This eBook contains several helpful tips that are always on my mind as I prepare and produce content marketing initiatives. If you’re new to content marketing, the following pages will probably be an extremely helpful resource to keep by your side. If you’re a seasoned marketing veteran, this eBook should be a valuable reminder to help you stay sharp.

2. This eBook contains
several helpful tips
that are always on
my mind as I prepare
and produce content
marketing initiatives.
If you’re new to
content marketing,
the following pages
will probably be an
extremely helpful
resource to keep by
your side. If you’re a
seasoned marketing
veteran, this eBook
should be a valuable
reminder to help you
stay sharp.
!
INTRODUCTION Use Social Media
For the Right Reasons
Expand Your
Digital Footprint
Think About
Your Customer
!
Produce Relevant And
Engaging Content PostsThe Customer Path
The Value
Of Hashtags
Create It Once
And Share It
Many Times
1

3. If you consider yourself to be a content marketer,
have you thought about how marketing’s definition
of those two words actually change the way you
think, plan, create and solve the customer’s
problems? I know that sounds silly, but it is worth
your time and energy to see what it really means.
You should also think about what it means to you
and your job as a marketer, and how it will change
the way you execute initiatives.
”
“
INTRODUCTION
If you are still exclusively publishing content about your products
and services, stop. And now the cold, hard truth:
No one cares about your brand. They want answers
to their questions and solutions to their problems.
2

4. !
Content marketing’s purpose is to attract and retain
customers by consistently creating and curating
relevant and valuable content with the intention
of changing or enhancing consumer behavior.
It is an ongoing process that is best integrated
into your overall marketing strategy,
and it focuses on owning media, not renting it.
!
”
“
3

5. Social media is an absolute must for good marketing. However, all social
channels are not the same and they all have different strengths. Get to
know these strengths and leverage them. Once you know these
strengths, you can then flex your content marketing muscle and be more
effective in reaching your audience with the right content on the right
social media channel.
!
!
!
!
!
!
USE SOCIAL MEDIA
FOR THE RIGHT REASONS
YouTube, Google+, and LinkedIn ranked as
the top three sources for referrals in terms of
time on site, pages per visit, and bounce rate.
”
“
of mentions come from
people with fewer than
500 followers.
!
!
!
of users who tweet at a
brand expect a response
within the hour.
!
!
!
of a Facebook page’s
interactions happen on
photo posts.
Shareaholic Study
91%
53%
87%
4
Business2Community
#1

6. One of the best ways to accomplish digital expansion is to use social media.
If you are currently using one social media channel, say Facebook, try
expanding your brand to Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram, Pinterest or others.
You will find out there is a different age range and type of person on each of
them, so take advantage of that. Here are some statistics from the Pew
Research Internet Project that will help you understand each social media
channel better. You may also want to start a company blog, or even create a
digital hub where all your company digital resources can be found on your
website in one easy location. This will make it easier for your customer to
connect and engage without having to spend precious time digging around.
EXPAND YOUR
DIGITAL FOOTPRINT
of Internet users use
Facebook.
!
!
!
!
of users on Twitter are
18-29.
!
!
!
!
of Instagram users are
African Americans.
71%
31%
34%
of online women
are Pinterest users.
of LinkedIn users
earn more than $75k.
33%
38%
5
Pew Research Internet Project
#2

7. Start creating content based on the audience you want to reach and the
topic you think will be most effective in reaching that recipient. Content-to-
customer relevance is king. Here’s a social media example. A LinkedIn post
will be written differently than a tweet, or a Facebook post. This happens
because the users who frequent those channels can be different in age and
also their expectations. These are different because each of those social
channels delivers different types of information in many ways. Knowing your
customer is also knowing what vehicle to use to reach them most effectively.
THINK ABOUT
YOUR CUSTOMER
#3
Content marketing is more about giving customers
what they need then it is about pushing products.
It’s through engaging content that we build the
brand and an emotional connection with customers.
– Jim Joseph
”
“
Two eBooks specifically written
to help marketers understand
their customers better.
6

