This document summarizes key trends in content marketing for 2014 presented by Stephen Bateman, a content marketing expert. Some of the main points covered include: 1) Content marketing is becoming a more potent and global technique for marketing. It is also becoming more difficult as consumers are evolving faster than marketers and have higher expectations. 2) To succeed, content marketing requires a planned strategic approach with clear objectives, metrics for evaluation, and control through analytics. 3) Key techniques discussed include using customer personas, buyer journey mapping, and editorial calendars to create more targeted, useful content aligned with customer needs at different stages. 4) Evaluation of content marketing is important but difficult. The presenter recommends focusing

1. Content marketing trends 2014
Stephen Bateman,
The Content Marketing Strategy Expert,
Concentric Dots
A briefing showing examples of innovative approaches in content
marketing to consider for 2014
Digital Marketing Priorities 2014
Brought to you by:
#PlanToSucceed

2. Recommended channel hub page:
http://bit.ly/smartercontent
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3. In 35 mins / 40 slides
➡ Techniques for more potent Content Marketing in
2014
➡ Big focus on content creation and evaluation ROI
➡ Questions at the end
➡ Please interact using the BrightTALK buttons
➡ Please tweet #PlanToSucceed
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4. About you
➡
➡
➡
➡
➡
➡
You think about content a lot
You experiment with content
You’re in a marketing / customer facing / PR role
You’re curious - you’re eager to learn / improve
Your time is valuable
You want actionable takeaways you can use in
2014
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5. Poll #1- About you
 Who are you? Please choose one ...
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Board director
Head of department
Manager / executive
Agency consultant
Other
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6. About me
CONSULTING
MEDIA
iGlimpse
• I get RSS feeds from experts
• Drink from a hosepipe of content
•
•
•
influencers on Twitter
Make folders of the best stuff
I write, talk, train, breath, sleep
and implement content marketing
I see a therapist for my addiction
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7. Co-author
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8. Trend #1- It’s Powerful
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9. It’s Global
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10. It’s tough
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11. Poll #2 Your biggest Challenge
 What is your biggest content marketing
challenge? Please choose one...
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Content strategy
Content frequency
Content distribution
Content measurement & evaluation
Poor methodology
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12. It’s tough at the bottom
http://marketeer.kapost.com/2013/11/content-marketing-stats/
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13. What about buyers?
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14. They’ve evolved...
..their ability to discern, assimilate, use or reject content
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15. Faster than marketers...
➡ 20% of a Corporate Web pages drive 90% of Web
traffic on average,
➡ 0.5% of Corporate Web site's content drives 50%
of Web traffic on average
➡ For every 10 articles created for a Web site, only
one or two drive meaningful traffic.
http://www.prweb.com/releases/InboundWriter/Content_Marketing_World/prweb11080527.htm
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16. McKinsey “disconnect”
Top 5 values have un-measurably low presence
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17. Imperative : A planned, strategic approach
Questions
•Plan?
•Strategy?
•Objectives?
•Control
through
analytics?
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18. Poll #3 Techniques
 Which of these techniques do you rate most?
Please choose one...
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Customer personas
Buyer journey mapping
Editorial calendar
Keyword research
Binge writing
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19. Deeper level of insights from personas
http://www.smartinsights.com/guides/customer-persona-toolkit/
19

20. Start
Here
Better mapping (buying cycle)
➡Use persona profiling
➡Research what they
search
➡Use customer language
➡Answer their questions
➡Focus on beginning /
middle
60% complete before prospect talks to vendor
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21. Better alignment
Our future customer wants evidence we understand their problem
Methodology ensures you have the right content (empathy) in the right
channels at the right time to attract strangers (bystanders) , convert visitors
into leads, close deals, and create customers that become your advocates.
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22. content & customer alignment..
...at each stage of journey
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23. Structured evaluation of content
Criteria?
•Rev/visit
•Demand+ lead gen
•Amplify
•Brand fit
•SEO
•Longevity
•Authority and
Thought Leadership
•Individual pain
points?
•Repurposeability
•Risk/reward
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24. 24

