metapeople [Wählen Sie das Datum aus] Content Marketing The unintrusive power of the better argument Real Time

Transcription

1 metapeople [Wählen Sie das Datum aus] Content Marketing The unintrusive power of the better argument Real Time

2 Seite 2 Content Marketing The unintrusive power of the better argument Western Europeans encounter about 5,000 advertising impulses a day. However, only three of them can be remembered consciously. Advertising messages should be perceived by as many people as possible and should not get lost in the mass of impressions. Content Marketing focusses on informative and entertaining content and therefore builds sustainable arguments for a brand. The shiny billboards at Times Square in New York or at Piccadilly Circus in London symbolise the dominating marketing strategies of the past years. Aimed at drawing lots of attention more and more brighter and more colourful advertising messages were created and positioned in public places. Every Western European encouters about 5,000 advertising impulses a day, The New York Times reported back in In times of increasing internet usage one can safely assume the daily dose of advertising impulses has not decreased. A survey carried out by the German Institut für Marketing und Kommunikation has shown, however, that only three advertising messages can be remembered consciously. A big part of advertising is therefore missing its target groups. Advertisers face a dilemma: On the one hand they intend to reach as many people as possible with their advertising message. On the other hand they have to prevent their advertising message from getting lost in the mass of advertising impressions. Content Marketing is an efficient means of facing this problem. Instead of presenting one-sided messages to customers the communication is centred on useful information, helpful facts and appealing entertainment. Sustainable arguments are provided through different channels. Content Marketing has not just come up in recent years. The internet has, however, improved the conditions for successful Content Marketing. Today search engines like Google process more than a billion search requests per day. Facebook has more than a billion members. For advertising companies this is a big advantage Potential customers do not have to be made aware of a brand aggressively any more. By providing relevant content companies can in fact be found online by their customers. Additionally: Social networks help to spread informative and entertaining content on the internet for example through blogs, Twitter, Facebook, Google+ or YouTube. The media penetration that develops as a result of this can hardly be achieved through conservative advertising measures. Besides, a private recommendation creates more confidence in and curiosity for a brand than one-sided advertising messages. By providing and sharing professionally edited quality content customers can be convinced by the benefits of a brand. This ''unintrusive power of the better argument'' often leads to sustainable customer loyalty. It is often argued that Content Marketing is the future of advertising. The consulting company McKinsey recently announced that German companies were planning to increase their budget for channels of information by 4.5 billion Euros. Companies like PriceWaterhouseCoopers also point to the increasing importance of content in regards to the competition for customers. A study by HORIZONT confirms this trend and shows that a large number of B2B deciders are considering increasing the budget for Content Marketing. In the following metapeople illustrate the possibilities, along with the growing importance of Content Marketing. It will be shown how high quality content can be generated and presented and why this becomes increasingly important for a successful performance.

3 Seite 3 The biggest challenge for sustainable and successful Content Marketing is to generate high quality and relevant Different measures involving: 1. The company's departments 2. Social Media 3. The customer help identifying relevant While identifying topics it should be considered that selling a particular product should not be the main priority at the beginning. The content: Bait the hook to suit the fish, not the fisherman Generating high quality and relevant content is the most important step and the biggest challenge at the same time. For the development of ideas the perspective of the target group should be taken into account. The aim is to find out which topics might interest potential customers and which content could be identified with a brand. In order to get an overview of potential content three measures come into consideration: 1. The company's departments: First of all a close collaboration between the marketing department and other departments is advisable in order to identify relevant As a result the sales and the service departments are in close contact with the customers and get a good feel for their desires and needs. In order to develop a sustainable and efficient Content Marketing campaign a company should initiate and encourage an exchange of views and ideas between the different departments. Interesting topics can then be recorded at an early stage and put to use. 2. Social Media: The daily conversations and discussions about brands in social networks and blogs should be monitored systematically. For a successful performance on the market companies have to communicate with their customers as equals, involve a large number of communicators and recipients and use different channels for an exchange of views and ideas (''many-to many-communication''). Today customers and potential customers communicate in different networks using various channels and giving marketing departments important impulses for generating interesting Moreover companies can participate in these discussions and analyse topics in regards to their relevance. 3. Customers: Collecting data in the form of interviews or surveys represents another way of identifying relevant Companies can identify the topics a target group is interested in without revealing the actual brand. Communicating with customers at trade fairs and conferences also helps to identify interesting content that can be included in the Content Marketing strategy. When identifying topics it should generally be considered that selling a particular product should not be the main priority at the beginning. Content Marketing means addressing the target group and presenting a clearly defined brand message subliminally. If the target group realises that the content includes subliminal messages with no added value the initial interest can quickly turn into resentment. Choosing the right format: Finding a creative approach for the target group After identifying the content choosing the right format plays a big role in the success of a Content Marketing campaign. For this purpose journalistic and creative skills have to be combined. The intended target group can be reached through different formats: White papers Studies and surveys Articles in business magazines Videos Events and presentations Infographics and pictures Lectures Seminars or webinars The right format always depends on the target group. Information about the interests and the media consumption behaviour and habits of the intended target groups can be collected systematically by using ''persona maps''. As a basic rule, the more is known about the potential customers and their preferred topics, the easier they can be reached through the YouTube videos often go viral in social networks and among younger target groups. Pepsi's third episode of the Uncle Drew Campaign for example got almost four million views in one week The first episode