8. Content posts are more about storytelling, not selling your brand like an
advertisement. When creating content for a social post, think about what
questions your customers have and answer them with your content posts.
This will create a higher degree of relevance and increase the engagement.
Because of this, the recipient of your post will most likely “like” it and
maybe even “share” it with their sphere of influence. That is one way to take
advantage of social’s strengths. You can also use social media to create a
dialogue with the customer, drive them to a landing page on your website,
connect with the brand or create a meaningful dialogue to name a few.
!
Customers can also be a brand ambassador for your company by sharing
their own stories. You just might be surprised how frequently your content
gets shared. Typically, engaging content that gets shared is highly relevant
to the customer and also has an image attached.
!
!
PRODUCE RELEVANT AND
ENGAGING CONTENT POSTS
#4
Facebook content
posts with photos
are shared 87% of
the time
87%
7

9. In marketing, creating relevant experiences
for your target audience has always been the best way
to capture customers. That means creating compelling
content that speaks directly to your target audience.
!
According to a recent study by Junta42 and MarketingProfs.com,
Creating relevant content is the No.1 challenge
among content marketers by a wide margin.
#4
”
“
“
”
PRODUCE RELEVANT AND
ENGAGING CONTENT POSTS
8

10. The customer path is one of those pieces of the content
marketing equation that seems to be neglected more
often than not. It’s critical to understand where your
customer is so you can modify your content based on
where they are in the sales funnel. They might be just
entering the sales funnel and need to be educated, (this
is the top of the funnel), or be deep in the funnel ready to
make a purchase (not far from the bottom of the funnel).
This matters, and your content should be produced
based on where the customer is in the sales funnel.
!
!
THE CUSTOMER PATH#5
87%
70%
56%
of B2B content
marketing is through
social media (other
than blogs) CMI
of B2B Marketers do not
use print distribution in
their content marketing
CMI
of B2B marketers don’t
have a documented
content strategy CMI
300%
B2B marketers with a
content marketing strategy
are nearly 300% more likely
to be effective CMI
!
The #1 metric for content marketing
measurement is web traffic CMINO. 1
9

11. Social posts need hashtags to be recognized far beyond
the friend or follower receiving it. Use a hashtag if you
want to tell the world about your topic and expose it to
others who are also using that hashtag.
!
The is the way to get your content post more
targeted visibility. Use a hashtag that is a popular word
or make up your own hashtag to add personality
and creativity for your brand.
THE VALUE OF
HASHTAGS
#6
#
10

12. #6
Here are some great hashtag resources that will provide
you with some deeper insight and research.
!
!
How to Use the Power of
Hashtags in Your Social
Media Marketing (JeffBullas.com)
!
!
How To Properly Use
Hashtags In Your Social
Media Marketing
(Business2Community.com)
!
5 Brilliant Ways to Use
#Hashtags in Social Media
Marketing (SearchEngineWatch)Photo Credit: JeffBullas.com
THE VALUE OF
HASHTAGS
11

13. CREATE IT ONCE -
SHARE IT MANY TIMES
#7
This is a phrase you need to keep on your
mind 24x7. One of the most important things
you can do with all of your content marketing
is to create it once and share it as much as
possible (without going overboard).
!
You don’t want your content to be out there by
itself – share it with others. If your content is
alone and not shared on many other channels,
then you need to get that started immediately.
Repurposing content is critical to increasing
exposure many times over.
Among the top 10
activities on Facebook
for Q2 2013, uploading
and sharing photos has
been the top activity on
desktop, mobile and tablet
(Jeffbullas.com)”
“
12

14. #7
SHARE
94% 84%
78%
carefully consider how the informationthey share will be useful to the
recipient. (SocialMediaToday)
share because it is a way to support
causes or issues they care about.
(SocialMediaToday)
share information online
because it lets them stay
connected to people they
may not otherwise stay in touch
with. (SocialMediaToday)
CREATE IT ONCE -
SHARE IT MANY TIMES
13

15. RE-CAP
These are just a few
tactical ways to
propel your content
marketing to new
levels. It’s not an
i n s t a n t a n e o u s
process. However, If
you can follow these
basic guidelines,
y o u r c o n t e n t
marketing will be on
the road to capturing
more qualified leads
a n d c o n v e r t i n g
those leads into
sales sooner than
you think.
!
Use Social Media
For the Right Reasons
Expand Your
Digital Footprint
Think About
Your Customer
!
Produce Relevant And
Engaging Content PostsThe Customer Path
The Value
Of Hashtags
Create It Once
And Share It
Many Times
14

