatives
Types of contentContent tactics
Periodic Table of Content
WbWebcasts
/webinars/vodcasts
eCeCards
BgBlogs
CsCase studies
MbMobile apps
/content
ScSponsored content
GcGated content
VisData visualization
SSegment
SeSEO/SEM
InfInfluencers
Print and Online
In-person
Print
Online
People O
Actions &
initiatives
Types of contentContent tactics
Stickiness Content weight
Periodic Table of Content
IgInteractive games
VVideos
WbWebcasts
/webinars/vodcasts
WpWhitepapers
eBeBooks
CcComparison charts
eCeCards
BgBlogs
CsCase studies
MbMobile apps
/content
ScSponsored content
GcGated content
CmCustom media
UgcUser-generated
content
VisData visualization
EdcEditorial calendar
SSegme
HHarves
SeSEO/SEM
InInfluenc
FmForums
In-person
Print
Actions &
initiatives
Types of contentContent tactics
Periodic Table of Content
IngInfographics
/video infographics
IgInteractive games
RtExecutive
roundtable
VVideos
SmSocial media
WbWebcasts
/webinars/vodcasts
WpWhitepapers
eBeBooks
CcComparison charts
eCeCards
BgBlogs
AcArticles
CsCase studies
MbMobile apps
/content
MsMicrosites/portals
MgPrint magazines
/books
ScSponsored content
GG
StkSticky content
CmCustom media
LLoc
UUs
PrPress releases
FmForums
In-person
Print
Content tactics
High
Medium-High
Medium
Low-Medium
odic Table of Content
SaSample
SeSEO/SEM
InfInfluencers
Print and Online
Print
Online
People Other
Actions &
initiatives
Types of contentContent tactics
Content weight
Element symbol
Content harvesting begins within the
company, using product managers to tell
stories about your product.
For more convincing data, you can conduct
a quiz, poll or study to your key segments
and use the findings about their needs to
build reports.
Now you’ll have some thought
leadership on the topic…
With your information and stories pulled
together, build your editorial calendar, deciding
what to push to whom and when.
While the story might be the same in many of these elements, some will be more technical or more high-level than
others, making them appropriate for each audience. You’ll need to decide on the right order to send them in, thinking
about the call to action on each piece—whether everything drives to a single microsite or several, and so on.
1
1
1 11 112
2
223 3 3
3
FACT-PACKED ELEMENTS INTERACTIVE ELEMENTS EDITORIAL ELEMENTS
Audience 1: IT influencers
Audience 2: IT decision makers
Audience 3: end user (non-IT) influencers
IT influencers will get the bulk of your content because
they understand user needs better and have a tighter
knit community than upper management.
Periodic Table of Content
IgInteractive games
VVideos
WbWebcasts
/webinars/vodcasts
WpWhitepapers
eBeBooks
CcComparison charts
eCeCards
BgBlogs
CsCase studies
MbMobile apps
/content
SSponso
CCust
FmForums
In-person
Print
Content tactics
3
EXCLUSIVE
ELEMENT
Goal
Subject
matter
Team
Creation
Audience
development

6. ART+SCIENCE
CONTENT MARKETING
6
Assembling your strategy
Goal: What is the goal, the end output for your
content marketing strategy? Upsell? Support?
Awareness?
Team: Who’s going to create, find, manage,
respond? Will you utilize guest posters (like
industry experts)? Use syndicated content?
Create original content?
Subject matter: The content you produce
should be about your audience’s interests, not
about your products. To understand what your
customers are interested in, you can engage in
social listening or rely on the market research
you use to segment your audience for all other
initiatives.
Creation: At the crux of production should be
your editorial calendar, which should specify
who is going to create what content, when
they will submit it, when you plan to publish
it, and where you plan to publish it (your site,
Slideshare, industry publications, blogs, etc.).
Your editorial calendar should also include
the customer personas and buying stages for
which the content is intended.
Goal
Subject
matter
Team
Creation
Audience
development
Audience development: Creating the content
is half the battle. The other half is attracting
visitors to that content, a process that breaks
down into:
Influencers (Inf): These are people in your
segments who will lead others to the
content—guest bloggers, experts, analysts,
celebrities and more—who will use their
power/social networks to help spread
your content.
SEO/SEM (SE): Making sure your content
shows up in searches on related topics
by engaging in good SEO and paying for
quality SEM.
Syndication: See syndicated content.
Goal
Subject
matter
Team
Creation
Audience
development

7. ART+SCIENCE
CONTENT MARKETING
7
Real reactions
What to look for
Depending on the reaction you want from your audience, choose elements based on their stickiness and level of
content, then pair them together in complementary ways. You probably won’t start a fire or cause an explosion like you
could with real chemicals—but you can still make a big bang if you do it right.
Desired reactions are mapped to marketing objectives like awareness and interest, and some of them can happen
before and after purchase (like “share” and “rave”).
Goal
Subject
matter
Team
Creation
Audience
development
Notice Share Explore Inquire
Meet Negotiate Purchase Rave

