Sharpen Your Content Marketing In 6 Steps

1. Sharpen Your Content Marketing Strategy In 6 Steps Stephen Bateman The Content Marketing Strategy Expert All content is © Copyright Concentric Dots Limited 2013 Registered in England and Wales Number 8159156

2. 13 “How can you ﬁx your content problem when you have no plan?” “Creating content without a plan is like building a house with no architectural plans.” All content is © Copyright Concentric Dots Limited 2013 Registered in England and Wales Number 8159156 Joe Pulizzi, CMI

3. 14 Great content needs a plan All content is © Copyright Concentric Dots Limited 2013 Registered in England and Wales Number 8159156

4. 15 Every plan needs a goal All content is © Copyright Concentric Dots Limited 2013 Registered in England and Wales Number 8159156

5. 53 Outposts Your objectives need to be smart All content is © Copyright Concentric Dots Limited 2013 Registered in England and Wales Number 8159156

6. 15 The best plans are structured All content is © Copyright Concentric Dots Limited 2013 Registered in England and Wales Number 8159156 Content © Copyright Concentric Dots Limited 2013

7. 16 All content is © Copyright Concentric Dots Limited 2013 Registered in England and Wales Number 8159156 Your Plan - Step 1 Know your audience Content © Copyright Concentric Dots Limited 2013

8. 17 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 All content is © Copyright Concentric Dots Limited 2013 Registered in England and Wales Number 8159156 Know your audience

9. 18 Figure out your content challenge Attract prospects without selling to them How can we cut through the noise to win attention and earn trust from prospects? All content is © Copyright Concentric Dots Limited 2013 Registered in England and Wales Number 8159156

10. 19 Daniel Day Lewis took 8 months to get into character for his role in this My Left Foot. His performance won him numerous awards including best actor. You need to show the same commitment in your quest to know your customers All content is © Copyright Concentric Dots Limited 2013 Registered in England and Wales Number 8159156 Get into character..

11. 20 Set up an observatory.. All content is © Copyright Concentric Dots Limited 2013 Registered in England and Wales Number 8159156 Use tools

12. 21 Customer Persona Develop customer proﬁles.. All content is © Copyright Concentric Dots Limited 2013 Registered in England and Wales Number 8159156

13. 22 To help you develop detailed customer personas use the Empathy Map developed by XPLANE also called a "really simple customer proﬁler" http://whoisadampayne.com/ empathy-map/ Use Empathy Maps All content is © Copyright Concentric Dots Limited 2013 Registered in England and Wales Number 8159156

14. 24 Your plan - Step 2 Audit your content All content is © Copyright Concentric Dots Limited 2013 Registered in England and Wales Number 8159156 Content © Copyright Concentric Dots Limited 2013

15. 25 Why do a content audit?  Topic coverage  Content types  Spot gaps  Provide a better user experience All content is © Copyright Concentric Dots Limited 2013 Registered in England and Wales Number 8159156

16. 26 How much content should you be creating? All content is © Copyright Concentric Dots Limited 2013 Registered in England and Wales Number 8159156

17. 27 Research demonstrates that 52 is the magic number at which traffic increases due to the presence of deeper, more expert and tenacious content. http://labs.openviewpartners.com/how-much-content-should-you-be-creating/ For expert views and opinions on this topic go to: All content is © Copyright Concentric Dots Limited 2013 Registered in England and Wales Number 8159156 Magic Number

18. 28  Benchmark competition  Validate popular sources  Check Influencers All content is © Copyright Concentric Dots Limited 2013 Registered in England and Wales Number 8159156 External audit

19. 29 KEEP POLISH CREATE Your Existing Assets Calendar Content users want Content we want Other 1 2 3 4 TRASH Internal audit All content is © Copyright Concentric Dots Limited 2013 Registered in England and Wales Number 8159156 Content © Copyright Concentric Dots Limited 2013

20. 30 Keep audit organised Use an Inventory All content is © Copyright Concentric Dots Limited 2013 Registered in England and Wales Number 8159156

