The document outlines how to build and operate an effective content marketing machine. It discusses establishing a strategic structure centered around buyer personas and stages of the buyer's journey. An ideal team includes idea generators, content producers, distributors, and managing editors. The process involves planning content ideas, scheduling on an editorial calendar, producing content, and distributing it to the top, middle, and bottom of the sales funnel to drive audience and measure success.

1. How To Build and
Operate a Content
Marketing Machine
Toby Murdock
Co- Founder and CEO
Kapost

2. Agenda: Machine Components
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Strategic Structure
Team
Ideas
Planning
Production
Distribution
o Top of the Funnel
o Middle of the Funnel
o Bottom of the Funnel
Analysis

3. About Me
• Co-Founder and CEO of Kapost,
•
the leading content marketing
software platform
Prior to Kapost, I was the CoFounder and CEO of Qloud, an
online music application that grew
to over 25MM users before being
acquired by BuzzMedia

4. Today You Will Learn
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How to produce your content marketing strategic plan
How to put together your content marketing team
How to develop a content ideation process
How to develop a content ideation process
How to plan and schedule your editorial calendar
How to develop your content production process
How to drive audience to your content
How to use your content to fill the sales funnel
How to measure your content success

5. How Content Marketing

6. Strategic Structure

7. What Does Content Do?
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Content pulls the Buyer from where they are today
through the Buyer's journey to a completed purchase

8. Your Sweet Spot
The Buyer's Interests

9. Your Sweet Spot
Brand's Expertise

10. Your Sweet Spot
Focus of Your Content

11. What is your Content Strategy?
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Content Strategy outlines what content to deploy at
each stage of the Buyer's journey for each Buyer
(Persona)

12. Content Strategic Structure
Personas
PersonaA
Buyer's Journey
Stage1
Stage2
Stage3
PersonaB
PersonaC

13. Team

14. Idea Generators,
Subject Matter Experts
Distribution /
"Customers"
Content Producers &
Approvers
Internal
Managing
Editors
External
Top of Funnel
Middle of Funnel
Bottom of Funnel
(Sales)

15. Team: Idea Generation
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Customers
Customer-facing: Sales, Service, Support
Influencers / thought leaders
Internal Subject-matter experts

16. Team: Production
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Internal Producers
o (Creative) Marketing
o MarCom / PR
o Product Marketing
External Producers
o Agencies
o Freelancers
o Influencers
Internal Approvers
o Executives
o Legal
o "Customers"
Managing Editor

17. Team: Distribution / "Customers"
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Top of the Funnel
o Influencers
o Social Media
o Website / SEO
Middle of the Funnel
o Demand Generation
o Marketing Automation
Bottom of the Funnel
o Sales
o Field Marketing / Sales Enablement

18. Ideas

19. Content Ideas
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Internal Voice of the Customer
o Sales, Support, Services
Influencers
Social Listening
Customer Surveys & Interviews

20. Content Ideas
Source
Process
Internal Voice of the
Customer: Sales,
Service, Support
Idea Submission &
Follow-up
Social Listening /
Influencers
Social Team
Direct Voice of the
Customer
Interviews, Surveys

21. Planning

22. Internal
Voice of
Customer
Social
Direct
Voice of
Customer

26. 4
3

27. 4
3
4
1
7
1
1
1
3

28. 4
3
4
1
7
1
1
1
3

31. 4
3
4
1
7
1
1
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32. 4
1
7
1
1
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33. 4
1
7
1
18
1
1
3

34. Mon.
Tue.
52
104
Wed.
Thur.
104
2
18
Fri.
~
6
's / yr.

35. Jan.
Apr.
Jul.
Oct.
Feb.
May
Aug.
Nov.
Mar.
Jun.
Sep.
Dec.

36. Production

37. Get "Customer" Buy-in on Calendar
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Content "Customers" = social / SEO / website team,
demand gen team, sales / sales enablement team
Share calendar early and often

38. Define Processes and Workflows
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Production of content requires lots of contributors,
approvers
Don't let logistics ruin your content efforts

39. You are in competition for your Buyer's attention!
NO
YES

40. Distribution

41. site visitors
TOP
leads
Content
Campaigns
MIDDLE
BOTTOM
opportunities
customers

42. Distribution: Top of the Funnel

43. Top of the Funnel
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Influencers
SEO
Paid Media
Syndication

44. Influencers
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Influencers = those in your topic with lots of visitors,
followers
Your job: earn links from Influencers to your content
How:
o Map influencers
o Develop relationships
o Engage: ideas, content production
o Mini-marketing campaign per asset

45. SEO
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Rules have changed: no longer a technical game
Heavy lifting: Influencers
Also must:
o Map out keywords
o Make sure content covers keywords
o Make sure content optimized for keywords
o Track page rank progress

46. Paid Media
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Ads, email blasts: link to content, not product

47. Syndication
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Put your content where your buyers are

48. Distribution: Middle of the Funnel

49. Middle of the Funnel: Visitor > Lead
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Return to Site
o Email, Twitter, RSS
Circulate - Calls to Action
o Other Content
o Build to Gated Content
Build Trust
Value Exchange

50. Middle of the Funnel: Lead Nurturing
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Inbox
Identity = information
Marketing automation
Customize
o Demonstrated interests
o Level of purchase intent / lead scoring

51. Distribution: Bottom of the Funnel

52. Bottom of the Funnel: Sales Enablement
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Successful sales rep
teach customers about
their issues
Thus Buyer-focused
content needs to be
made available to sales
teams

53. Analysis

54. Content Strategic Structure
Personas
PersonaA
Buyer's Journey
Stage1
Stage2
Stage3
PersonaB
PersonaC

55. Content Strategic Structure
Personas
PersonaA
Buyer's Journey
Stage1
Stage2
Stage3
PersonaB
PersonaC

57. What are the patterns
inside the numbers?
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campaigns?
authors?
content types?
categories

58. Key Takeaways
• How to produce your content marketing strategic
plan
• How to put together your content marketing team
• How to develop a content ideation process
• How to develop a content ideation process
• How to plan and schedule your editorial calendar
• How to develop your content production process
• How to drive audience to your content
• How to use your content to fill the sales funnel
• How to measure your content success

59. Thank you

60. toby@kapost.com
www.kapost.com
@kapost