AUSTRALIAN MARKETING INSTITUTE AWARDS SUBMISSION CONTENT MARKETING CATEGORY MAY 2014
CONTENT MARKETING EXPERTS HOW CONTENT TRANSFORMED THE NEXT MARKETING BUSINESS
CONTENTS EXECUTIVE SUMMARY... 3 THE ISSUE... 6 THE SOLUTION... 8 BLOGGING... 10 EBOOKS... 11 EDITORIAL CONTENT... 11 SLIDESHARE... 12 EMAIL NEWSLETTER... 12 MEDIA OPPORTUNITIES... 13 THE RESULTS... 14 BLOGGING... 15 EBOOKS... 15 EDITORIAL CONTENT... 15 EMAIL NEWSLETTER... 16 SLIDESHARE... 16 BUSINESS OUTCOMES... 17 OVERALL... 18 WARM LEADS... 18 APPENDIX 1: EBOOK COVER DESIGNS 19 APPENDIX 2: SLIDESHARE URLS... 22 APPENDIX 3: EMAIL NEWSLETTER... 24 APPENDIX 4: SOCIAL MEDIA TRAFFIC... 26 APPENDIX 5: EBOOK DOWNLOADS.. 28 APPENDIX 6: EDITORIAL CONTENT.. 30 APPENDIX 7: EMAIL NEWSLETTER STATISTICS... 32 APPENDIX 8: SLIDESHARE STATISTICS... 34 ABOUT NEXT MARKETING... 36 TEAM OF MARKETING EXPERTS... 36 t 03 8060 8544 info@nextmarketing.com.au nextmarketing.com.au Page 2
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY t 03 8060 8544 info@nextmarketing.com.au nextmarketing.com.au
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Next Marketing is a small marketing agency based in Melbourne. In 2012, Next Marketing implemented an SEO strategy, which resulted in the business gaining a top ranking on Google for keywords such as Marketing Agency and Marketing Agency Melbourne. As a result of this strategy the business has expanded, taken on new staff and moved into a bigger office premises. Next Marketing is highly respected as a marketing authority and Jo Macdermott is regularly quoted as a marketing expert. The increased traffic led to a high volume of enquiries but unfortunately many of the enquiries weren t from suitable clients who understood Next Marketing s premium brand positioning. Time was spent responding to these types of enquiries, which was taking staff away from core business. Next Marketing needed a way to connect to their target audience of small businesses with marketing budgets and educate people about their business before they made an enquiry. They also wanted to position the business as an authority and Jo Macdermott as a thought leader in the marketing industry to attract higher budget clients. With that in mind, Next Marketing started on a content marketing campaign which saw them gain hundreds of referrals, more than double their website traffic and receive around 19 enquiries from suitable clients per month. t 03 8060 8544 info@nextmarketing.com.au nextmarketing.com.au Page 4
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THE ISSUE t 03 8060 8544 info@nextmarketing.com.au nextmarketing.com.au
THE ISSUE In 2012, Next Marketing ran a successful SEO campaign, which saw them reach number one on Google for a number of keywords including marketing agency Melbourne. This resulted in an increased number of leads being generated through the website but unfortunately many of these leads were from prospects who weren t a good fit. This led to staff spending a large amount of time educating potential clients about what Next Marketing did and who they worked with, and following up leads, which didn t prove to be profitable. It was clear that merely generating leads wasn t enough to drive the business forward, Next Marketing needed a strategy which would enable them to target their ideal clients more specifically and attract them to the business. Next Marketing s target clients were identified as small to medium sized businesses that had a marketing budget of $20k - $100k and were looking to outsource their marketing rather than use an in-house marketing team. The problem was how to attract and engage with this particular type of client in a cost effective and productive way. t 03 8060 8544 info@nextmarketing.com.au nextmarketing.com.au Page 7
THE SOLUTION
DELIVERING VALUABLE INFORMATION THROUGH CONTENT MARKETING
THE SOLUTION To attract the identified target audience, build engagement and grow the business, Next Marketing decided to implement a content marketing campaign in late 2012. By distributing valuable content across the world wide web, Next Marketing believed that they could establish themselves as thought leaders, demonstrate their marketing expertise and build their brand to attract the type of clients that would be most beneficial to the business. At this time content marketing was still relatively new as a marketing strategy so it required an innovative and creative approach. THE APPROACH The Next Marketing content marketing strategy involved producing and distributing content across a number of platforms. The content was carefully tailored for small business owners and included advice about how to market a small business, new trends