Stop selling: a content marketing guide by Melissa Harrison, CEO, Allée facebook.com/alleecreative twitter.com/alleecreative
Stop selling a content marketing guide Introduction What is content marketing? Content strategy and business goals Target audience and segmentation Topics and lists Stop selling Editorial calendars Brainstorm like grade school It s a priority Don t do it alone About the author [ 1 ]
Introduction A content marketing starter kit We ve all been there trying to keep up with the latest marketing tools, strategies and platforms that seem to change overnight at alarming rates. And now, here it is, the next big thing... Content marketing. Whether you ve been following the trends or are new to the term, now is the time to think about your organization s content marketing strategy. Gone are the days of slick sales techniques where companies can boast Click Here! without offering a compelling reason why or send out an eblast with the word Free! in the subject line and expect an overwhelming response. Stop Selling: A Content Marketing Guide is your starter kit of ideas to kick off your organization s content marketing strategy. This book outlines seven content marketing ideas with specific examples of how to integrate content marketing into your sales and marketing techniques. 1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 a Zettabyte (ZB) This is the amount of information estimated to be available to us online. How does your organization rise to the top? By producing creative, engaging and thoughtful content. Is your message getting through? It doesn t matter if you are a B2B or B2C organization content marketing is for all business types. Your audience no longer needs to be bothered with interruptive marketing techniques like commercials (TiVo, anyone?) or direct mail. Your customers are choosing what content they want to read, where they want to read it and when they ll take the time to read it. It s your job to have your content prepared and accessible to them. So, if you re interested in taking your organization to the next level, if you need a push to create meaningful content for your customers, this book is for you. [ 2 ]
What is content marketing? Real topics. Real information. Simply put, content marketing is jargon we use in the marketing industry to describe content that is customized or published with a key demographic in mind. It s a way to distribute relevant information that audiences can engage with content they want to read and be a part of. This content has value and serves a purpose. Content marketing can be seen as a way to provide a solution to a problem or need your target audience has. Content marketing is not about selling. The information you provide to your audience should be valuable, not a sales pitch. In many ways, content marketing puts a face on your company or brand and can show you in a more personal light. Content marketing is about providing space for real discussions, real topics and real information. Using content marketing builds your credibility and establishes trust with your customers. As you produce content that is relevant to your industry and caters to the needs of your customers, you ll be seen as an expert in your field and in turn, customers will come back again and again to see what else you have to say. This drives traffic to your website and other outlets that house your content. Why use content marketing? 1. To find new customers and leads 2. To support your current marketing plan 3. To get a leg up on your competition 4. To establish lasting relationships 5. To show expertise in your industry 6. To connect to customers needs Content marketing is also a cost-effective way to get the message out about your brand, your products and your services. Your biggest investment will be time the time it takes to plan a great process, to select relevant channels to publish your content and to give yourself enough time to research and produce said content. [ 3 ]
Content strategy and business goals Implement content strategies to support business goals All businesses are unique in their individual goals, target markets, resources and visions for the future. But no organization should be marketing purely for the sake of spending dollars. You need a goal to support your efforts. So dig out that business plan and figure out how you re going to use content marketing to reach some of those goals. Start small. With the overwhelming amount of digital channels out there, you need to be strategic in where you spend those first few dollars. First, start listening to your audiences (more about segmenting them on page 5) and figure out where they get their information about your brand. They re giving you the answers to where you need to be beefing up content. Where to place content Great content is sought out by your audience and, as you ll notice throughout this ebook, should be available on multiple channels. Examples: Next, look at your current business goals and think about how you ll use content marketing to support those goals. For example, a company with a goal to increase online sales by 25 percent over the previous year should plan for specific pieces of content that will ultimately drive customers to its website. A company blog might be one way to support this goal. In fact, according to a HubSpot survey, a company that blogs experiences 55 percent more traffic to its website than a company that doesn t blog. Newsletters Blogs Workshops Online videos Social media sites Case studies Company websites ebooks There are endless examples of tying content marketing to business goals. Your business goals aren t arbitrary and your content shouldn t be either. Don t publish just for the sake of publishing. Quality beats quantity. [ 4 ]