4 Seite 4 The target groups can be reached through different channels whereas the channel depends on the target group. It generally applies, that the more that is known about potential customers and their preferred topics, the easier they can be addressed by the even received almost 30 million views in a year. In the short clip Pepsi stays in the background. The focus is on two NBA players and a WNBA player instead. Dressed up as grandparents the three professional basketball players baffle younger, unsuspecting players on different basketball courts in the USA. The video is extremely entertaining and follows the popular street culture in US cities. The advertising message is conveyed both subliminally and successfully. For successful Content Marketing the social environment of an intended target group is just as important as the It can be helpful to set up and advertise a blog. The time aspect and the fact that a blog requires constant input, however, should not be underestimated. Placing articles in renowned magazines or online magazines as well as writing guest posts for established blogs can increase a company's online visibility much faster. Relaunching its new website the brand Schwarzkopf followed a consistent strategy. The layout and the content of the Schwarzkopf website is based on popular fashion magazines and focusses on hair styles of celebrities and trendy looks. The Schwarzkopf products serve as advertising elements, however, they do not dominate the website. For the new website Henkel, the company behind Schwarzkopf, collaborated with Condé Nast, publisher of magazines like Vogue and Glamour. The company succeeded in increasing user traffic on the website. Today more than a million fans follow the company on Facebook. Red Bull takes a similar approach by organising events that attract public attention. Felix Baumgartner's jump from 39 kilometres above the earth's surface was seen by 100 million people. The Red Bull YouTube channel, which reported on the event, was clicked more than 350 million times. The costs of 50 million Euros for the jump were a promotionally successful investment. By using different channels like the company-owned Red Bulletin magazine, the TV channel Servus TV and the international website Redbull.com Red Bull managed to maintain a high level of public interest in the event over months. Distribution of content: Success through visibility and visibility through success The size of the target audience reached by a Content Marketing measure is a very important figure and stresses its success. In general the generated content is only of value to a company if it is found and received by a wide and active audience. That means that the success of the content is influenced by its visibility. Successful campaigns with high quality content are shared in social networks and reach a high Virality Rate. At the same time sharing content increases the visibility of a campaign and strengthens the brand of a company sustainably. Performance Marketing offers many ways to reach the target group. Not only the content, but also the social environment of the target group plays an important role in successful Content Marketing. 1. Search: According to the principles of Content Marketing it is important for the visibility of a brand to have the particular content ranked as high as possible in (Google) search results. SEO measures should therefore optimise different keywords on sub-pages of a website. While some landing pages can be optimised for sales purposes, other websites can focus on