and general business articles about productivity, time management and other topical business issues that their target audience might find useful. The goal of distributing the content would be for it to act as an online sales person for the agency and reduce time spent by staff dealing with unproductive enquiries. It would also help Next Marketing maintain its number one position on Google and enhance Next Marketing and Jo Macdermott s reputation as a thought leader in the marketing industry. The approach was not only tailored to the specific audience, but to the specific platform being used. Social media updates and posts were varied depending on whether they were for LinkedIn, Google+, Twitter or Facebook and guest posts and editorial content carefully targeted for the intended publication and it s audience. The content was used in as wide a variety of different ways as possible. An overview of Next Marketing s content strategy is outlined on the following pages. t 03 8060 8544 info@nextmarketing.com.au nextmarketing.com.au Page 9
BLOGGING A blog timeline was implemented where three posts a week would be scheduled and published on the Next Marketing blog www.nextmarketing.com.au/blog. Example of Next Marketing's Magic Action Box artwork in the blog. These posts averaged around 400 words in length and contained general marketing tips and knowledge aimed at helping the small business owner. Preliminary research identified that Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday mornings were the best times to post. The design of the blog was also closely aligned with the agency s branding, using the same fonts and colours. At the bottom of each post was a WordPress plugin known as Magic Action Box. This contained a further call to action to download an e-book or Slideshare presentation as an incentive for readers to stay on the site and further engage with the content. The personalised email that is received after completing the Magic Action Box form in the Next Marketing blog. Blog posts were promoted through social media and the Next Marketing blog was also registered on the Blog Chicks directory. A feedburner account was created so that subscribers could easily receive content as it was published. t 03 8060 8544 info@nextmarketing.com.au nextmarketing.com.au Page 10
EBOOKS Next Marketing also created downloadable ebooks which were published on their website. The objective of the ebook was to share marketing expertise with small business owners in an easy to read, downloadable format. Overall seven ebooks were created. These were: Beware the fake marketer False moves and other marketing mistakes exposed The real deals on daily deals Navigating social media Ten suspect marketing tactics Five ways to reduce your marketing expenses Five marketing mistakes you might be making in your business These e-books were engaging and easy to read, and from October 2013, were also used as a way of increasing the Next Marketing email database. Please see Appendix 1 for the ebook cover designs. EDITORIAL CONTENT As well as publishing content on the Next Marketing blog, a number of other sites were targeted, which shared Next Marketing s target audience. Regular content was prepared and published on these sites. These sites included: 43 articles on Flying Solo a source of information and advice for over 65,000 Australian small and micro business owners. 55 articles on Dynamic Business - a small business resource dedicated to providing entrepreneurs, start-ups and business owners with the very latest information and advice on how to start, manage and grow a business. 10 articles on Anthill - one of Australia s largest online communities for entrepreneurs, business builders and innovators. 61 articles published on E-zine An online hub that features thousands of expert authors from niche fields. 17 articles published on the Commonwealth Bank of Australia s Women in Focus blog. In addition to these, Jo Macdermott has also had an article published on the Public Relations Institute of Australia (PRIA) website and two articles featured on Nine MSN Finance. t 03 8060 8544 info@nextmarketing.com.au nextmarketing.com.au Page 11