21.  Content audits are tedious  Keep your audit organised  Download an inventory spreadsheet  Create the basis for mapping (next step) 32 Summary - Step 2 Audit your content All content is © Copyright Concentric Dots Limited 2013 Registered in England and Wales Number 8159156

22.  Question: “If we don't have enough content experts in-house to create well-rounded content, do you suggest we link to other sources from our site, or should we pay outside sources to create content for us?”  Answer: Yes, curating content is a key component of content marketing success which needs to integrate with your content creation strategy. I suggest you identify external experts who can write expert content for you. In exchange you can put them in front of larger audiences than they’re able to reach themselves. You can provide this because you have a reputable blog, far reaching social media channels and pro-active content promotion + your eNewsletter mailing (assuming you have decent sized list, open and click-though rates). Curation is a win win partnership, which benefits each party mutually. Paying for content should only be done as a last resort when you’re sure the benefit outweighs the cost. 33 All content is © Copyright Concentric Dots Limited 2013 Registered in England and Wales Number 8159156 Q & A

23. 34 Your plan - Step 3 Map content to buyer All content is © Copyright Concentric Dots Limited 2013 Registered in England and Wales Number 8159156 Content © Copyright Concentric Dots Limited 2013

24. Search personas 35 James Justin Emma All content is © Copyright Concentric Dots Limited 2013 Registered in England and Wales Number 8159156 Search Personas

25. 36 Content for each stage of cycle All content is © Copyright Concentric Dots Limited 2013 Registered in England and Wales Number 8159156

26. 37 JamesJustinEmma All content is © Copyright Concentric Dots Limited 2013 Registered in England and Wales Number 8159156 Fill any existing gaps

27. Become aware The Bystander Just getting started in search. Does not yet fully realise that a need exists in the organisation Consider / compare The Detective Acknowledges a need. Is looking at options. Aware of the bigger suppliers. Not aware of us yet. Make a choice / prefer The judge The judge is more sophisticated, well informed and able to discern. Purchase The Jury Ready to purchase. The bystander picks up general information at events, on your website, in blog posts, in videos, at conferences, in pamphlets, brochures, in the press, specialist media, on referral sites, in emails Content that is targeted to keywords and key phrases via optimised pages is the best way to make self discoverable to the detectives. Creating content that helps solve speciﬁc problems this segment is struggling with A deeper level of content is needed to get on the judges shortlist. The job is to get to known them. Content needs to be good enough to earn their trust and contact details (e.g. email address) Make it drop dead easy to obvious how to purchase. Call to action CycleSegmentCharacteristicsContentrequirements 1 2 3 4 To be effective you need to provide a range of content that is relevant & informative, at each stage of the cycle Align content, persona & stage All content is © Copyright Concentric Dots Limited 2013 Registered in England and Wales Number 8159156 Content © Copyright Concentric Dots Limited 2013

28. 40 JamesJustinEmma • Blue = create Stage 1 Stage 2 Stage 3 4 5 Align content, persona & stage All content is © Copyright Concentric Dots Limited 2013 Registered in England and Wales Number 8159156

29. 38 ✓To entertain ✓To inspire ✓To educate ✓To convince Focus on content function All content is © Copyright Concentric Dots Limited 2013 Registered in England and Wales Number 8159156

30. 39 Use Smart Insights Content Matrix All content is © Copyright Concentric Dots Limited 2013 Registered in England and Wales Number 8159156

31.  Create search personas  Plan content functions / types  Map content to personas / journeys  Keep it visual !! 41 All content is © Copyright Concentric Dots Limited 2013 Registered in England and Wales Number 8159156 Summary - Step 3 Map content to buyer

32.  Question: “We've got a huge amount of content, largely trapped in PDF downloads. How can we work out what to prioritise?”  Answer: Auditing existing content is tedious painstaking work, especially when there are many pages on your website. The diagram on slide 29 is your best friend. There are no shortcuts! Once you know what your customers are searching for, and you understand the information and content types they need and prefer, go through your PDFs with a tooth comb and a spreadsheet using labeled columns to track the content, the purpose, and value of the content, and decide what to do with the different pieces, whilst scoring their value, engagement, “stickiness” etc, some will be worth keeping, polishing, repurposing, whilst others will simply just go in the bin. For a page to remain it must play a function, drive toward a goal, perform a purpose for the visitor and the business at a specific point long the buying cycle .. 42 Q & A All content is © Copyright Concentric Dots Limited 2013 Registered in England and Wales Number 8159156

