White Horse White Paper 3 Ways to Transform Your Site into a Lead Machine By: Eric Anderson August 12 th, 2010 www.whitehorse.com 877.471.4200 contactus@whitehorse.com 1
In This Report White Horse is a 30-year-old digital marketing agency that wants to expand your notion of the word digital. White Horse pursues the convergence of new and traditional media, from display ads with embedded video to print ads with QR codes, and Web sites that extend social reach. White Horse services include Web design, integrated marketing, technical engineering, emerging media, and audio/video production. Visit the White Horse Resource Center <http://www. whitehorse.com/resources> for free educational webcasts, podcasts, videos and white papers. Learn why content marketing is the key to social media lead generation Discover ways to make your content more sharable with social Tips on using content to engage prospects in conversations Find ways to make your blog work harder to produce results Introduction As an industry, our ability to seize the potential for social media for lead generation is stifled by one thing: an outdated mindset. We still think advertising is advertising and social media is something else. In fact, advertising and social media are the same thing: they re content. The moment we realize that all marketing is content, we can break through the campaign mindset and find new ways to fuel powerful brand interactions the kind that sell stuff. In this white paper, I ll recommend several ways to transform your Web site into a lead generation machine with an approach White Horse calls distributed content marketing. The moment we realize that all marketing is content, we can find new ways to fuel powerful brand interactions... www.whitehorse.com 877.471.4200 contactus@whitehorse.com 2
What is content marketing anyway? Today, leads bounce all over the place before they ever get sucked into the funnel. You need a content presence in all of those places to be involved in the purchase consideration process. Not long ago, there was a tidy lead intake process called the marketing funnel. Ad impressions delivered leads into the marketing funnel, where many were converted. Today, leads bounce all over the place before they ever get sucked into the funnel. They visit blogs, message boards, review sites, and social networks to get the real scoop on the brand. You need a content presence in all of those places to be involved in the purchase consideration process. If you re asking yourself why you d want to trade your marketing funnel for the messy and labor-intensive world of distributed content marketing, the answer is pretty clear: purchase decisions are increasingly dictated by social media collaboration. Distributed content marketing is the creation and distribution of brand materials across a wide spectrum of online channels. It offers the ability to reach prospects at evaluative moments, increase brand exposure without media costs, and enhance perception of thought leadership. It also means that marketing no longer belongs exclusively to marketers. In fact, for distributed content marketing to succeed, it will require a big tent with room for the PR folks, the product managers, the researchers, the sales staff, and, yes, even the execs. The good news is that distributed content marketing is already occurring. It s all around us. Marketers that do it well may not even know that they re doing it, because they weren t burdened by the old way of thinking in the first place. In the world of distributed content marketing, the marketer s core role becomes channeling marketing content to keep conversation going. Marketers will need ads, articles, opinions, advice, feedback, and pithy observations in 140 characters or less, the right combination of something to say, decentralized contributions, central control, well maintained social channels and content management tools. www.whitehorse.com 877.471.4200 contactus@whitehorse.com 3
What is content marketing anyway? A cycle of social media content sharing can be sparked by creating and distributing valuable to audiences who care. Igniting the Content Sharing Cycle Primary channels typically require customization for channel-specific attributes Secondary channels are typically automated to a high degree, but may require some maintenance or optimization for specific content Secondary Distribution Channels Primary Distribution Channels External Forum Participation CMS - Site Pages, Webinars, Podcasts Twitter Blog Facebook Idea for Propagation Through Content Channels Email Newsletter News Release External Blog Commenting LinkedIn Groups Email Second Life Mobile App Slideshare SMS itunes YouTube www.whitehorse.com 877.471.4200 contactus@whitehorse.com 4
Create It Once; Use it Many Times A central asset repository that seamlessly integrates publishing to your social channels will become invaluable in your effort to create it once; use it many times. Distributed content marketing, because of its fluid and ongoing nature, requires a balance of content breadth, volume and distribution efficiencies. To generate the most leads from your branded content, adopt the mantra create it once; use it many times. This liberal approach to content distribution across relevant channels will reap exponential social sharing of your best ideas. The model below demonstrates how people can access distributed content through primary (intentional) and secondary (unintentional) interactions. As your content arsenal grows, you may need the support of management tools to scale your efforts. As a first resort, find out if your content management system offers social integration. A central asset repository that seamlessly integrates publishing to your social channels will become invaluable in your efforts to create it once; use it many times. Another option, a Social Media Management Platform (SMMP), provides access to all of your social profiles from one dashboard. display advertising sms email blog UNINTENTIONAL INTERACTIONS INTENTIONAL INTERACTIONS I want to find new marketing ideas quickly and easily. forum mobile apps site content (from cms) With the use of a SMMP, marketers can share content and track results across channels with simplicity. press release external forum customer service account corporate account www.whitehorse.com 877.471.4200 contactus@whitehorse.com 5