16. HubSpot
http://blog.hubspot.com/insiders/content-marketing-in-2014
!
CMI
http://contentmarketinginstitute.com/what-is-content-marketing/
!
!
Different Strengths
http://blog.tailwindapp.com/importance-of-social-media-differences/
!
Percentages
http://www.business2community.com/brandviews/buffer/10-surprising-important-social-
media-stats-need-know-0930686#!60x7c
!
Shareaholic Study
https://blog.shareaholic.com/social-media-traffic-trends-04-2014/
!
Pew Research Internet Project.
http://www.pewinternet.org/2013/12/30/demographics-of-key-social-networking-platforms/
!
Content-to-customer relevance is king
https://econsultancy.com/blog/63638-content-is-critical-but-relevance-is-
king#i.aglf6n1a5xd27q
!
Anatomy Of A Customer Touch Point
http://yourbrandexposed.com/anatomy-of-a-customer-touch-point/
!
Are You Thinking About Your Customer Path?
http://yourbrandexposed.com/are-you-thinking-about-your-customer-path/
!
Jim Joseph
http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/232294
your content gets shared
http://socialmediatoday.com/varuntulsyan/1834911/what-most-popular-content-shared-
social-media
!
!
!
87% of the time
http://www.socialmediaexaminer.com/photos-generate-engagement-research/
!
2 Quotes
http://www.inboundwriter.com/content-marketing/6-tips-for-creating-more-
relevant-content-2/
Customer Path
http://www.slideshare.net/encmarketing/are-you-thinking-about-thcustomer-path
Sales Funnel
http://blog.hubspot.com/insiders/improve-sales-funnel-efficiency
!
CMI: http://contentmarketinginstitute.com/2012/10/2013-b2b-content-marketing-
research/
!
56%, 70%, 87%, 300%
http://contentmarketinginstitute.com/2013/10/8-shocking-content-marketing-
research-facts/
!
Use a hashtag
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hashtag
!
How to Use the Power of Hashtags in Your Social Media Marketing
http://www.jeffbullas.com/2014/05/07/how-to-use-the-power-of-hashtags-in-
your-social-media-marketing/
!
How To Properly Use Hashtags In Your Social Media Marketing
http://www.business2community.com/social-media/properly-use-hashtags-
social-media-marketing-0860839#!baziWs
!
5 Brilliant Ways to Use #Hashtags in Social Media Marketing http://
searchenginewatch.com/article/2327748/5-Brilliant-Ways-to-Use-Hashtags-in-
Social-Media-Marketing
!
share it as much as possible
http://blog.bufferapp.com/social-media-frequency-guide
!
!
!
SOURCES:
15

17. !
!
5 Brilliant Ways to Use #Hashtags in Social Media Marketing http://
searchenginewatch.com/article/2327748/5-Brilliant-Ways-to-Use-Hashtags-in-
Social-Media-Marketing
!
share it as much as possible
http://blog.bufferapp.com/social-media-frequency-guide
!
Is Your Content Alone?
https://www.linkedin.com/today/post/article/20140527122501-19519738-is-your-
content-alone?trk=mp-reader-card
!
94% | 84% | 78%
http://www.socialmediatoday.com/varuntulsyan/1834911/what-most-popular-
content-shared-social-media
!
Jeff Bullas
http://www.jeffbullas.com/2013/09/20/12-awesome-social-media-facts-and-
statistics-for-2013/
!
Social Media Today
http://www.socialmediatoday.com/varuntulsyan/1834911/what-most-popular-
content-shared-social-media
!
Among the top 10 activities on Facebook for Q2 2013, uploading and sharing
photos has been the top activity on desktop, mobile and tablet (Jeffbullas.com)
SOURCES:
YourBrandExposed is designed to look at digital
with an eye into the future using a creative,
innovative marketing perspective.
We’re a consultative and tactical resource for
companies looking to leverage the power of
digital, social and content marketing.
!
!
Scott MacFarland
Web: www.Yourbrandexposed.com
Twitter: @scmacfarland
Email: scmacfarland@yahoo.com
Phone: 561.339.2278
Published: LinkedIn | Pulse | Huffington Post
!
!
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