8. ART+SCIENCE
CONTENT MARKETING
8
Table of content
Articles | Ac
An article’s potential for creating bonds ranges a great
deal. It could be very sticky or very repellent depending on
the value, intrigue and interest of the information. Plus,
if you gate the article with a password or publish in
subscription-based media, you could end up with a lot of
customer information.
Blogs | Bg
While an individual blog post is obviously very short, a
lot of work must be put into maintaining the blog,
updating content and constantly coming up with new ideas.
Stickiness potential is high, but only if content is constantly
pushed through.
Branded entertainment | Be
Short videos, web series, interactive games, eCards and
more, all sponsored by a brand. The key with branded
entertainment is to focus on the “entertainment” part and
let the brand take a back seat. Don’t let your brand take
away from the plot, emotion or interest—let the brand
enhance those things.
Call to action | Cta
Of course you know what a call to action is, but when
dealing with content marketing, it’s important to note that
your calls to action should lead users to more of the story
you’re trying to tell, whether it’s an infographic that leads
to a web portal which leads to a contact form or an article
that leads to a Twitter handle.
Case studies | Cs
Case studies are very self-promotional, but are also the
best way to show what you can do. If they’re done in a
matter-of-fact, objective, “not-too-sales-y” way, they will
be some of the most valuable content you can push out.
Catalogs/magalogs | Cg
A catalog turns into a “magalog” when you start adding
more articles, tips, lists, quizzes and interviews. It makes
your piece more engaging, but is also a lot of work for a
piece that is only going to your existing subscriber base.
Comparison charts | Cc
Like case studies, the content here is powerful because
it’s factual and, for the most part, objective.
Content harvesting | Ch
The process of finding new content, either by finding
syndicated content you can use or developing new content.
Custom media | Cm
The development, production and delivery of media
designed to strengthen the relationship between the
sponsor and the audience. This is similar to branded
entertainment, but it is more brand-forward. In-flight
magazines are a great example of this type of content.
Data visualization | Vis
The study of the visual representation of data—in other
words, the process by which we create infographics and
other visually-heavy forms of content.
eBooks | eB
eBooks are the more fun, graphical, chopped up cousin of
the whitepaper. Often filled with graphics, charts, factoids
and short paragraphs, they’re an easy read, making them
highly engaging yet still quite informative.
eCards | eC
A way to make users feel they are sending user-generated
content, eCards sent from your site are low in content but
high in viral potential.
Editor | Ed
Someone who has authority to publish within a channel
without needing further approvals, generally following
documented and approved editorial guidelines.
Editorial calendar | Edc
An extremely efficient (and oftentimes necessary,
especially when dealing with many different content tactics
to many different audience segments) way to control
publication of content across diverse media outlets
over time.
Editorial guidelines | Edg
Identification of the types, tone, topics of content to be
selected for a given publishing channel.
eNewsletters/eZines | eNL
Just like blogs, eNewsletters demand constant
attention. They definitely require the use of an editorial
calendar as well as a cyclical schedule that includes
editorial planning, idea harvesting, content creation, layout,
publishing, and repurposing of content.
Executive roundtable | Rt
Credibility is definitely high, but getting people to
tune in (and getting executives to participate) may
be difficult.
Forums | Fm
Forums, for the most part, rely on user-generated
content. You can learn a lot from customers, but only
if you monitor and participate.
Gated content | Gc
Sometimes your call-to-action drives back to your
site. If you “gate” the content behind a signup process,
you’ll be able to get valuable data from users who
want to access more information from you.
Harvester | H
Someone who searches, finds and filters the best
content on a topic or topics from multiple sources
(or commissions the creation of original content).
Influencers | Inf
These are people in your segments who will lead
others to the content—guest bloggers, experts,
analysts, celebrities and more—and use their power/
social networks to help spread your content.
Infographics/video infographics | Ing
Infographics are one of the trendiest forms of content
marketing right now, but we don’t think this trend
will fade any time soon. Creating fact-based,
fun-to-read content is sometimes labor-intensive
(and requires more design time than other content
tactics), but if you present it well, it can be highly
engaging and valuable.
Interactive games | Ig
Games are very engaging, but require a lot of upfront
work and planning. Still, if you can entice people
to play and, in the end, understand something new
about your brand, you’ll have a highly shareable,
spreadable piece.
Lists/rankings | Ls
People love lists. If you can build one that’s relevant
to your brand and manage to publish it, you’ll be able
to send a loud, clear, very shareable message. And,
if the list or ranking is based on credible research,
that’s even better.

