The document discusses a comprehensive content marketing strategy that emphasizes the importance of storytelling and understanding consumer needs throughout their decision journey. It highlights the effectiveness of content marketing in fostering brand trust and influencing purchase decisions, supported by data on consumer behavior. The document also outlines the importance of defining consumer personas and tailoring content to meet their needs at various stages of the buying process.

1. A New Comprehensive Approach
to
Content Marketing Strategy & Planning
Lk Gupta
CMO/now
20 November, 2016

2. is no longer about the stuff that you make,
but about the stories you tell.
- Seth Godin

3. It’s about the purpose of your existence – help, educate and
inspire with your brand to fit the consumer’s journey
Storytelling
Lk Gupta | CMO/now

4. Marketing becomes a service and inspiration, not an interruption
Lk Gupta | CMO/now

5. Marketing becomes a service and inspiration, not an interruption

6. Marketing becomes a service and inspiration, not an interruption
Lk Gupta | CMO/now

7. Marketing becomes a service and inspiration, not an interruption
Lk Gupta | CMO/now

8. What Does This Do for Consumers?
I know how you feel
I care!
Let me make you smile
Let me make it easy
for you
I like your brand
I trust your brand
I’ll buy from you
I’ll recommend
you
Brand
Consumer
Lk Gupta | CMO/now

9. Data Supports Content Storytelling
92%Consumers trust other
people they know
51%Share online to
express preference
7.8xYoY growth in
unique traffic
for
content marketing
leaders
Sources: Aberdeen | DemandMetric | Hubspot | CMI | eyeviewdigital.com
62%Lower cost
Vs
Traditional Marketing
3xLeads
6xConversion rate
Vs non-adopters
Of content marketing
90%Amount of
information sent to
our brains is visual
Lk Gupta | CMO/now
30-86%
Better conversion
with video on
landing page

10. Define Your Marketing Problem
in the context of Content
My TG My Marketing
Problem
What I want
content to do
Lk Gupta | CMO/now

11. Category Truth
Consumer Persona
Buyer Journey
Brand’s Ability
Content Strategy
Lk Gupta | CMO/now

12. Think of Your Category in Context of
Channel-Involvement Matrix
Lk Gupta | CMO/now

13. Your Content Must Perform One or More of These Functions
Lk Gupta | CMO/now
In-depth content
to help choice
Learn
Factual information
to close sale
Buy
Engagement content
for brand affinity
Love

14. Predominance Of & Resources Behind Content Can Vary
High
Involvement
Offline
Low
Purchase Channel OnlineLk Gupta | CMO/now

15. Example: LEARN
Detailed explanation and demo for helping consumer
form a consideration set and take decisions
Lk Gupta | CMO/now

16. Example: LOVE
Exciting, inspiring and memorable feat
in line with the brand’s core values
Lk Gupta | CMO/now

17. Example: BUY
Knowing what the consumer needs to know
to make a buying decision RIGHT NOW
Lk Gupta | CMO/now

18. What Should Be YOUR Visual Content Priority?
Lk Gupta | CMO/now
What I want
Visual Content To Do
My Category
Quadrant
My Predominant
Visual Content
Why?
My Other Visual
Content
Why?
1 2
3 4

19. How Do I Decide
What to Put in My
Content?

20. Start With A Rich Persona Definition
Lk Gupta | CMO/now
Demographic
• Lives in a metro
• Born & brought up in a
metro
• 29 years old, Unmarried,
lives with his parents and
brother in Topsia, Kolkata
• Post graduate -MBA
• Works in a service sector
• Earns 10 Lakhs per annum
• Family has a car
Lifestyle
• Middle class serviceman
• During weekends, mostly goes for
long drive with friends
“We have plan to visit one base in a
week or two around city”
• Hangout with friends in lounges &
cafes on weekend
• Rarely watch TV, whatever shows
family is watching
• Reads Telegraph
• Owns Moto G, which he uses for
online shopping, have all possible
shopping app on mobile; also does
online shopping from laptop
Values & goals
• Fun loving guy with huge friend
circle
• Young generation looking for class
and status
• Miffed with people’s attitude and
reactions on present country
situation on social media
“People should be aware of system
before criticising it ”
Rooney
Serviceman, Kolkata
Problems & Triggers
• Just wanted a car of his own, and was tired of
driving family’s car
“I love Honda City, wanted to purchase it since
long time”
“4 hi log the family mein so badi gaadi ki
jarurat nahi hai abhi, so drop the plan for
XUV500”
• Wanted a car for travelling & trips
“Travel frequently out of city with my friends,
hence needed a car”
Consideration set
• Models considered were Sedan & SUV
segment- City, Sunny, Ciaz, Dzire,
XUV500 etc.
• Comfort is most important thing in his
mind while deciding the car followed
by look, design, brand of the car
• Other considered attributes are
mileage, safety, maintenance, music
system
“Also had Ciaz, Verna, XUV500 in my
mind while purchasing car but XUV500 ki
maintenance cost jyada hai, Ciaz is same
as Swift, Verna present model is
outdated, so finally purchased City “
Information needs &
sources
• Friends are one of the influencers
“Talked to friend about my needs and
specification requirements, they suggested me
this car”
“Just told family about my purchase decision”
• Internet helps further in information search,
everything available at one place
“I did compare my car with various other
models and also did comparison within variants
because during test drive they only show top
variants”
Pain points
• Not right information given by dealers
“I was eligible for corporate offer, they
told me about this thing after I had
made the purchase”
• Paperwork is tedious & also taking
time, need assistance
“They are saying that we will only
register car but won’t give registration
plate”

