Only 14% of B2B marketers say their content marketing is delivering good business value. Not good. In this session delivered at the Content Marketing World conference, learn a 2-step process for planning a content library that makes sense for your market. The session begins with the 4 major applications of content marketing in B2B. The process starts with an analysis of your prospects' buying process, and who is involved in the buying circle, by job title and buying role. Then, perform a content audit, organizing your existing content in a spreadsheet by such categories as format, marketing objective, market segment, buying process stage, and other key variables. Finally, identify the gaps, and prioritize which new content assets to develop first.

1. A to Z: Planning Your
Content Library
Ruth P. Stevens
ruth@ruthstevens.com
@RuthPStevens
#CMWorld

2. #CMWorld
B2B content marketing is
big, and getting bigger
2
93% of B2B marketers use content
marketing today.
--CMI/MarketingProfs study 2014
75% expect increased content-marketing
CMI/MarketingProfs/BrightCove study Oct. 2013
budgets in 2014. AdAge
Top B2B applications
• Thought leadership
• Lead generation offers
• Search engine rankings
• Lead nurturing touches

3. #CMWorld
But we have problems….
3 Source: http://adage.com/article/btob/marketers-struggling-content-marketing-results/294138/

4. #CMWorld
What are we missing?
4 CMI/MarketingProfs/BrightCove study

5. #CMWorld
“Marketers will no longer be able to push empty
messages, because they will simply be ignored.
“The only hope for marketing is to become a valued
source of advice.
“That doesn't mean publishing more promotional white
papers.
“It means listening to the market and helping
customers make wiser decisions, even if that means
recommending someone else's product.”
--Paul Gillin, B@B columnist, www.paulgillin.com,
5www.paulgillin.com

6. How to plan your content library:
#CMWorld
In two steps
1. Examine your
customer’s buying
process.
2. Create a content
audit: Assess your
existing content,
and fill in the gaps.
6

7. Step 1: Identify your customer’s
#CMWorld
buying process stages
Typical large-enterprise buying process stages
7
Identify need
Research solutions
Develop short list
Request proposals/quotes
Review proposals/quotes
Negotiate
Select vendor
Install and use
Upgrade

8. #CMWorld
Next, identify the buying roles,
and their objectives
Specifiers How is this thing better than the
competition?
Influencers Make my job easier
Users Easy to install and use
Decision makers Bottom line results
Gatekeepers Protect the executive
Purchasing agents Save money
Job roles involved
Finance VP
IT manager
CEO
Engineer
Plant manager
Purchasing agent
8

9. #CMWorld
Other useful variables to add
into the mix
• Industry
• Company size
• Your objective at
each stage
• The media they
use to consume
content
9

10. #CMWorld
Step 2:Identify the content you
have on hand, and fill gaps
• Archived webinars
• Articles
• Blog entries
• Case studies
• Data sheets
• eBooks
• Executive interviews
• Infographics
10
• Newsletters
• Presentations
• Press releases
• Podcasts
• Research reports
• Tweets
• Videos
• White papers

11. Categorize and sort your content assets
#CMWorld
• Medium/format, e.g., white
paper, video, infographic
• Objective, e.g., how-to, use
case, testimonial,
comparison
• Application, like lead
generation, lead nurturing,
thought leadership,
awareness, retention
• Market segment it is
targeted to, like large
enterprise or SMB
11
• Customer’s buying process
stage, like awareness,
needs identification,
solution identification,
vendor selection,
purchase, usage
• Industry target, if
applicable
• Target job function (IT,
marketing, manufacturing)
• Target job role, like
decision-maker, technical
buyer, end-user

12. Other useful columns for your audit
#CMWorld
• Owner. Who created
or manages the asset?
• Freshness indicator,
like “ready,” or “needs
updating”
• Date when produced
or last refreshed
12
• Length, is it short (blog
post, Tweet) or long
(white paper, research
report)
• The URL where the item
is housed
• Distribution channel
• Notes and comments