5 Seite 5 The generated content is of particular value to the company when it reaches a wide and active audience. The different fields of Performance Marketing contribute to the distribution of Search For brand visibility it is important that the generated content has a high SERP ranking. Paid Paid ads are an important part of a sustainable Content Marketing strategy. Affiliate Marketing Ads with a direct connection to the content can be run in topic-oriented blogs. Social Media Social Networks can be used for the distribution of content and achieve a wider media penetration. providing information on certain services. For example, a building centre can offer useful home improvement advice and optimise the sub-pages' keywords by choosing phrases like ''Installing parquet flooring''. By following this strategy a company can gain customer confidence and establish itself as a contact point for customers and potential customers. Even if the visitors of a website do not intend to buy a product in the first place a search for advice and tipps might turn into a successful order in the intermediate future. Generally speaking, for successful SEO based on high quality content a company has to put itself into the position of the users and focus on their needs. Since the publication of the Panda and Penguin updates Google's SERP's have focussed more on the quality of websites than before. The difficulties search engines used to have with the identification of quality content have been reduced considerably over the last years. Crawlers of search engines find it easier to detect Keyword stuffing, Link farms, Cloaking and other Black Hat SEO methods and punish them. High quality content leads to high search rankings and higher visibility. Providing high quality content helps a company increase its customer confidence and achieve better search engine visibility.. 2. Paid: Paid ads on search engine pages represent another channel for spreading content for example via AdWords. Paid ads for company content can also be taken out on Twitter or Facebook and can draw attention to a company. Even though Content Marketing focusses on content and its distribution paid ads play an important role in a sustainable Content Marketing strategy. Through search engine ads or paid ads in social networks content can be placed prominently and tailored to the target group. When taking out ads, however, a company should make sure that users of landing pages with relevant content do not get redirected to sales-optimised product pages. If a company manages to provide content with additional value for the customer and establishes itself as a contact point for specific questions then this is of high value to the company and helps building long-term customer loyalty. 3. Affiliate Marketing: The content also plays a big role in Affiliate Marketing. Ads that have a direct connection to informative content can for example be placed on topicspecific blogs. A company can for example publish a guest post in a blog while ads for the mentioned products are being displayed at the same time. However, it is important to note that the posts should in fact be of additional value and do not get perceived as an extended advertising message by the readers. To increase virality and content distribution it is also advisable to change the affiliate pricing model. The commonly used Last- Click Attribution Model only rewards websites that generated the last click before a sale. Content pages often being the starting point for interest in specific brands and their products, however, hardly receive commission from companies. A US study shows that better commission models help set up pages with high quality These content pages can in turn help set up online communities for different topics and spread Generally speaking, a company that generates good content does not have to set up links as intensively and achieves a better visibility for their 4. Social Media Marketing: Social Media like Facebook, Twitter, YouTube or Wikipedia is an important channel for Content Marketing. In 2000 the Cluetrain Manifest stated that markets were conversations and that the time of one-sided corporate communication was over. That means that companies cannot rely on the one-sided distribution of advertising messages. Instead they have to initiate a dialogue with their customers and potential customers. Facebook and Twitter are good means to do so. The media penetration of social networks depends particularly on the relevance and

6 Seite 6 Influencers Renowned authors contribute to the distribution of Potential customers should be able to find the generated content on the websites again easily. They should not get the impression they were lured to the website under false pretences. The success of a landing page is not a coincidence in this context, but can be controlled based on data obtained from analytics. the virality of the offered High quality and entertaining content is shared rather than boring content lacking additional value. It has to be considered, however, that Social Media presence alone does not add to a sustainable Content Marketing strategy. The intended target groups and their Social Media behaviour have to be monitored and analysed. Added value can be created in different ways. Competitions and playful elements like advent calendars can be a good way to draw attention to a brand on Facebook, gain new fans and strengthen the presence of a brand. Bob, an online community created by the electronics company Bosch is another example for a successful dialogue with customers. The online platform connects customers and experts and by offering information and advice to the users of power tools it creates added value. H&M uses Social Media like Facebook and Google intensively and constantly offers new styling ideas in videos and photos to gain and engage fans. H&M reaches more than a million fans on Facebook and Google+ alone. 5. Influencers: Renowned authors can make a substantial contribution to the distribution of content and represent an important factor in Viral Content Marketing. It is therefore crucial to identify the most important authors in their areas of expertise and to initiate a dialogue with them. In order to find these Influencers, popular blogs or Twitter and Google+ accounts should be monitored systematically. Furthermore Google+ communities or the website GplusData give a first overview of influential authors in different areas. The aim has to be to connect with Influencers and to receive links from them linking to the company's content Buying links should not be an option in this context. If the company manages to draw the attention of influential authors to their content and they choose to write about it then the brand gets strengthened sustainably. Besides, renowned authors increase customer loyalty substantially. Generally speaking, content should be welledited so that Influencers become interested in spreading it. For this purpose it can be worth-wile to include authors into the process at an early stage and to develop topics in close collaboration with them. The aim: Turning potential customers into qualified contacts and customers The aim of Content Marketing is to increase the turnover or profit of a company. The content is not produced for its own sake, but to turn potential customers into customers in the intermediate future and to encourage long-term customer loyalty (maximising the Customer Lifetime Value). The content should draw the attention of potential customers to the company. If a visitor enters the company website, it is on the company to turn this user into a fan of the brand. For this purpose it is important that the user recognises the content on the website. A user should not get the impression they were lured to the website under false pretences. Companies should also ensure that subscription buttons for newsletters, the company's feed on Twitter or Facebook or other methods of contact are user-friendly and displayed prominently. If the offered content is appealing to the visitor there is a high chance that they will demand more content in the future and that the brand gets included in their Relevant Set. The success of a landing page is not a coincidence in this context, but can in fact be controlled based on data obtained from analytics. Continuous A/B Testing adds to the optimisation of a page and helps a company gain qualified contacts. If the visitor leaves their contact information and shows interest in certain products and services, the next step can be to contact them personally. For this purpose it is important to tailor the content to the personal needs of the customer. After identifying the needs concrete solutions can be offered. The difficulty in this part of the process lies in turning the general content into user-specific