9. ART+SCIENCE
CONTENT MARKETING
9
Localized content | Loc
To get different audiences to react with different
content elements with similar messaging, you need
to morph your content into different states. The same
goes for content that needs to live in different regions
or languages. Transforming content to fit in with the
local culture is critical in getting users to find, use
and share your message.
Microsites/portals | Ms
Like articles, the stickiness and content weight of
a microsite depends on your plan for it; you could
potentially house all of your other content on a web
portal and use it as an archive, or you could simply
feature short-term information or promotions.
Mobile apps/content | Mb
Content and functionality specifically meant to be
seen and interacted with from a mobile device,
whether a website is repurposed for mobile, or an
app is created.
Podcasts | Pc
Audio content meant to draw in users and engage
them on a personal, regular level.
Press releases | Pr
Very traditional, but still a great way to push content
and get noticed.
Print magazines/books | Mg
A lot of work can go into these, but if you’re
dedicated to promoting them, they could be
beneficial, especially if a book release is
accompanied by PR and other web content like blogs.
Quizzes/polls | Qz
Not necessarily informative content, but quizzes
and polls are still brandable messages that can
contribute to engagement while giving you important
customer information along the way.
Research reports | Rr
Conducting research or collaborating with analysts
or other experts to conduct research can result in
reliable, credible content that you’ll want to push out,
either as full reports or boiled into short blog posts
or exciting infographics.
Response manager | Rm
Someone who is performing social listening and
can respond to blog comments, tweets, and other
responses to the content you push out.
Roadshows/live events | Rs
In-person, sometimes you just need to create a short
presentation and a few handouts to get your point
across at a live event, but the face-to-face interaction
with clients/prospects can send an even stronger
message.
RSS feeds/web feeds | Rss
Aggregators used to publish frequently updated
works—blog posts, news headlines, audio and
video—in a standardized format. A feed like this is not
a type of content but rather an aggregator of content.
Segment | S
A group of people with common content/solution
needs; your audience will probably be divided into
multiple segments and different content will be
appropriate for each one.
SEO/SEM | Se
Making sure your content shows up in searches on
related topics by engaging in good SEO and paying for
quality SEM.
Social media | Sm
By now, social media content might be a no-brainer.
But if you’re creating a plan that includes many other
content marketing tactics, it’s important to use social
media to promote them and help tie your whole
plan together.
Sponsored content | Sc
Large blogs and frequently-updated sticky sites
allow marketers to sponsor content that fits with
their tone & voice, a great way to reach a large
audience with your content. Check here and here
for some examples of sponsored content that fits
in seamlessly with the tongue-in-cheek, shareable
nature of the “best of the web” blog BuzzFeed.
Sticky content | Stk
This is content meant to get a user to: return to the
site, hold their attention, get them to spend longer
periods of time at the site, entice users to share/
spread the content and it should be your goal to
make your content as sticky as possible.
Syndicated content | Syn
Content that has been published and then
re-published by others in order to spread the
message further. You can either utilize syndicated
content to drive volume and credibility of your own
publication or you can syndicate your own articles,
making them available to others who need more
content, thus spreading your own message further.
Thought leadership | Th
Thought leaders often publish articles and blog posts
on trends and topics influencing an industry.
To become a thought leader, your content needs to
resonate profoundly with your audience.
User-generated content | Ugc
Often affiliated with sites like Wikipedia,
user-generated content (UGC) can actually be part of
your content marketing strategy. Whether you allow
users to comment on articles, blog posts, etc., or you
invite them to create videos, eCards and more as part
of a contest, you can use their UGC to help spread
your message—or find out what moves them.
Videos | V
The number one tip for creating video content: don’t
create it thinking it will become viral. Just create
videos that look good, sound good and deliver the
message you’re aiming for. And having all of your
video content on one channel will help tell your whole
story the same way a web portal or microsite could.
Webcasts/webinars/vodcasts | Wb
Webinars on valuable topics to your target audiences
can be a nice way to softly sell your solutions. Much
like infographics, articles and other content, if your
webinars are presented as helpful guides, not sales
pitches, they’ll get a lot more traction.
Whitepapers | Wp
Whitepapers are long and content-intensive, but if
your products and solutions are technical in nature,
they’re a must. If you market to both technical
and non-technical audiences, consider creating
whitepapers and then boiling them down into eBooks
for the non-tech segment.

10. ART+SCIENCE
CONTENT MARKETING
pepperglobal.com
2 North LaSalle Street
Chicago, IL 60602
Contact Pepper today to learn how we can
formulate content for your business.
312.588.4250
northamerica@pepperglobal.com
A GLOBAL COMPUTERSHARE COMPANY
Brennen Roberts
Managing Director
Pepper North America
©2014 Pepper North America. The contents of this document are confidential and may not be disclosed to third parties. All content, ideas and tools within the offer are the copyrighted works of Pepper
and subject to standard copyright law. Any redistribution or reproduction of any materials herein is subject to approval by Pepper. Some pictures, illustrations and photos may be subject to copyright and
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