Mastering Conversation Engagement...a recent study that indicates that support forums and discussion groups are the number one online information source for B2B purchase decisions. Marketers love to let customers into the brand laboratory, as long as they don t touch anything. We invite consumers to give us their ideas, but how often do we let their creations out of the lab to roam free? Marketers are slowly learning to let go of the reigns by encouraging brand conversations in less governed social communities. That s a good idea considering a recent study that indicates that support forums and discussion groups are the number one online information source for B2B purchase decisions. During the next 12 months, which emerging information sources will you use more to inform and validate your purchase decisions? Technical support forums or discussion groups 60% Virtual trade shows or conferences 32% Private online community sites Open public social networks (e.g. LinkedIn) Blogs 18% 23% 22% Microblogs (e.g. Twitter) Virtual worlds (e.g. Second Life) 3% 5% Base: 1,217 and line-of-business technology decision-makers at firms with 100 or more employees (multiple responses accepted) Source: North American And European B2B Social Technolographics* Online Survey, Q4 2008 Through online dialogue, marketers can answer questions about product features, overcome objections and direct leads back to their Web site for more information. While participation in third-party conversations is a must, consider hosting your own message board or forum if you are interested in speed (ability to aggregate positive feedback and respond to negative feedback), increasing SEO performance with less content production or increasing site lead generation. www.whitehorse.com 877.471.4200 contactus@whitehorse.com 6
Mastering Conversation Engagement Campaign-focused platforms Awareness ObjectiveMarketer SocialOomph Vitrue The popularity of privately hosted message board or forums is not surprising when you consider the benefits they offer. From the ability to manage and aggregate forum content more efficiently to the SEO benefits without the heavy lifting of content production, hosted forums extend comfort, speed and control. If you are evaluating forum management tools, consider these essential features: Conversation-focused platforms CoTweet HootSuite Postling Balanced focus Argyle Spredfast Sprinklr www.whitehorse.com 877.471.4200 contactus@whitehorse.com 7
Blog Better Blogging better includes a well-vetted keyword strategy that marries blog content with site headlines and keywords. A content management system with blog features can simplify this need by offering administrative access under one hood. With the goal of engaging prospects in real-time social media conversations, marketers are strapped with the enormous task of guiding content creation that anticipates and resolves audience pains. Blog content can become an essential content source for marketers regardless of organization structure, editorial resources or company culture. Whether you already have a blog or are planning to add one in the future, your blog will be the backbone of your distributed content marketing strategy. The adage many hands makes for light lifting summarizes one of the reasons a blog, your evergreen content source, is essential. And, by creating an editorial calendar and recruiting multiple contributors marketers can procure an interesting breadth of content. Aside from its role as a content workhorse, blog content can have a dramatic impact on organic search rankings. A blog keyword strategy that is closely tied to your Website content produces improved search results and more site traffic. Blogging better includes a well-vetted keyword strategy that marries blog content with site headlines and keywords. A content management system with blog features can simplify this need by offering administrative access under one hood. And as your blog gains a following, remember to encourage comments to increase content density, foster community and improve customer perception. Your blog is a springboard for social leads that can be heavily leveraged in several ways. www.whitehorse.com 877.471.4200 contactus@whitehorse.com 8
Be Resilient Our mania for brand consistency has allowed us to forget that brands are built on trust. And trust is built on relevance. Therefore, good content is always relevant. While it s inevitable that most content that we produce for our customers will fail, don t allow this to discourage you. Our success depends on knowing when things fail, so we can try something else. It s only a problem if we shut our ears to it. In fact, for decades our industry didn t hear customer feedback outside of the airless environs of the focus group. Today we have a chance to get the full, pent-up barrage of feedback in every tweet, YouTube comment, and blog posts that our brands attract. We need to embrace it, monitor it, learn from it, and move on. Learn How to Recognize Good Content You can stack the odds of becoming a proficient content marketer by recognizing what good content looks like. You ll need this ability to create something that is worth passing on. We can take a page from the page of broadcast advertisers that top the viral video charts week after week with amusing, entertaining, and inspiring experiences. If every creative brief in every agency in the land asked, Why would someone want to pass this on? then we would have TV ads that don t make us reach for the Tivo remote and banner ads that can finally make us cry for reasons other than frustration. That s not just advertising; that s good content. Our mania for brand consistency has allowed us to forget that brands are built on trust. And trust is built on relevance. Therefore, good content is always relevant. www.whitehorse.com 877.471.4200 contactus@whitehorse.com 9
Next Steps If you re ready to dip your toe into distributed content marketing, consider these inroads: 3747 NE Sandy Blvd. Portland, OR 97232 Watch the 3 Ways to Generate Social Media Leads Webinar for additional insights and real world client examples: http://www.whitehorse.com/webinars Set up accounts on content distribution networks Acquire the habit of seeding what you create a little goes a long way Ready your site for distributed content marketing by building these features into your site redesign plans Establish workflow with the right content management toolset to ease the content distribution burden www.whitehorse.com 877.471.4200 contactus@whitehorse.com 10