7 Seite 7 The input from Content Marketing can be shown by different factors. The success can be easily determined by the number of visitors and their level of engagement on the website. Facebook fans and and Google+ followers also play an important role in determining the success of the strategy. Moreover the increase of important numbers like Conversion, Conversion Rate or the costs per order can be measured. Measuring success: Content Marketing is not a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow Just as in other areas of marketing sooner or later the issue of cost to benefit ratio and the question whether the measures were profitable for the company will arise. The input from Content Marketing can be shown by different factors. The success can for example be measured by the number of visitors and their level of engagement on the website: How much time did they spend on the website and what did they do? Did they leave comments or did they subscribe to the newsletter? How did they get on the website? In addition, the success of Content Marketing can be estimated by the increase of Facebook fans or Google+ followers. Links and shares also play an important role in measuring the success of the chosen strategy. The increasing importance of a brand can as well be determined by increased search requests for brand names. If there is an increased demand for a brand as a result of a Content Marketing campaign a direct connection is at least likely. Furthermore an increase of important numbers as a result of the Content Marketing measures can be determined: Are the numbers of the Conversion or the Conversion Rate changing? How much are the costs per order or per lead? What is the general relationship between the generated profit and the invested capital? Content Marketing is in no case independent from these numbers and it has to contribute to the profitability of a company eventually. A study of Waggener Edstrom finds that 90 percent of companies using a Content Marketing strategy were able to increase the traffic on their websites and their sales activities. Moreover the previously mentioned HORIZONT study shows that advertisers clearly know of the advantages of Content Marketing. The aims are expressed in the following order: optimising customer communication (37 percent), optimising customer loyalty (37 percent), gaining new customers (25 percent) as well as achieving competitive advantages (23 percent). Content Marketing is here to stay It was shown that Content Marketing offers great potential for strengthening the brand of a company. It was also illustrated that the development of ideas is just as important as their distribution and is the eventual determinant of success. From our point of view Content Marketing is not just a buzzword that will disappear as rapidly as it has arisen. Content Marketing is here to stay. The following best practices can be derived from the study: Identification of interesting content, a look at the company, Social Media and the customers Editing of content: White paper, studies, articles in business magazines, videos etc. Distribution of content: SEO, SEA, Display, Social Media Marketing and Affiliate Marketing Measuring success: Facebook likes, Google+ followers, CPO, ROI etc. Modification of the strategy: See previous steps.

8 Seite 8 This study shows that Content Marketing has a high potential for strengthening the brand of a company. It requires time and continuous effort to strengthen a brand sustainably by providing high quality Due to encountering a lot of advertising content the recipients become increasingly critical. Bombarding the customer with onesided and simplistic advertising messages will not lead to success in the intermediate future. High quality content, however, helps strengthen a company's brand sustainably and adds to its long-term success. While planning and putting the measures into action it has to be considered that a successful Content Marketing campaign may take a bit of a time. Strengthening a brand sustainably by providing content is not a short-term process, but requires sustainable and continuous effort. When measuring the success of a Content Marketing campaign contextual developments and seasonal fluctuations should be included in the analysis. Should you have any questions regarding the possibilities of Content Marketing we would be happy to give you a personalised overview of the different services available and to analyse the individual potential for your company. Julius Ewig CEO of metapeople GmbH julius.ewig@metapeople.com Meike Hoenemann CEO of metapeople GmbH meike.hoenemann@metapeople.com