25. Quit the crap...
" There was a time for
more, but that time has
passed"
➡Use your research
➡Define quality objective
➡Define what you want your content consumers to
do
➡Create content that forces that action
➡Use an editorial calendar and schedule
➡Force deadlines on self / team
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26. Plan, plan and plan...
http://www.smartinsights.com/guides/editorial-calendar-spreadsheet/
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27. Example: Discover – Consume - Act
Social Networks
PDF
Direct social messages
Slideshare
Email
Long form interviews
Blog
Single images
All Content & Promotions
Search
Contribute
Download
Subscribe
Share
Attend Conference
Consider:
“Findability”
“Engagement”
“Shareability”
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28. 1.Created Demand
2.Dominated SERPs
• Event Awareness
• Registrations, Sessions
43k ebook views - 6 days
1k+ PDF downloads
5k views interviews
500+ social shares
100+ inbound links
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29. One Clever Question
You're a secret agent on a mission and you're
having a rendezvous with your agency contact
after pulling a dangerous undercover operation.
You now have a coveted secret. A content
marketing secret.
What secret for achieving success with content
marketing will you share? The content
marketing world depends on it!
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30. Change the focus away from quantity vs
quality debate
" Marketers ask me how
to make more or better
content, and it’s (..) the
wrong question. The
right question is: how do
I get my content in front
of the right people"
➡Step down content creation and step
up distribution for better results
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31. Scale influencer and partner outreach
How can you
find
influencers?
Who are you
Looking for?
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32. Expansion in paid media options
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33. Leverage huge ecosystem of automated tools to
help distribute your content to micro-segments
Which paid, owned, earned media should we target?
Native ads
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34. LinkedIn example
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35. Native
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36. Huge ecosystem of automated distribution tools to
help drive your content to micro-niches
Sponsored
content
Native
Ads
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37. Gets round online advertising challenge
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38. 38

39. Publishing partnerships (sponsorship)
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40. Publishing partnerships (sponsorship)
Benefits
➡Needs to add value to reader
➡Forces brands to put needs of consumers first
➡Publishers get new revenue stream to underwrite
their editorial
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41. Poll #4 Evaluation
 How do you rate content marketing performance?
Please choose one...
I’m not convinced it provides a positive return on
Investment
2. There are opportunities in some channels, but ROI is
limited
3. I’m convinced it can deliver it can deliver good ROI
4. I need to understand how to evaluate content ROI
1.
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42. The need for better evaluation
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43. Smarter Evaluation
q Do we have the right performance criteria?
V
Volume:
Desktop/Tablet/Smartphone
Quality:
Desktop/Tablet/Smartphone
Value
Desktop/Tablet/Smartphone
Cost
Desktop/Tablet/Smartphone
Q
V
C
 Unique visitors
 Visits
 Page views
 40% bounce rate
 5% conversion rate




Number of sales or leads
Average order value or selling price
Goal value per visit > Page value
Revenue per visit (E-commerce) > Page value




Cost
Cost
Cost
Cost
per
per
per
per
thousand (CPM)
click (CPC)
acquisition (CPA)
sale (CPS)
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44. Coming soon…
Content Marketing ROI
Strategy Guide
Guide to costing, calculating,
evaluating and reporting your
return on content marketing
investment
5
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45. My tips for 2014
➡ Get out of the building. Spend more time understanding the audience:
where they get info, what their questions are. Map the buyer journey.
Map content.
➡ Stop playing “content catchup” - think about the value you want to
create, plan and choose the best medium for it.
➡ Do informal lunchtime think session with subject matter experts who
find it difficult to allocate time to content in their daily schedule.
➡ Plan your diary for intensive writing / promotion binges. Take half your
time and budget and allocate to promoting your content.
➡ Schedule big ticket items to events (conferences, webcasts,
interviews). High stake make you focus and force you to keep to
schedule.
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46. Action to deliver more potent ROI
➡ Avoid being distracted by the wrong kinds of metrics, and reporting
page views and social followers to the boss.
➡ Imagine a pyramid: narrow at the top, wide at the bottom. Strip back
reports for people at the top to the bare essentials - use an “action
dashboard”* and focus away from metrics (data) toward action to move
the dial.
➡ Treat content as action. Content without action equates to free
publishing! Decide what you want your content to do. Measure and
evaluate each piece of content against your content goals and metrics.
Evaluate your wins and losses. Replay content that demonstrably adds
value to the business.
*Anish Kaushik
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47. My favourite presentation of 2013
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48. Book
Now!
My 2014 Content Masterclass
http://contentmasterclass.co.uk
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49. Smart Insights Strategy Guide
5
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50. Thank you for your poll participation
Your questions please
•
•
Please rate this webcast
Best wishes for a prosperous 2014!
CONNECT
Stephen Bateman
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