Target audience and segmentation Define according to needs You ve set your business goals, you ve aligned some content marketing strategies to those and you ve been busy listening to your audience. Now what? Like many organizations, there s a great chance that your message needs to be delivered to more than one type of client or customer. For companies with larger resources, this may mean publishing lots of different content using multiple channels. For a company with less resources, it can mean using one or two channels to deliver various messages that speak to all the key audiences. Start by segmenting your audience. Examples of audience segments can be existing customers and active prospects or social media fans, friends and followers. Next, segment your segments. For example, existing customers can be broken into categories based on their frequency of purchases, overall spending, special occasion purchases, etc.). Think of all the players in your target audience and define their importance within your strategy. Multiple uses for content Your content should work on multiple levels. For example, ebooks can be a source for multiple blog posts. Product reviews or articles you author on outside websites can be linked back to yours. Topics for newsletter articles can be made into catchy YouTube videos. Tweak your content for broader channel distribution and multiple target audiences. Keep an audience engagement or audience segments chart and define the following for each segment: what s relevant to them? Where do they get their information? What influences them? How do you keep them engaged/loyal? What are your strategies for distributing information? It may also be helpful to define brand voice, if you choose to differentiate between audience segments. All of your content should be easy to share with others as well. Your customers have their own networks and they are constantly sharing information be aware of this and make it easy for them to share. [ 5 ]
Topics and lists Content relative to your audience and your business Setting up content topics and lists is one of my favorite parts of the content marketing process. This is where your inner creative comes out where you plan for all of your relevant content and the categories it will fall under. The lists I talk about on this page are established; they are topics you ve already agreed upon to integrate into your content marketing strategy. These are ideas that have been hashed out and are waiting to be produced. Create FAQs for your record No matter your role at your organization, you know the frequently asked questions that come from your customers. Make a list of the top 10 topics you hear customers talking about related to your brand and develop content around those topics. Offer advice, tips, suggestions and solutions for each of these topic areas. Think about the overall topics you want to talk about and set them on repeat weekly, monthly, quarterly according to how often your content is being published. For example, lets say you re launching a new product. Your product launch should be your repetitive content topic for as long as you think it s relevant to your customers. The information should not, however, be the same. Think of different ways to create content around this topic that is still fresh and engaging to your audience. A few examples of how you might use this topic on repeat include: Facebook photo contest with the product Launch count down tied to a holiday (e.g. instead of 12 Days of Christmas it could be 12 Days to Launch where you give a behind-the-scenes look at what happens on the days leading up to the launch) Product video chats or sketch bits with your R&D team, CEO, writers something that is entertaining and shows personality Product launches can be a tricky example because, of course, you want people to buy your product. However, with content marketing, you need to always be thinking about what the customer wants to hear. It s like the So what? Who cares? questions we learn in public relations. [ 6 ]
Instead of focusing on the selling piece of the launch, focus on establishing a relationship with your audience. Create irresistible headlines and descriptions in order to grab your audiences attention. You should map these out in your editorial calendars (page 8) along with key words and phrases. Producers of great content are also participants. It s just as important to consume your own amount of content in order to foster new ideas and stay relevant. Stop selling Replace sales with relevant content My example of the product launch on page 6 briefly covered the no sales mantra of content marketing. Content marketing is the opposite of traditional interruption marketing. The information you distribute should have its own value separate from what you re selling (provide something for free that has an indirect tie-in to your product or service). Your goal is to nourish a relationship and create long-term, repeat customers. Be a storyteller What catches your attention most? For me, it