New year, new you: Get your content marketing plans in shape and give your social media strategy a makeover. Here are five big things to focus on, and practical tactics on how to tackle them from MarketingProfs own Ann Handley and Corey O'Loughlin.

1. How to Impress Your Boss,
Get Ahead of the Curve,
And Tighten Your Bottom (Line)

2. COREY O’LOUGHLIN
Content Marketing Manager, MarketingProfs
@CoreyOlo
ANN HANDLEY
Chief Content Officer, MarketingProfs
@MarketingProfs

3. WARM UP
Who we are
• The Boss: Ann Handley
• The Do-er: Corey O’Loughlin

4. TODAY’S WORKOUT
Transform Yourself: 2014 Trends
•
•
•
•
•
Step It Up: from Elementary to Excellent
Online Content: Create and Curate
Social Savvy: from Restricted to Required
Integrate: from One Voice to Many United Voices
Data: from Overwhelmed to Actionable
Cool Down: 10 Bad Habits to Shed in 2014

5. STEP IT UP:
FROM ELEMENTARY TO EXCELLENT
The basics are no longer enough.

6. STEP IT UP
Real-time marketing is required.
• Do you have the ability to produce real-time, same-day
content around relevant news stories?
• Real-time relevance is key (you don’t have to be Oreo)

7. REAL-TIME RELEVANCE

8. STEP IT UP
Real-time marketing is required.
• Do you have the ability to produce real-time, same-day
content around relevant news stories?
• Real-time relevance is key (you don’t have to be Oreo)
Story and strategy are your cornerstone.
• Do you have processes and platforms that work?
• Create a variety of content types: Reimagine, refine.

10. (BTW: Download research at
Slideshare.net/mprofs)

11. Multiplication signs are key.
(Thank you, Doug Kessler.)
USEFUL X ENJOYABLE X INSPIRED =
EFFECTIVE CONTENT

12. STEP IT UP
Real-time marketing is required.
• Do you have the ability to produce real-time, same-day content
around relevant news stories?
• Real-time relevance is key (you don’t have to be Oreo)
Story and strategy are your cornerstone.
• Do you have processes and platforms that work?
• Create a variety of content types: Reimagine, refine.
Loosen up your content.
• Content is evolving from buttoned up to business casual
• Video is the opportunity in 2014!

13. HOW TO: STEP IT UP
Real time marketing is required.
• Google Alerts, Hyper
Alerts
• Stay on top of your
brand, but also on top of
trending stories/events
of importance to your
audience. (Not all
opportunities are the
right fit.)

14. HOW TO: STEP IT UP
Story and Strategy are your
cornerstone.
• Content Rules (Ann and
C.C.) or Content Strategy for
the Web (Halvorson)
• Make sure you have staffing
roles covered (See Ann’s
simple org chart:
http://www.annhandley.com/
2013/10/06/a-simplecontent-marketing-org-chart/
• Get educated:
MarketingProfsU, Content
Marketing Crash Course, or
Marketing Writing
Bookcamp

15. HOW TO: STEP IT UP
Loosen up your Content.
• iMovie, Vine, Instagram, YouTube
• Improv classes.* Bringing a sense of playfulness to your content will
help you stand out. (*Tim Washer’s idea)

17. ONLINE CONTENT:
CREATE AND CURATE
Voice and tone are your secret sauce.

18. ONLINE CONTENT
Voice and tone are your secret content sauce.
• A distinct brand voice is essential in 2014.
• You have personas for your prospects: Do you have one for
your brand? Do you have a “verbal identity”?
Hi.

19. ONLINE CONTENT
Voice and tone are your secret content sauce.
• A distinct brand voice is essential in 2014.
• You have personas for your prospects. Do you have one for
your brand? Do you have a “verbal identity”?
Evolved focus: Create and curate
• With a content surplus, the value of curation comes in
finding the best content, commenting on it, and sharing it.