SLIDESHARE Slideshare presentations also formed a significant component of the Next Marketing content strategy. Slideshare allows users to share and view presentations in the form of slideshows, PDF or video. Next Marketing created a number of different slideshare presentations aimed at providing valuable marketing tips to their target audience in a visual rather than a strictly written format. EMAIL NEWSLETTER A monthly newsletter was prepared and sent out to subscribers. This newsletter was designed to fit with the Next Marketing branding and included updates, business news and links to the latest Next Marketing blog posts and editorial content. See Appendix 3 for an example of the newsletter. These included: What makes a great marketer Part 1 What makes a great marketer Part 2 Ten suspect marketing tactics (which also turned into a video hosted on YouTube, by adding a voice over) Five long term ways to reduce marketing costs Five marketing mistakes you might be making in your business The slideshare presentations were also published on the website for downloading. See Appendix 2 for the Slideshare URL s. t 03 8060 8544 info@nextmarketing.com.au nextmarketing.com.au Page 12
MEDIA OPPORTUNITIES As part of the content marketing strategy, to position Next Marketing and Jo Macdermott as a thought leader, the agency took advantage of a number of opportunities to share their knowledge in multiple media publications. Some of these included: Real Commercial: Jo Macdermott was quoted in an article by Emma Gilmour titled Is there such a thing as free advertising? Start-up Smart: Jo Macdermott was quoted in 12 different articles on various topics. Small Business Festival: In September 2013, Jo Macdermott co-presented a webinar in conjunction with Robert Gerrish, the founder of Flying Solo as part of the Small Business Victoria Festival. The topic of the webinar was How to promote a one person business. Following the webinar a recording was put on the Next Marketing website and uploaded to YouTube. Flying Solo Radio: Jo Macdermott was interviewed on Flying Solo radio for Robert Gerrish s Coaching Couch segment. The topic of the interview was Getting found on Google. Deakin Times Alumni Newsletter: Jo Macdermott was featured in The Deakin Times Alumni Newsletter in 2012 and in 2013. Business Chicks: Jo Macdermott was featured in the Business Chicks Magazine in the Summer 2013 issue for being a Victorian Finalist in the AMI s 2012 Awards for Marketing Excellence. She also featured in the 2014 issue for being named an AMI Victorian finalist for the second consecutive year. By using a wide a range of different content platforms and tailoring the content specifically to each platform and audience, Next Marketing were able to broaden their reach and build their reputation as leaders in the Marketing industry in Australia. t 03 8060 8544 info@nextmarketing.com.au nextmarketing.com.au Page 13
THE RESULTS
CONTENT MARKETING THE ART OF COMMUNICATING WITHOUT SELLING
THE RESULTS The timeframe for this campaign was 1 May 2012 1 May 2014 and the results here reflect that timing. BLOGGING Regular blogging and promotion of blog content on social media led to a significant increase in traffic from social media platforms, totalling: LinkedIn increase of 428% Twitter increase of 369% Facebook increase of 247% Listing on the Blog Chicks directory led to 110 referrals and blog subscriptions increased by 10%. The number of visitors generated from Feedburner over the twoyear period was 1,049. See Appendix 4 for Google Analytics data. EBOOKS Prior to September 2013, the strategy for tracking e- book impressions involved recording through ISSUU, an online publishing program and there were 2,155 impressions recorded. From October 2013 onwards, the strategy changed whereby ebooks were downloaded through a sign up form on the Next Marketing website. Since that time, there have been 44 pdf downloads. See Appendix 5 for impressions and download data. EDITORIAL CONTENT The editorial content distributed to relevant publications has resulted in a number of referrals to the Next Marketing site. Flying Solo 253 referrals Dynamic Business 161 referrals Anthill 36 referrals E-zine 56 referrals (total article views were 1,596) See Appendix 6 for Google Analytics data. t 03 8060 8544 info@nextmarketing.com.au nextmarketing.com.au Page 15
EMAIL NEWSLETTER Results from the email marketing campaign have been positive. The email database has grown by 39% and open rate has remained reasonably consistent, taking into account the fact that as the database has grown the open rate is expected to decrease. As a result of the database increase, traffic to the site has increased by 109.75%. See Appendix 7 for Google Analytics referral data. SLIDESHARE The 17 SlideShare presentations created over the twoyear timeframe have been viewed over 2000 times and downloaded 71 times. See Appendix 8 for SlideShare views and downloads. t 03 8060 8544 info@nextmarketing.com.au nextmarketing.com.au Page 16
BUSINESS OUTCOMES
