CONTENT MARKETING
Christina Martin
VP, Digital Marketing, United Capital
Occasional Blogger – Good Site | Bad Site
Infrequent Tweeter @XinaMartin

Coming up with “The Big Idea”
and
How to Fuel Your Marketing Content

Abraham
Maslow

Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs

Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs
Content
Web/Blog
Email
Paid Media
Social Media

Conference Attendees
Hierarchy of Needs

Content marketing is the approach of
creating and distributing valuable and
consistent content to a targeted
audience, with the objective of driving
some profitable action.
- Joe Pulizzi, The Content
Marketing Institute
“

Content Marketing’s
Payoff

Mission Statement:
To provide information to help
farmers improve their operations.

Start with WHO

Effective buyer personas go beyond demographic
information and document things like interests, fears,
hopes and dreams – helping you truly understand how
your readers tick

•Identify ALL the
key personas
•Name them
•Include:
• Basic demographic
information
• A “day in the life”
narrative
• Media habits
• Goals
• Needs
• Motivations
• Objections
• Common
questions

. . . WHAT . . .

Start with a Content
Inventory
•Web pages
•FAQs
•Blog articles
•Presentations
•Brochures
•Flyers
•Posters
•. . . ?

“Lighter
Content”
“Heavier
Content”
Meme
Photo
Comic/Cartoon
Template
Checklist
Cheat Sheet
Tip/Fact Sheet
Infographic
Interactive tool
Podcast
eNewsletter
Template
Webinar
Video
How-To
Guide/Worksheet
Blog Article
Research Report
Web Page
eBook
White Paper
Write Once, Use Many – Types of Content

. . . WHERE,
WHEN
& HOW . . .

WHERE to Distribute Content =
WHERE the Audience is Reading
Content
Web/Blog
Email
Paid Media
Social Media
Potential Students
Parents
Spouses
AlumniAdvisors
Teachers
Professors

To Gate or Not To Gate?
• Gated content is anything
behind a form
• Requires a user to give
some information
• Usually personal
information, like an email
address — in order to see,
read, or interact with the
content
• The more “valuable” the
more questions you can
ask
• Tease up – “there’s more!”
for both free and gated
Download Your Free Guide!
First Name:
Last Name:
Email*:
???:
Get Your Free Guide

Get Organized –
Planning Content for
Distribution
Week or Month Topic/Event Author Content/Format Persona Channel/Distribution

Was it Successful?
Channel Key Metric Measurement Tool
Social Media Audience size and engagement (likes, comments,
shares) and most important – clicks and conversion.
The social platforms have analytics
or a third-party management tool.
Paid Media Impressions and cost per impression; most
important - clicks and cost per click, conversion and
cost per.
Google, the social platforms, and
agencies will provide reports.
Email Received, opens; most important - click-thru and
conversion.
The email tool will have analytics.
Web/Blog/
Landing Pages
Audience/Visitors; most important –
conversions/conversion rate.
Google Analytics is the gold
standard.

Content Marketer’s Hippocratic Oath:
Be useful and seek to establish a relationship.

Appendix: Resources and Tools
• Thought Leadership:
• The Content Marketing Institute
• HubSpot
• Contently
• Jacobs & Clevenger
• Ideas for Content:
• Your Google Analytics – mine
organic search terms
• Your web site’s search – ask for list
of terms searched
• HubSpot’s blog idea generator
• WikiHow – what are the topics
people are talking about
• Google AdWords Keyword Planner

Content What is it?
Meme A visual medium that conveys ideas or practices, usually funny and memorable – catch attention and
get shared on social media.
Template A tool that allows the user to format a document or content – provided to be helpful and show thought
leadership.
Photography An image that tells a story; engaging content to give a diverse perspective of a brand or offer.
Comic/Cartoon A visual medium to express ideas or practices, usually funny and memorable – catch attention and get
shared on social media.
Webinar A seminar conducted over the Internet; usually recorded so it can be repurposed later.
Infographic A visual representation of information or data usually in charts and diagram form to explain a process
or group of statistics – catch attention, convey information and great for social media sharing. Media
likes infographics too.
Interactive Tool A web application or widget that allows users to input data and get results – usually games and
calculators are interactive tools.
Video A recording or broadcast of moving image meant to convey meaningful content without having to
read; good for presentations, demos/tutorials, how-to content, and case studies.
Podcast Audio format recorded and placed online, convey meaningful content without having to read; good for
conveying information that is easy to remember, since there isn’t a visual.
Guide A 10-160 page written document that provides information usually in a step-by-step format to convey
specific information or topic in a how-to with best practices, examples, diagrams, facts, and statistics.
Glossary: Content Types

Content What is it?
Checklist A 1-4 page list of items to do, usually in a sequential manner; usually presented as lists with check
boxes.
Tip/Fact Sheet A brief list, less than 5 pages, with quick-hit resources that include ideas, statistics and suggestions;
usually numbered of bulleted lists.
Cheat Sheet A 1-2 page reference sheet that gives tips and techniques; good at presenting high-level overview or
key facts.
eNewsletter A digital newsletter that is emailed to subscribers; provides medium to reconnect with prospects and a
good nurturing campaign to stay top-of-mind.
How-to Guide A step-by-step guide on a specific topic; can be formatted as web page, blog, eBook, or short PDF
download.
Web Page Content A core piece of information to be conveyed that should be on the web site; general description of
programs, thought leadership, how-to content, and case studies are examples.
FAQ Frequently Asked Questions – usually formatted as web page content, but a great “big rock” starting
point.
Blog A core piece of content and critical for helping websites be found in search; individual blog posts are
usually stories, discussions, or opinions published and contain text, images, and links.
Case Study A write- up of research findings usually presented in a problem and solution format and identify the
contributing factors to the success or failure of the research.
Research Report A report based on a research study and can be primary research conducted by your institution or
secondary research conducted by an outside firm; effective at presenting stats and findings in an
engaging way.
eBook An electronic book that is 20-200 pages and formatted for skimming and scanning with plenty of sub-
headlines, bulleted lists, and images to illustrate points.
White Paper An authoritative report or guide to explain an issue, solve a problem, or make a decisions; meant to
education readers with useful factual information and often complex or technical topic.
http://info.jacobsclevenger.com/22-types-content-marketing