s when I can relate to the information I m taking in. Tell your story. Talk about your customers. Educate your audience about the causes you support or the affect your product has on others. Be candid about real scenarios and situations everyone goes through. Show your personal side. Your customers can pick and choose the messages they read there is an endless supply. And your audience is filtering; their needs are first. Don t throw them a sales pitch the minute they jump online. Should you skip selling altogether? No. However, companies with well-rounded marketing and sales strategies (that work together) routinely see increases in website traffic and sales leads, especially when the focus is on creative, appealing content (sprinkled with a few promotional messages here and there). If your content has been sales heavy in the past, it may take time for your audiences to trust that what you re saying is for their benefit rather than just a sales pitch. Be patient. It will happen. [ 7 ]
Editorial calendars All things require organization Putting together killer content will do you no good if it isn t accessible to your audience. And with all the channels available for distribution, it can be hard to keep it all together. Start by setting a schedule and housing all of your content topics, key words and modes of distribution into a master editorial calendar. Include all of your distribution channels in your calendar. Set a schedule for your Facebook updates, enews, website updates, blogs, print newsletters anything your audience will see. Work with your sales team, product development team, senior management and marketing teams to collaborate and stay informed of important messages that should be distributed. Your topics and lists should be integrated into your calendar as well. Your editorial calendars should include your methods of promotion how will you tell your audience about your content? Producing great content will only get you so far if no one knows it s out there. Think about microcampaigns for each piece of substantial content to let your audiences know where and when it s available. Don t forget to monitor! Schedule times throughout the year to analyze your content s effectiveness. Use data such as open rates, retweets or blog comments as indicators of great (or poor) content. Increased Web traffic and sales leads can also be indicators of effective content. Tweak content as necessary based on your results and audience responsiveness. Don t be afraid to take over a single channel, so to speak. Especially if you are just getting started with content marketing or you have limited resources. It s better to have a focused effort with consistent messages appearing on one or two channels than to spread yourself too thin, inconsistently, across multiple channels. Think about your timing and frequency and plan for those within your calendar. Keep to your schedule so you develop a routine and remain consistent. By doing so, you will create an audience that continues to come back on a regular basis. Your audience will change its habits as you become a producer of fresh, relevant, consistent content. [ 8 ]
Brainstorm like grade school Continuous idea-generation is key Imagine you re back in the third grade and your teacher has just asked you to get in a group and think about the best way to organize a talent show. You re in a group of five and no one can agree on anything. Your teacher walks around, smiling, saying, There are no wrong answers. You re just brainstorming; write down everything that comes to your mind. Brainstorming like you re back in grade school is a way to keep track of the raw, unfiltered pieces of information that grab your attention. You re not exactly sure (yet) how the information fits into your plan, but there is something intriguing about it. And, if you re intrigued and interested, I m betting your audience would be, too. The brainstorming process is ongoing and it s different than the topics and lists I mention on page 6. Brainstorming, or ah-ha moments, can happen anywhere, so keep an idea file, a white board or a stack of Post-It notes to jot down thoughts as they pop up. White boards are your friends Keep multiple idea files on standby and add to them frequently. For me, it s the huge white board that hangs behind my desk...it s full of ideas that come to me throughout the day. Use social bookmarking sites and RSS feeds to keep tabs on your industry. Use a legal pad or electronic Word document to make lists of potential content ideas and topics. Solicit help from other departments or member of your team. There may be issues that are always coming up from an IT standpoint (or any department you don t have direct ties to) that would make for great content in one form or another. Plan for 5 10 minutes of raw brainstroming during all-staff meetings or leadership briefings to gather insight from others in the company. And don t forget to use your social media channels as a way to gather input and ideas from you customers they ll give you great information and tell you exactly what they re looking for if you ask. [ 9 ]
