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IT’S NOT SEXY, BUT IT’S ESSENTIAL: 6 REASONS TO GET YOUR HOUSE IN ORDER1

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OVERVIEW TRUEISMS Statements that brands actively strive for, or that our customers demand from us: > We’re all publishers now > Multichannel is where it’s at > Quality content is essential > Mobile – it’s the future (again) > Local = more relevant > We all love a great story2

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OVERVIEW TRUEISMS AND CONTENT > Do we agree? > Can a brand stay present and relevant let alone innovate? > Content is the ideal lever to help make the internal changes needed to meet the challenges set by these truisms. > I’ll address each truism and break down how you can get your house in order to help make them a reality for your brand.3

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TRUEISM 1. WE’RE ALL PUBLISHERS NOW Context > Spawned new disciplines > Content Lab > eBooks4

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TRUEISM 1. WE’RE ALL PUBLISHERS NOW > Content Marketing Institute’s 2011 survey > 1000+ people who market using content > International, but heavily weighted to U.S.5 http://www.contentmarketinginstitute.com/2011/12/2012-b2b-content-marketing-research

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TRUEISM 1. WE’RE ALL PUBLISHERS NOW > Differences year on year6 http://www.contentmarketinginstitute.com/2011/12/2012-b2b-content-marketing-research/

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TRUEISM 1. WE’RE ALL PUBLISHERS NOW > Predicted spend in 20127 http://www.contentmarketinginstitute.com/2011/12/2012-b2b-content-marketing-research/

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TRUEISM 1. WE’RE ALL PUBLISHERS NOW Other interesting findings > Those who felt that their content marketing efforts were successful differed from those who don’t in three key ways:8

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TRUEISM 1. WE’RE ALL PUBLISHERS NOW Other interesting findings > Those who felt that their content marketing efforts were successful differed from those who don’t in three key ways: 1. They allocate more budget (31% of budget vs. 18%).9

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TRUEISM 1. WE’RE ALL PUBLISHERS NOW Other interesting findings > Those who felt that their content marketing efforts were successful differed from those who don’t in three key ways: 1. They allocate more budget (31% of budget vs. 18%). 2. They consider their customer’s stage in buying cycle and tailor content to suit10

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TRUEISM 1. WE’RE ALL PUBLISHERS NOW Other interesting findings > Those who felt that their content marketing efforts were successful differed from those who don’t in three key ways: 1. They allocate more budget (31% of budget vs. 18%). 2. They consider their customer’s stage in buying cycle and tailor content to suit 3. They benefit from substantially more buy in from senior members of the organisation.11

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TRUEISM 1. WE’RE ALL PUBLISHERS NOW > But does is take to produce content - really well? > Follow the process editors and content strategists have always used: Develop strategy Analyse Plan Publish Create12

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TRUEISM 1. WE’RE ALL PUBLISHERS NOW Editorial cycle for a brand: > Requires everyone who produces content to be: – Consist – Coordinated – Strategic > It needs those focused on users’ ongoing journey too: – SEO – Customers services – Brand – PR – CRM/eCRM – Product13

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TRUEISM 1. WE’RE ALL PUBLISHERS NOW Transparency > Transparency is increasingly expected – it’s a marker of trust. Publishers have that trust already, brands have to earn it. Solution > Be open and transparent through your content. Show personality and voice, highs and lows, failings and successes. > It’ll show you’re genuine, and in the long run, build trust14 http://www.slideshare.net/PewInternet/citizen-20-12618601

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TRUEISM 1. WE’RE ALL PUBLISHERS NOW Solution In a nutshell…15

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TRUEISM 1. WE’RE ALL PUBLISHERS NOW Reality check > To be a publisher, act like a publisher > Strong content ownership > Organisational change > Relationship building Results > Better return on your efforts (efficiencies) > Maximum benefit from budgets > Finding new, better ways of working16