20. ONLINE CONTENT
Voice and tone are your secret sauce.
• A distinct brand voice is essential in 2014.
• You have personas for your prospects. Do you have one for
your brand? Do you have a “verbal identity”?
Evolved focus: Create and curate.
• With a content surplus, the value of curation comes in
finding the best content, commenting on it, and sharing it.
Take social seriously as a content/story platform.
• Curate content from your audience.

21. HOW TO: ONLINE CONTENT
Voice and tone are your
secret sauce.
• Tool: A whiteboard
(and the smartest
people you can find).
• Create a brand
persona: Who are
you? And: Who are
you not?
• Tip: If you erase your
visual branding, is
your content clearly
yours?

22. HOW TO: ONLINE CONTENT
Evolved focus: Create and
curate.
• Tool: Curata, Buffer
• Sharing links without
commenting on why it
matters is simply
aggregating; add
value for your
audience.

23. HOW TO: ONLINE CONTENT
Take social seriously
• Tool: Oktopost (for
publishing,
monitoring)
• Tool: Storify (for social
curating)

24. SOCIAL SAVVY:
FROM RESTRICTED TO REQUIRED
Opting out of social media isn’t an option.

25. SOCIAL SAVVY
Marketers have to be steeped in social and know how to best
use it.
• Identify your communities and influencers
Stay current on social rules.
• Social networks change the rules frequently. (We’re looking at
you Facebook.) Stay up to speed!

26. HOW TO: SOCIAL SAVVY
Find your communities and influencers.
• Tool: Little Bird
Stay up to speed on changing social rules, guidelines, best
practices and my relationship status…. (Ha!)
• Tools: MarketingProfs, Mashable, Moz
• Tip: Read MarketingProfs #SocialSkim every Friday!
(Ann’s favorite bit of content.)

27. INTEGRATE:
FROM ONE VOICE TO
MANY UNITED VOICES
Help your employees tell your story.

28. INTEGRATE
Involve your employees: Everyone is a brand ambassador.
Find the hidden assets on your team
• Who has latent or dormant skills that may help your brand stand
out?
Make it fun!
• Incentivize participation in content/sharing.

29. HOW TO: INTEGRATE
Everyone is a brand
ambassador.
• Tool: Addvocate

30. HOW TO: INTEGRATE
Find the hidden assets on
your team.
• Tool: Your ears and eyes.
• Tip: Sometimes all you
have to do is ask.

31. HOW TO: INTEGRATE
Make it fun!
• Tool: YouEarnedIt
• Tip: Not everyone is
competitive: What
motivates your team
members?

32. DATA:
FROM OVERWHELMED TO ACTIONABLE
Measure what matters.

33. DATA
Figure out what you need to know to make decisions.
• Measure what’s important.
Manage your time wisely.
Report regularly (weekly, monthly) to those you need to
inform.

34. SEE FAST COMPANY’S
GOOGLE ANALYTICS FOR CONTENT MARKETERS

35. HOW TO: DATA
Breathe. You’ve got this:
• Tool: Moz Analytics
• Tip: The more you
understand the better
your content will be

36. HOW TO: DATA
Get smart about time management.
• Tool: Kanbanize
• Tip: Focus on what matters. The
rest can wait.

37. HOW TO: DATA
Report regularly: Simplicity works.
• Tool: Excel
• Tip: Hold yourself accountable.

38. 10 BAD HABITS
TO SHED IN 2014
Just because you can doesn’t mean you should.

39. THE TWITTER ROBO DM

40. YOUR CRAPPY LINKEDIN PHOTO

41. SPAMMY BLOG COMMENTS

42. CLICHÉ STOCK PHOTOS

43. EMOTICONS

44. RIDICULOUS ADJECTIVES
You are not a ninja.

45. “BORROWING” CONTENT
It’s stealing and it’s not cool.

46. FRANKENSPEAK

47. AUTO CROSS-POSTING

48. Humble Bragging and Vaguebooking

49. Thank You!
COREY O’LOUGHLIN
Content Marketing Manager, MarketingProfs
@CoreyOlo
ANN HANDLEY
Chief Content Officer, MarketingProfs
@MarketingProfs