The document outlines a comprehensive inbound/content marketing plan, detailing steps for creating, executing, and measuring success. It emphasizes the importance of audience and competitor research, setting realistic goals, utilizing various content types, and following best practices for content visibility and engagement. Long-term success hinges on integrating efforts, analyzing results, building a capable team, and adapting strategies to evolving digital marketing landscapes.

1. +
Inbound E-marketing:
The Content Marketing Plan
Mary Ann Davis| mdavis@carrollcc.edu
Carroll Community College | 2016

2. +
The Inbound/Content Marketing
Plan
 Getting Started with a Content Marketing Plan
 Executing Your Content Marketing Plan
 Achieving Long-term Success

3. + Creating an Inbound/Content
Marketing Plan

4. +
Checklist: Content Marketing Plan
 Identify audience needs & interests
 Research competitor content marketing efforts
 Establish goals
 Determine the content type(s) & branded
destination
 Decide on free or paid assets

5. +
Audience Research: Methods
Search
Like a
Customer
Websites & BlogsSocial Media
Eavesdrop

6. +
Audience Research
Listen for
Wants &
Needs
Identify
Popular Sites
Ask the
Audience

7. +
Competitor Research
Review Published Content
Search Websites & Blogs
Social Media

8. +
Competitor Research
Eavesdrop on Conversations
Websites & Blogs
Incoming Links &
Blog Comments
Social Media
Friends
Followers
Connections &
Groups

9. +
Establish Goals
 Realistic
 Based on quality, not quantity
 Account for resources

10. +
Paid Assets
 Why am I offering content online?
 What do I want to get from my content?
 What do I want people to do with my content?
 Who do I want to read or view my content?
Questions to Answer:

11. + Executing Your Inbound/Content
Marketing Plan

12. +
Methods
 Link building strategies
 Content coverage
 Images, video & sound
 Interlinking & cross-promoting
 Best practices

13. +
Link Building Strategies
Process of publishing shareworthy content & building
relationships with people online to boost website
organic links & traffic.

14. +
Content Coverage
Putting practices into place that allow your content &
conversations to gain maximum exposure & growth
from your efforts.
 Apply Creative Commons attribution license
 Add logo to infographics, white papers & e-books
 Attach contact forms sparingly – requiring contact
information to access content can reduce the number
of shares

15. +
Images, Video & Sound
Enhance your content; don’t clutter it.

16. +
Cross-promotions &
Inter & Intralinking
 Cross-promoting – increase awareness of
content & available channels
 Interlinking – linking social media content from
your core online destination site
(i.e. a YouTube video from a blog post or adding
a SlideShare app from your Facebook Page)
 Intralinking – linking a newer blog post from an
older blog post

17. +
Best Practices
 Follow the law - Copyrights & Fair Use, Libel,
Privacy, etc…
 Know your words live online for a long time –
consider your words & their long-term effect on
your brand; even if you delete your original post,
the quotation may still be visible in other users’
comments
 Practice content marketing etiquette

18. +
Checklist: Etiquette Don’ts
 Publish too much self-promotion
 Intentionally or accidentally spamming
 Send automated messages
 Forget about attributing sources
 Sound inauthentic & too corporate – sound
human
 Overlook acknowledging people – respond to
comments

19. + Achieving Long-term Success

20. +
Key Success Factors
 Integrating content marketing efforts
 Analyzing results & fine-tuning the strategy
 Building the team

21. +
Integrating Content Marketing
Efforts
Cross Promote
Channels & Content
Find Content Marketing
Opportunities
Make it Shareable
(AddThis or ShareThis buttons)

22. +
Finding Content Marketing
Opportunities
 Search for opportunities
 Connect with sites & people – relationship building
 Register with …
 Help a Reporter Out – www.helpareporter.com
 ProfNet Connect - www.profnetconnect.com/ (connects
journalists, bloggers & writers with experts)
 Guest blogging

23. +
Analyzing Results &
Fine-tuning The Strategy
 Knowing what to track
 Using tools that to analyze metrics
 Conduct ongoing research
 Retooling your strategy
Monitor Conversations About Your Business

24. +
Knowing What to Track
 Identify hard & soft metrics
 Measure Return on Impressions, Opportunity,
Objectives & Engagement

25. +
Identify Hard & Soft Metrics
 Hard metrics (quantitative) – based on how many
people consume, share or discuss your content
 Soft metrics (qualitative) – based on online
perceptions and sentiments

26. +
Return on Impressions
 Impressions (hard metric)
 Perceptions (soft metric) – how people feel about
your business based on the content that’s shared

27. +
Return on Opportunity
Evaluates the opportunity that specific content
marketing efforts present versus the time &
monetary commitment they require.

28. +
Return on Objectives
The analysis of whether content marketing
efforts are moving the business in the right
direction to meet its long-term objectives.

29. +
Return on Engagement
Identifying how people engage with you & your
content.

30. +
Tools
Social Media
Built-in Analytics
Social Media
Third-party Analytics
Google
Analytics

31. +
Conduct Ongoing Research
Email & Online
Surveys
Listening &
Joining
Conversations
Online Polls

32. +
Retooling Your Strategy
 Keep pace with digital marketing changes
 Improve performance of under-performing efforts
 Check original goals still apply
 Take advantage of new content efforts

33. +
Building the Team
 Identify resources
 Establish expectations & requirements
 Find help with creating, sharing & promoting content
– know the skills you need (e.g. strong copywriting)
& recruit that from inside or outside of the
organization
 Monitor performance – make sure that content &
conversations align with your strategy

34. +
Identify Resource Needs
 Content creators
 Writers
 Graphic designers
 Audio & video technicians
 Sharers – resources that search for opportunities to
promote content
 Conversers – resources assigned to participate in
your & others’ content conversations
Internal Staff & External Freelancers

35. +
Establish Expectations &
Requirements
 Provide specific content requirements – including
word count, images, tagging & other pertinent details
 Give examples of style expectations – review
previous posts
 Communicate writing guidelines – the do’s & don’ts
for representing the business

36. Mary Ann Davis
Digital Marketer & Strategist
Specializing in developing strategic marketing plans using
an effective mix of multi-channel approaches that grow
business development.
about.me/mary_ann_davis
mary_ann_davis@outlook.com