1.
Using Every Part of the Buffalo
How to get more mileage out
of your visual content

2.
Matt Cooper, CEO of Visually
• Joined Visually in 2014
• Early exec at oDesk (now Upwork),
the world’s largest freelancer
marketplace
• Expert in freelancer-based models and
labor/services marketplaces
• @matt_cooper

3.
About Visually
5% discount code: BUFFALO

4.
Before we start…
• Content marketing is always on
• Marketers are short on time and resources
• A great narrative is the scarcest resource
• To scale your marketing, you need to get the
most from what you have

5.
Today’s Agenda
• Quick agreement on definitions
• Building the framework
• Using derivative content
• Scaling production

6.
Content Marketing: The Formal Definition
The marketing and business practice
for creating and distributing
relevant and valuable content to
attract, acquire and engage a clearly
defined and understood customer
audience – with the objective of driving
profitable customer action.
Source: Content Marketing
Institute

7.
Content Marketing: The Elevator Pitch
Traditional marketing and advertising
is telling the world you’re a rock star.
Content Marketing is showing the
world that you are one.
Source: Content Marketing
Institute

8.
Content Marketing: For Practitioners
Content marketing is about
delivering the content your
audience is seeking in all the
places they are searching for it.
Source: Content Marketing
Institute

9.
Content Marketing: For Non-Believers
Content marketing is about creating
interesting information your
customers are passionate about so
they actually pay attention to you.
Source: Content Marketing
Institute

10.
Why? What’s in it for you?
• Why not try to close right away?
• What’s the impact on the business?
• Gary Vaynerchuk https://goo.gl/cRt16L

11.
Content marketing is not new

12.
The Framework

13.
Using every part requires a framework
• Native Americans evolved a
framework and system over
centuries
• If you want to extract every bit
of value from a great theme or
story, you need to have the right
plan in place

14.
4 Step Framework
• Your Audience
• Goal
• Buyer journey
• Mapping Channels & Content

15.
Step 1: Know your target audience
• Who are they?
• What are their problems?
• Where can you bring value?
• Personas 101

16.
How to get it wrong
• Mass incarceration video
• 1.5 million views
• 5,000+ comments on social
• Not our target customers
• Not solving our clients’ problems

17.
How to get it right
• We know our target market has a
problem
• Content marketing takes a lot of work
• Everyone is scrambling to stay afloat
• We think this will help

18.
Step 2: Define (and remember) your goal
• Conversion?
• That would be great, but it’s a second-order effect
• Goal is to
• Add value
• Build a relationship
• Your KPIs should reflect these goals
• Conversion in content marketing is a cumulative
effort

19.
Step 3: Map the Buyer Journey
• 67% of the buyer’s journey is now done
digitally
• This is a simple framework we like
• Awareness > Consideration > Conversion >
Loyalty > Advocacy
• Fits most, but you should define your own
Source:
SiriusDecisions

20.
What is most valuable when?
Early Funnel: Inform and orient
- Social Media
- Blogs
- eGuides
Deep Funnel: Convince and convert
- White papers
- Case studies
- Product demos
Retain and grow: Insider’s edge
- Customer-only content
- Events and roundtables
- Webinars
- Sharable content

21.
Step 4: Aligning channels, content with the journey
• Take your theme/narrative and map it to the ideal channel and stage
• Not every box needs to be filled in – should be unique to the story you
are telling

22.
Derivative Content

23.
Tent-Pole versus Derivative Content
Derivative = the parts
• Shorter form for different channels —
cast a wider net
• Efficient to produce
• Taste test for your targets – are they
interested in learning more?
Tent-Pole = the steak
• Longer form, deeper engagement
• More time/commitment to produce
• More time/commitment to consume
• Client investment means it has to deliver
a LOT of value

24.
Process
• Cost effective production means more
channels can be ROI positive
• Super Bowl ads must be broadcast
• Leverage influencers
• Mass Incarceration video
• Channel will define format
• Vine, Instagram, Facebook, etc
• Knowing your audience

25.
Why short-form derivative content matters
The average human attention
span in 2000 was 12 seconds,
and by 2013 it was 8 seconds.
That puts us one second
shorter than a goldfish.

26.
Mobile and social are where you will first engage
• Mobile engagement is strong and growing
• Short-form derivative content is ideal for
the first engagement
• Give them a compelling reason to click
through to the tent-pole piece

27.
Example: Cisco’s launch of cBR-8

28.
Example: Cisco’s launch of cBR-8
https://vine.co/v/eK6dzV2WBpLhttps://vine.co/v/eqa0a9Od13t

29.
Example: Morton Salt Girl’s 100th Birthday
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xoNzZTPiPoE

30.
Example: Morton Salt Girl’s 100th Birthday

31.
Economics of derivative content

32.
Framework example: our recent campaign
Original survey research + written guide (bit.ly/1Nsb96L)

33.
Framework example: Our Survey Campaign
Original survey research
+ written guide
Infographic
+
● 4 blog posts
● Linkedin post
● Medium post
+
5 pieces of micro content
● Webinar
● Video of webinar
● Slideshare
PR push → 10 stories
BITLY
bit.ly/1Nsb96L

34.
Scaling Production

35.
Scaling any operation requires 4 things
• Goals
• Process
• Technology
• People/Resources

36.
Define your production goals
• What is your ideal outcome?
• What does success look like?
• Example:
• We want to produce at least one tent-
pole content piece per persona per
month for both prospects (awareness,
consideration, conversion) and clients
(loyalty, advocacy)

37.
Define your process
• What is the ideal process for you to hit that goal? Example:

38.
What technology do you have?
•How will you scale your operation?
•Your level of technology and automation will determine what people
and resources you need to deliver a given amount of output
• No technology = more people
• More technology = fewer/different people
•There’s a broad spectrum
• Percolate, Newscred, Marketo, etc
• CMS
• Basecamp
• Google spreadsheets
•The technology should support your ideal process, not define it

39.
People and resources
• People and resources come last
• Given your goals, process and technology, what people and resources do you
need to succeed?
• First defined the ideal process and outcomes, then evaluate how your
people and resources align
• Many operations make the mistake of trying to do the best they can with the
people and resources they have
• This is iterative
• You may realize you can’t execute on the defined goals with what you have, or
feel like you can get more done than you initially realized

40.
Internal versus external people/resources
• Doing it all in-house is nearly impossible – countless formats, channels, etc
• Only the largest companies can build in-house studios

41.
Closing Thoughts

42.
Digital marketing is a
content-hungry beast
Unlike traditionally bounded ad campaigns,
digital marketing is always on, and that puts
pressures on marketers to look beyond
traditional agency relationships to
source content in more creative ways.
Jake Sorofman, Gartner

43.
Recap
• The scarcest resource is a great narrative
• To get every ounce of value from it, you need:
• Clearly defined goals and outcomes
• A deep understanding of your targets and their journey
• A defined plan and framework for how you will execute
• The right technology, people and resources at the right time
• Derivative content is a force multiplier

44.
Is your content marketing effective?
38% of B2B marketers said
they were effective at content
marketing vs. 30% this year.
Source: Content Marketing
Institute
30%

45.
Scaling your efforts with Visually
• Visual Content Creation
• Company Workspace
• Content Strategy Services
• 5% discount code: BUFFALO

46.
Q&A