33. 43 Your plan - Step 4 Create the editorial calendar All content is © Copyright Concentric Dots Limited 2013 Registered in England and Wales Number 8159156 Content © Copyright Concentric Dots Limited 2013

34. 44 ✓Content headline ✓Content type ✓The buyer persona you’re writing this piece for ✓Person who will write/create the content ✓Date due ✓Person who will edit the content ✓Channels — where does this get published ✓ Those “meta data” tags ✓ Publish date ✓ Status (perhaps indicated by green, yellow, or red) ✓ Any notes ✓ Metrics (e.g., comments posted, page views, downloads, etc.) ✓ Call to Action (the primary action or behaviour you’ve asked for) All content is © Copyright Concentric Dots Limited 2013 Registered in England and Wales Number 8159156 See it all in one place

35. 45 96 page A4 PDF eBook More detail in the Expert Guide All content is © Copyright Concentric Dots Limited 2013 Registered in England and Wales Number 8159156

36. 46 Daily Monthly Quarterly Write a blog posts Updates and ideas (Tweet. FB, LinkedIn, G+) Respond / comment onsite / offsite Curate news Do a Webinar Create how-to video or event video Write meatier blog post Create case studies Do guest blog post on influential third-party web site Create and post presentations to SlideShare Quarterly Publish an e-book, guide or white paper Attend one big event and interview people Produce a video series of 4-5 items Use calendar to plan ahead All content is © Copyright Concentric Dots Limited 2013 Registered in England and Wales Number 8159156

39. 49 Relevant Word count Educational Meaningful (metaphor) Visual Restrained marketing Chunked Linked Key words / phrases Call To Action Follow proven editorial guidelines All content is © Copyright Concentric Dots Limited 2013 Registered in England and Wales Number 8159156

40. 50  Create with real reader in mind  See all content in one place  Guide production / budget  Exploit time-specific opportunities  Build in time for proofing / correction All content is © Copyright Concentric Dots Limited 2013 Registered in England and Wales Number 8159156 Summary - Step 4 Create editorial calendar

44. 54 Outposts Your own turf Blog E-Newsletter Website Offline cross-promotion Email footer Social Twitter LinkedIn (inc. Groups) Facebook Google+ (author rank) YouTube Flickr Social bookmarks (Digg) BrightTalk SlideShare Paid Banners PPC (in social channels) Sponsored broadcasts Paid Webinar PR web All content is © Copyright Concentric Dots Limited 2013 Registered in England and Wales Number 8159156 Manage your channels

47. 57  Promote tour content in best channels  Hit & hit again  Remember to engage influencers  Make is seamless - Tool up!! Summary - Step 5 Promote your content All content is © Copyright Concentric Dots Limited 2013 Registered in England and Wales Number 8159156

48.  Question: “What's the best way to push content externally? Which channels work best?”  Answer: Your best channels or outposts for content promotion are those that most closely match the places your audiences like to hang out. It’s in these channels that you need to focus the majority of your promotion. But, remember, resist the temptation to “push” your content out. Place content tactically, sensitively. If you use social channels as broadcast channels you will abuse social media protocols and turn people away. Engage, engage, engage. That means listen, converse, and restrain from using sales and marketing messages. Apply this to your direct marketing outposts like your newsletters. Content promotion is a skill that requires time and patience to master. It’s like learning a new language. Studying a phrasebook won’t get you there. You need to live and immerse yourself in the channels. 58 Q & A All content is © Copyright Concentric Dots Limited 2013 Registered in England and Wales Number 8159156

49. 59 Your plan - Step 6 Measure your performance All content is © Copyright Concentric Dots Limited 2013 Registered in England and Wales Number 8159156 Content © Copyright Concentric Dots Limited 2013

51. 61 If it’s worth doing, it’s worth doing properly