21. Would Our Content Focus & Tonality Be The Same?
Lk Gupta | CMO/now
Pramod
Businessman, Mumbai
He Needs :
• Prestige / Brand Image
• Comfort/ Safety / Style
• Advance Technology/
Eco-Friendly
Gagan
Manager, Delhi
He Needs :
• Upgrade
• Fuel Efficiency
• New or Used – Best
sellers / re-sale value
• Comparisons
• More space
• Festive offers
• Previous car evaluation
Ajit
Sales Officer, Indore
He Needs :
• Can I afford it?
• New or Used –
Options in budget
• Value for money
• Upcoming cars
• Low maintenance
• Better Mileage
• Offers & discounts

22. …And Create A Consumer Decision Journey Map
Lk Gupta | CMO/now

23. Understand Your Consumer Mind-State & Role of Content
High
Involvement
Offline
Low
Purchase Channel Online
Consumer State:
- Long purchase journey
- Changing emotional state along journey
- High anxiety; doubts
Job of Content:
- Inform in-depth; remove doubts
- Deliver advice as per stage of journey
- Help in shortlisting choices
- Help decide what is good for THEIR needs
Lk Gupta | CMO/now

24. Understand Your Consumer Mind-State & Role of Content
High
Involvement
Offline
Low
Purchase Channel Online
Consumer State:
- Carefree
- Impulse purchase
- Short-term enjoyment
Job of Content:
- Inform and entertain
- Fodder for conversation
- Bind socially
Lk Gupta | CMO/now

25. Understand Your Consumer Mind-State & Role of Content
High
Involvement
Offline
Low
Purchase Channel Online
Consumer State:
- Carefree
- Deal hunter
- Convenience seeking
Job of Content:
- Inform in-depth
- Peer reviews & recommendation
- Close the sale
Lk Gupta | CMO/now

26. Determine Fit Between Brand & Consumer Need
- What’s unique
- What can I own
- What’s my personality
Micro-moments
- I want to go
- I want to do
- I want to know
What does
my Brand
stand for?
What does
my consumer
care about?
SweetSpot
Don’t Create Aimless Content
Lk Gupta | CMO/now

27. What Content Should We Make – Ask A Lot Of WHY’s
Demographics
Lifestyle
Values
Needs/ Triggers
Buyer journeyUsage
Category Consumer Persona
Buyer Journey
Lk Gupta | CMO/now
WHY?
WHY?
WHY?
WHY?
WHY?
WHY?
WHY?
WHY?
WHY?
WHY?
WHY?
WHY? WHY?

28. Asking a Lot of WHY’s
• Why this audience?
• Why should they care about you and what you have to say?
• Why do you have the credibility to be having this conversation?
• Why is this considered storytelling and not repurposed advertising?
• Why did you select the story you are telling?
• Why would they have a barrier or even better trigger to receive it?
• Why are you choosing the distribution or influencer partner you are
choosing to share the story?