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TRUEISM 1. WE’RE ALL PUBLISHERS NOW So who does this well? > Red Bull – Bold – Confident – Creates brand associations – Addresses truisms head on17

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TRUEISM 1. WE’RE ALL PUBLISHERS NOW So who does this well? > Boden – Bold – they walk the talk – Community from scratch – Clearly value customers – Give them value in return – They’ve committed to it18

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TRUEISM 1. WE’RE ALL PUBLISHERS NOW So who does this well? > Boden – Bold – they walk the talk – Community from scratch – Clearly value customers – Give them value in return – They’ve committed to it – They have engagement19

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TRUEISM 2. MULTICHANNEL IS WHERE IT’S AT Context > If previous section focuses on the “what” and the “who”, this is the “where”. > Challenges – Who manages what? – What content are you producing and where? – Lack of internal systems that support a joined up approach > See it simply as your brand’s cost of entry into being a publisher.20

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TRUEISM 2. MULTICHANNEL IS WHERE IT’S AT…BUT… > But aligning channels can be like creating a big marble run. > You never know whether things will turn out as you anticipate21 Photo from zimpenfish

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TRUEISM 2a. MULTICHANNEL CONVERGENCE IS WHERE IT’S AT Solution > A single, robust foundation that defines how your brand thinks about its customers, messaging and content > This will pave the way for consistent brand experiences Source: Ron Rogowski’s The Unified Customer Experience Imperative, Forrester22

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TRUEISM 3. QUALITY CONTENT IS ESSENTIAL Context > Those of us passionate about content have always known that it: – Is a valuable brand asset23

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TRUEISM 3. QUALITY CONTENT IS ESSENTIAL Context > Those of us passionate about content have always known that it: – Is a valuable brand asset – Gives you permission to directly communicate with your customers24

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TRUEISM 3. QUALITY CONTENT IS ESSENTIAL Context > Those of us passionate about content have always known that it: – Is a valuable brand asset – Gives you permission to directly communicate with your customers – Unlocks access to the conversations most pertinent to your brand across digital channels (provided you put your customers first)25

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TRUEISM 3. QUALITY CONTENT IS ESSENTIAL Context > Those of us passionate about content have always known that it: – Is a valuable brand asset – Gives you permission to directly communicate with your customers – Unlocks access to the conversations most pertinent to your brand across digital channels (provided you put your customers first)26

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TRUEISM 3. QUALITY CONTENT IS ESSENTIAL You’re Context welcome > And more recently, SEO is in on the action with Google measuring ‘quality content’ Content farms > So how do you balance quality content for a brand, for customers and for Google?27 Photo from Kevin Dooley

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TRUEISM 3. QUALITY CONTENT IS ESSENTIAL Solution > Think, plan and invest only in content that delivers results.28 Tom Critchlow, Distilled

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TRUEISM 3. QUALITY CONTENT IS ESSENTIAL Solution > Salon’s recessionary publishing dilemma.29 Source: http://open.salon.com/blog/kerry_lauerman/2012/02/03/hit_record

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TRUEISM 3. QUALITY CONTENT IS ESSENTIAL Solution > According to Kerry Lauerman, they changed their approach by: – Spending more time on stories that would have greater impact.30 Source: http://open.salon.com/blog/kerry_lauerman/2012/02/03/hit_record

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TRUEISM 3. QUALITY CONTENT IS ESSENTIAL Solution > According to Kerry Lauerman, they changed their approach by: – Spending more time on stories that would have greater impact. – Published less of the content you can get elsewhere.31 Source: http://open.salon.com/blog/kerry_lauerman/2012/02/03/hit_record

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TRUEISM 3. QUALITY CONTENT IS ESSENTIAL Solution > According to Kerry Lauerman, they changed their approach by: – Spending more time on stories that would have greater impact. – Published less of the content you can get elsewhere. – Tightened their content strategy: focus on originality32 Source: http://open.salon.com/blog/kerry_lauerman/2012/02/03/hit_record