13. 13 #CMWorld
Content inventory
Title/name Author I.D. Medium Objective Application
Market
segment Buying process stage Industry (if any)
Target job
function (if any)
Date of last
update
Freshness
indicator Owner Comments
BT 2020: IT's Future in the
Empowered Era Forrester pdf research report
thought leadership,
awareness, lead
generation,
retention LE
awareness, need
identification IT, exec 1/7/2011ready Joely
1-year rights to distribute
expire April 2012
SF Giants -- Box, the File Sharing
Slugger for the World Champion
Giants pdf case study
lead generation,
lead nurturing MID
solution identification,
vendor selection entertainment ready
San Diego Zoo --Before Box, File
Sharing at The San Diego Zoo was a
Bit Wild pdf case study
lead generation,
lead nurturing MID
solution identification,
vendor selection institutional ready
Six Flags --For Six Flags, Managing
Content with Email was Anything
But Entertaining pdf case study
lead generation,
lead nurturing MID
solution identification,
vendor selection entertainment ready
Leading Entertainment Brand pdf case study
lead generation,
lead nurturing MID
solution identification,
vendor selection entertainment
needs
editing
Doesn't this need a more
benefit oriented title?
9th Floor Radio pdf case study
lead generation,
lead nurturing MID
solution identification,
vendor selection media
needs
editing Suggest new title
Six Flags --Customer Success Story video testimonial
lead generation,
lead nurturing MID
solution identification,
vendor selection entertainment marketing ready
Pandora--Customer Success Story video testimonial
lead generation,
lead nurturing MID
solution identification,
vendor selection ready
Empowering Your Mobile Worker pdf white paper
lead generation,
lead nurturing LE
solution identification,
vendor selection ready
iPad app comparison doc comparison lead nurturing LE, MID, Cons vendor selection
needs
editing Suggest formatting
Corporate Environments -- For This
Cutting-Edge Office Designer, Email
Just Didn't Cut It pdf case study
lead generation,
lead nurturing MID
solution identification,
vendor selection
professional
services
needs
editing Edit color font
Balfour Beatty -- Hotels to Hospitals,
Box Gives Balfour Beatty
Construction… a Firm Foundation pdf case study
lead generation,
lead nurturing MID
solution identification,
vendor selection construction IT, Finance ready
EllisDon pdf case study
lead generation,
lead nurturing MID
solution identification,
vendor selection construction
needs
editing Suggest new title
HelioPower -- For This Solar Power
Leader, Box Was the Smartest
Choice Under the Sun pdf case study
lead generation,
lead nurturing MID
solution identification,
vendor selection energy ready
Cardinal Capital Management pdf case study
lead generation,
lead nurturing MID
solution identification,
vendor selection financial services Finance
needs
editing Suggest new title

14. 14 #CMWorld

15. #CMWorld
Organizing content by
buying stage and role
Stage in the specifier’s buying process
Early Middle Late
Specifier
needs
Education
Specialized
information
Answers
Type of
content
 Online
demo
 White
paper
 Case
study
 Webinar
 Seminar
 Live demo
 Technical
white paper
 Technical
comparison
 Case study
 Price
comparison
 How-to video
15

16. Tip: Design content for repurposing
#CMWorld
• Pull 5-10 tweets out of each asset.
• Convert blog posts to articles or stand-alone
documents.
• Create webinars from your eBooks or white
papers.
• Convert videos into podcasts.
• Film and edit video footage for multiple
formats.
• Plan product shots for many angles.
• Look for the infographic opportunity (try
Piktochart, or Tableau Software).
16
For more ideas, see “How to
Produce 269 Content Assets
From a Single eBook” [Eloqua
blog].

17. Tip: Balance effectiveness vs. difficulty
#CMWorld
17

18. #CMWorld
Thank you
ruth@ruthstevens.com
@RuthPStevens
Visit
MaximizingLeadGeneration.com
for a free sample chapter.