29. SEM
SEM
SEM
Sale
Prior Knowledge Search & Selection Buying Interest Conclude
Buy Now
Divide His Decision Journey Into Discrete Parts
STAGE 0:
Need Trigger
EARLY STAGE 1:
Budget decided
EARLY STAGE 2:
Initial Consideration
set; offline advice
EARLY STAGE 3:
Online search;
specs; prices;
social media
MID STAGE 2:
Back to online; new
consideration set;
detailed reviews
FINAL STAGE 1:
Back to online;
Compare; See
offers; price; loan
MID STAGE 1:
Back to offline advice;
Social media
MID STAGE 3:
Go to dealer; Quote; Test
drives; exchange price
FINAL STAGE 2:
Finalise and book
FINAL STAGE 3:
Post-purchase -
Maintenance; service;
Accessories
Lk Gupta | CMO/now
WHY?
WHY? WHY?
WHY?
WHY?
WHY?
WHY?
WHY?
WHY?
WHY?
WHY?
WHY?

30. Create & Update Content For Every Stage Of Journey
Early Stages: Help him to…
• Do thorough initial research
• See all his choices
• Shortlist based on budget
and other needs
• Understand what’s good for
his needs and what isn’t
Mid Stages: Help him to…
• Do in-depth comparisons
and evaluation of choices
• Have conversations with
offline and online
consultation
• Understand cost of
ownership and other
financial implications
Final Stages: Help him to…
• Narrow down alternatives to
final 1-2 models
• Decide on price and offers
• Decide on loan options
• Pre-think on accessory choices
• Proactively think of post-
purchase maintenance
Lk Gupta | CMO/now

31. Everything That You Can Write, You Can Do Visually
Lk Gupta | CMO/now
Product Explainer
How-to Demo
Corporate Image
Interactive
User Generated
Detailed Review
Social Issue Awareness
Technical Capability
Engagement
Images
Video
Online chat
Vir. Reality
Webinar
Events
Infographics FB Live

32. However, Sometimes You May Not Use Visual Content
o When you want more time spent on website
o But combo of text + visual works better
o Product explainers for non-visual categories
e.g software, cloud computing
o Low internet bandwidth & no smartphone
o When you have Call-scripts as follow-ups
o When budgets are low-to-nothing
o But hey, use free online resources
- Canva, Flickr, Morguefile
o When audio reaches your TG better
o For masses, e.g. Mann Ki Baat
o TG is multi-tasking (podcast while driving)
Lk Gupta | CMO/now Source: https://boagworld.com

33. What Content Will You Serve At Different Journey Stages?
My Predominant
Visual Content Journey Stage
What is customer doing
at this stage?
Why is (s)he doing that?
In what emotional state?
What might s(he) need
from you?
My Content
What content will you create?
Which type of visual medium
will you use?
What will be the outcome…
- For customer?
- For You?
Do this for all the different stages of same customer’s decision journey
Repeat the exercise for all consumer personas
Lk Gupta | CMO/now

34. Executing Your Content

35. Find The Right Channel To Distribute Your Content
Consumer PersonaCategory
Lk Gupta | CMO/now
Buyer Journey
Stages
Content

36. Execution Tips You Mustn't Miss

37. Be Honest
Lk Gupta | CMO/now
Your Brand Values
Your Personality
No Misrepresentation

38. Tell A Human Story
Lk Gupta | CMO/now
Relatable
Tap into an Emotion
Netflix Women prison inmates story (Context – Orange Is The New Black)
http://paidpost.nytimes.com/netflix/women-inmates-separate-but-not-equal.html

39. Be Original
Lk Gupta | CMO/now
Unique
Hook Them With a Twist

40. Try Animation
Lk Gupta | CMO/now
Cheaper & Quicker
than shoots
Simple Storytelling

41. Repurpose
Lk Gupta | CMO/now
Use one content to
create multiple
snackable content

42. Pick Latest Trends
Lk Gupta | CMO/now
Latest tools online
Topical subjects

43. Optimise for mobile
Lk Gupta | CMO/now
Very short or no text intro
Prominent & clear CTA
Landing page optimized for mobile

44. Optimise with A/B testing
Lk Gupta | CMO/now
Test 2 to 3 versions of same
content to improve
performance continuously
Test different CTAs

45. Call to action
Lk Gupta | CMO/now
Simple & Prominent CTAs
Use hashtags &
comprehensive tagging
to get found
ONE DOES NOT SIMPLY
SHARE CONTENT WITHOUT
USING RELEVANT HASHTAGS

46. Have A Solid Process
Lk Gupta | CMO/now
Someone dedicated
Tap into All Parts of Company
Adhere to a Calendar
- Persona-wise & Journey-wise

47. Measure Everything
Lk Gupta | CMO/now
Prepare for the funnel
Know what you want to impact
- For consumer
- For business

48. Lk Gupta | CMO/now
Don’t Give Up Soon!
It’s a long-term game
And Finally…

49. Lk Gupta | CMO/now
Thanks For Your Attention!