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TRUEISM 3. QUALITY CONTENT IS ESSENTIAL Solution > According to Kerry Lauerman, they changed their approach by: – Spending more time on stories that would have greater impact. – Published less of the content you can get elsewhere. – Tightened their content strategy: focus on originality – Published roughly one-third fewer posts on Salon than they had the previous year.33 Source: http://open.salon.com/blog/kerry_lauerman/2012/02/03/hit_record

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TRUEISM 3. QUALITY CONTENT IS ESSENTIAL Solution > Result: – In December 2011 and January 2012, they published 33% fewer posts but saw a 40% increase in traffic year on year34 Source: http://open.salon.com/blog/kerry_lauerman/2012/02/03/hit_record

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TRUEISM 3. QUALITY CONTENT IS ESSENTIAL Solution > Creating great content sometimes means simply making more of what you have. > New York Times used Tumblr35

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TRUEISM 3. QUALITY CONTENT IS ESSENTIAL Solution > M&S Lingerie timeline 1920- present > Published on the M&S Stories website > Sharable, and embedded on third party sites36

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TRUEISM 3. QUALITY CONTENT IS ESSENTIAL Solution > In a nutshell: put your customer first, create great content that they need or want, and the rest will follow. > What’s the rest? – SEO rankings – brand awareness – trust – loyalty37

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TRUEISM 4. MOBILE – IT’S THE FUTURE Context > Many of you in this room know the context better than I do but there are a few stats that are particularly related to content. – One in 20 sales are lost (according to Internet Retailing, April 2012) – Bounce rates 10% higher (according to Internet Retailing, April 2012)38

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TRUEISM 4. MOBILE – IT’S THE FUTURE Context > The Economist’s Lean Forward 2.0 initiative39 http://www.slideshare.net/emmaturner/lean-back-media-the-shock-of-the-old

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TRUEISM 4. MOBILE – IT’S THE FUTURE Context > The Economist findings: – 49 minutes – 2 hours – browsing – reading > NPR’s COPE (create once, publish everywhere)40

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TRUEISM 4. MOBILE – IT’S THE FUTURE41 From: http://www.slideshare.net/zachbrand/npr-api-create-once-publish-everywhere

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TRUEISM 4. MOBILE – IT’S THE FUTURE Solution > Plan for and create content that’s platform agnostic > Publish flexibly, stay close to the data then watch and learn, as the Economist did > Turn content into data by chunking it for different purposes, giving it structure, tags and metadata > Doing this will set your content free, so it can easily travel wherever your customers want it this year, and next > Partners in responsive content design – SEO – UX and design – Technology Read more about COPE here: http://blog.programmableweb.com/2009/10/13/cope-42 create-once-publish-everywhere/

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TRUEISM 5. GROWING HUNGER FOR LOCAL INFO Context > Pew Research Center shows increase in demand43 http://www.pewinternet.org/Reports/2012/Location-based-services/Summary- of-findings.aspx

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TRUEISM 5. GROWING HUNGER FOR LOCAL INFO Solution > Test, manage and exploit every angle of local information for and about your brand, including: – Facebook Places, Foursquare and Gowalla – Yelp, Qype – Local offers, such as VoucherCloud – Ensure Google Maps displays correct and up to date information about your brand > Develop content and distribute it locally if relevant to your brand > Build and strengthen partnerships that will facilitate this44

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TRUEISM 6. WE ALL LOVE A GREAT STORY Context > “If history were taught in the form of stories, it would never be forgotten.” Rudyard Kipling > Horrible Histories > Mr Parr’s science songs45

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TRUEISM 6. WE ALL LOVE A GREAT STORY > Context Andrew Stanton, Pixar writer-director (until 2:39)46

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TRUEISM 6. WE ALL LOVE A GREAT STORY > Solution > So how can brands make people care? – Know your customers – truly – Commit to serving them – their needs and desires – Look for stories everywhere – Share them in lots of different ways – What’s the KPI for trust? • Define it • Measure it > The payoff will be huge47