BUSINESS OUTCOMES OVERALL The results from Next Marketing s content marketing strategy have been outstanding. Since the project started, website traffic has increased by 133% in total. This has been made up of organic search results and: 2,123 visits from social media 822 visits from referral sources 848 visits generated through email campaign. Next Marketing remains at the top position in Google for the keywords Marketing Agency and Marketing Agency Melbourne. There have been a number of positive outcomes for Next Marketing as a result of their content marketing strategy. WARM LEADS More prospects are finding Next Marketing through their content marketing. Since March 2013 there have been 250 enquiries generated via the website. Customers are also better informed and more ready to buy by the time they contact Next Marketing, which has saved staff time and effort and meant that the process of converting potential clients is much quicker. The overall impact on the business has been significant. The team has gone from one staff member and a few subcontractors to five full time staff and in 2012 the team moved to a larger premises in Melbourne. The results of Next Marketing s content strategy are an example of the effectiveness of content marketing and its overall value to the businesses that use it. t 03 8060 8544 info@nextmarketing.com.au nextmarketing.com.au Page 18
APPENDIX 1: EBOOK COVER DESIGNS
The APPENDIX 1: EBOOK COVER DESIGNS Beware the Fake Marketer: Your guide to choosing the right consultant for your business. MAR KET ING Jo Macdermott writes FALSE MOVES AND OTHER MISTAKES d real deal on Daily Deals The truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth. Jo Macdermott, Next Marketing Jo Macdermott, Next Marketing t 03 8060 8544 info@nextmarketing.com.au nextmarketing.com.au Page 20
EBOOK COVER DESIGNS CONTINUED t 03 8060 8544 info@nextmarketing.com.au nextmarketing.com.au Page 21
APPENDIX 2: SLIDESHARE URLS
APPENDIX 2: SLIDESHARE DIRECT URLS Here are the direct URLs for each slide share presentation. WHAT MAKES A GREAT MARKETER PART 1 http://www.slideshare.net/nextmarketingau/whatmakes-a-great-marketer-part-one-final WHAT MAKES A GREAT MARKETER PART 2 http://www.slideshare.net/nextmarketingau/whatmakes-a-great-marketer-part-two-final FIVE MARKETING MISTAKES YOU MIGHT BE MAKING IN YOUR BUSINESS http://www.slideshare.net/nextmarketingau/fivemarketing-mistakes-you-might-be-making-in-yourbusiness TEN SUSPECT MARKETING TACTICS http://www.slideshare.net/nextmarketingau/tensuspect-marketing-tactics Video voice over version https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ykae3ppklw FIVE LONG TERM WAYS TO REDUCE MARKETING COSTS http://www.slideshare.net/nextmarketingau/fivelong-term-ways-to-reduce-marketing-costs t 03 8060 8544 info@nextmarketing.com.au nextmarketing.com.au Page 23
APPENDIX 3: EMAIL NEWSLETTER
APPENDIX 3: EMAIL NEWSLETTER This is the most recent version of the Next Marketing email newsletter. t 03 8060 8544 info@nextmarketing.com.au nextmarketing.com.au Page 25
APPENDIX 4: SOCIAL MEDIA TRAFFIC
APPENDIX 4: SOCIAL MEDIA TRAFFIC SOCIAL MEDIA TRAFFIC Regular blogging and promotion of blog content on social media led to a significant increase in traffic from social media platforms. t 03 8060 8544 info@nextmarketing.com.au nextmarketing.com.au Page 27
APPENDIX 5: EBOOK DOWNLOADS
APPENDIX 5: EBOOK DOWNLOADS EBOOK DOWNLOADS Prior to September 2013, impressions were recorded on ISSUU. The strategy changed from 2013 onwards and now records downloads via a sign up form on the website. Cumulative impressions recorded for the period July 2012 - September 2013 October 2013 onwards *Please note: July 2012 Dec 2012 was recorded as one cumulative total t 03 8060 8544 info@nextmarketing.com.au nextmarketing.com.au Page 29
APPENDIX 6: EDITORIAL CONTENT
APPENDIX 6: EDITORIAL CONTENT VARIOUS SOURCES The distribution of editorial articles has resulted in a number of referrals to the Next Marketing website. FLYING SOLO ANTHILL EZINE *Remained relatively constant from the previous period DYNAMIC BUSINESS t 03 8060 8544 info@nextmarketing.com.au nextmarketing.com.au Page 31
APPENDIX 7: EMAIL NEWSLETTER STATISTICS
APPENDIX 7: EMAIL NEWSLETTER REFERRALS Traffic from the email newsletter to the website has increased significantly. t 03 8060 8544 info@nextmarketing.com.au nextmarketing.com.au Page 33
APPENDIX 8: SLIDESHARE STATISTICS
APPENDIX 8: SLIDESHARE STATISTICS SLIDESHARE Next Marketing s various SlideShare presentations have over 2,000 views. The statistics are provided here. t 03 8060 8544 info@nextmarketing.com.au nextmarketing.com.au Page 35
ABOUT NEXT MARKETING TEAM OF MARKETING EXPERTS Next Marketing is a small Marketing Agency based in Melbourne. t 03 8060 8544 info@nextmarketing.com.au nextmarketing.com.au Page 36
THANK YOU FOR YOUR CONSIDERATION NEXT MARKETING JO MACDERMOTT AFAMI CPM