If you're like most B2B marketing executives, you're likely increasing your budgets for content marketing in 2016. In fact, the Content Marketing Institute says 73 percent of B2B marketers are producing more content than they did just one year ago. But how much should you actually spend on content?

1. Budgeting For
Content Marketing in 2016

2. How much will it cost to deliver…

3. HOW MUCH CONTENT DO I NEED?
Budgeting for content marketing in 2016

4. How much content do I need?

5. How much content do I need?
Example: (3 personas)*(3 buying stages)*(5 questions) = 45 assets

6. How much content do
“I” need?
Wrong question.

7. How much content does your AUDIENCE (and Google) need?

8. How Much Content Do You Need?
(Source: Hubspot)
Indexed#ofLeads
0
100
200
300
400
Total # Blog Posts
0 - 100 101 - 200 201 - 300 301 - 400 401+
Companies that
published 401+ total
posts got 3X more leads
than companies posting
<100 total blog posts

9. How Often Should You Publish?
Companies that publish
16+ posts/month
got 5.3X more leads than
companies posting
between 1 - 2
(Source: Hubspot) NEWLEADSINDEX
0
300
600
900
1200
MONTHLY BLOG POSTS
None 1 to 2 3 to 5 6 to 8 9 to 15 Over 15

10. Train your audience:
Frequency, medium, & length

11. Audience 1st
(by persona)
Product 2nd

12. Ummmmm….
Wow!

13. HOW MUCH DOES CONTENT MARKETING
COST?
Budgeting for content marketing in 2016

14. Staffing a Content team of FTE’s unrealistic for SMB’s:

15. Long-form written content
(i.e. White papers, articles, blogs)
• Freelance & Agency
– Pay by the hour ($50-$100/hr)
– $3,000 - $5,000 White paper
– $500 - $1,000 article/blog
• Analysts & consultancies
– Expert 3rd party opinion
– $15,000 - $25,000 “licensed use”
• CAUTION: SME learning curve & Project
management
How much does it cost?

16. Visual content - Infographics
• Agency $1,500 (Wide range $500 - $5k)
• Freelance $75-$100/hour = $1,000+
• Tools for the DYI starting at “free”
– Piktochart
– Infogr.am
– Infoactive
– Easel.ly
• CAUTION: Its about visual interpretation of your
message, NOT just graphics
How much does it cost?

17. Video content
• Fixed-bid from full service production
company ($1,000 - $2,000/min)
– Complexity of messaging & planning
– Environment (office, studio, outdoor, etc.)
– # of cameras/crew
– Simple video vs. full motion graphics
• Freelance
– Camera, lights, & operator ($1,500+/day)
– Director/interviewer ($1,000+/day)
– Motion graphics post-prod ($50+/hour)
How much does it cost?
Simple video
Motion graphics

18. How much does it cost?
Conversion Content Campaign Content
Content Type
White
paper
Info-
graphic
2/week
Blog
Monthly
Video
(Simple)
Company
Video
(w/ Motion
graphics)
TOTAL
# of Artifacts 3 3 100 12 1 119
$/Unit $3,500 $1,500 $1,000 $500 $5,000
Fractional
Cost
$10,500 $4,500 $100,000 $6,000 $5,000 $126,000
So, who manages all this?

19. “The owner” of strategy and oversight
Compensation Bands
$25,000
$50,000
$75,000
$100,000
$125,000
$150,000
$175,000
$200,000
10% 25% 50% 75% 90%
Chief Content Officer,
Demand Generation Director
EXPERIENCE: 10 years
INDUSTRY: Not Specified
ORGANIZATION : Private Sector Company
AVERAGE SALARY: $120,975

20. Total Cost of Producing Content
Conversion Content Campaign Content
Content Type
White
paper
Info-
graphic
Weekly
Blog
Monthly
Video
(Simple)
Company
Video
(w/ Motion
graphics)
# of Artifacts 3 3 100 12 1
$/Unit $3,500 $1,500 $1,000 $500 $5,000
Fractional Cost $10,500 $4,500 $100,000 $6,000 $5,000
$125k + $125k = $250,000

21. WHAT CAN BE OUTSOURCED?
Budgeting for content marketing in 2016

23. Summary
• Strategy…
– Start by defining your audience
– Ask how much content they need (not you)
– See yourself as a media company
• Cost…
– Leader + Assets (not just assets)
– Then assemble a fractional team to develop content

24. QUESTION & ANSWER
Budgeting for content marketing in 2016