It s a priority Period. If you are serious about the growth of your organization you must put forth the effort. This means adding resources to your content marketing team (or creating one) so you can build strategy and execute initiatives. Start by hiring a chief content officer to develop your content plan and determine how your stories will be told. Add a chief listening officer and a content specialist to help with analysis and content execution. You will depend on these people to inform you of brand sentiment, discussions and topics for future content. If you re a numbers person, consider the following statistics from the 2011 Consumer Study conducted by the Custom Content Council: 78 percent of people believe that organizations providing custom content are interested in building good relationships with them. 90 percent of consumers said they found custom content useful. A time saver Solicit your whole team, key players from your company, guest bloggers, outside agency support, etc. More people equals more time. AND co-creating content improves credibility, provides diversity and even contributes to wider distribution. Ever heard the saying two heads are better than one? It s true. 77 percent of people understand that an organization s goal for custom content is to sell them something, but are OK with it as long as it provides value. 61 percent of people feel better about a company that delivers custom content and are more likely to buy from that company. Additionally, the Content Marketing Institute reported that in 2010, nine out of 10 organizations were marketing with content, regardless of size. And it s estimated that in 2012, 60 percent of B2B marketers plan to increase their content marketing budgets. How will you stand out from the crowd and make your mark? [ 10 ]
Don t do it alone Resources to support your cause In a perfect world, all companies would have the resources needed to produce quality content in abundance and interact with customers while keeping every other aspect of the business afloat. In reality, there are plenty of organizations out there with limited staff resources and as such, priorities get shifted around. I get it. You may work for an organization that is on board with content marketing and ready to start now. You may love the idea of content marketing and can see how it will benefit your customer reach, but get stuck when it comes to planning your strategy. Or, maybe you re a planner with all the right ideas, but in need of a team to help you get it done. Don t get discouraged. Start by researching organizations that produce great content and that are similar in size, budget or staff resources to yours. Utilize a content team (see left) to bounce ideas off of and split work loads. Invest in a consulting firm or marketing agency to get you started and encourage them to keep you involved in as much (or as little) of the process as you become more comfortable with your new responsibilities. Utilize a content team Your content should not be a one-person show. Utilize multiple employees or writers from outside agencies to ensure diverse content. This approach also takes the content production workload off of a single person s shoulders and divides it up. Encourage all involved to contribute content that interests them and offers interest to consumers. Most importantly, stick with it. Like most marketing strategies, a great content marketing plan will not generate an increase in customers or sales overnight. However, the more opportunities you offer for customers to engage with you, the more likely they are to make a purchase or hire you as their service provider. It takes time. Set goals and monitor results. A successful content marketing plan provides increased visibility for your organization and should demonstrate growth in online traffic and business leads. Killer content will net awesome growth and increased success. [ 11 ]
About the author Melissa Harrison, CEO, Allée Melissa Harrison is founder and CEO of Allée, a marketing and design company based in Albertville, Minn. For more than a decade, Melissa has delivered creative marketing solutions to small and mid-sized businesses, nonprofits and memberbased organizations. Melissa consistently develops effective marketing strategies that incorporate a mix of traditional marketing with new media tools and concepts. Melissa provides one-on-one consultation, training and planning services for companies looking to increase revenues through the use of traditional and new marketing methods, including content marketing. Her valued areas of expertise include branding, graphic design, PR, content strategy and social media. Melissa has developed workable templates that include channel plans, audience segment tables and content/editorial calendars. Contact: Melissa Harrison melissa@alleecreative.com 612 964 7144 twitter.com/alleecreative facebook.com/alleecreative www.alleecreative.com Melissa speaks on topics of social media, marketing strategy and branding. Her recent presentations include the Greening Your Business Conference, Minnesota Women in Marketing and Communications Brown Bag Lunch Series, MCN s Nonprofit Technology and Communications Conference, the Nonprofit Essentials Conference and the Twin Cities Media Alliance s Fall Forum. Melissa is a past Board member for Minnesota Women in Marketing and Communications and is a regular contributor to StMichaelPatch.com on topics related to small business marketing. She resides in Albertville with her husband and four children. [ 12 ]
Stop selling a content marketing guide Copyright 2011 Allée All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or sold for purposes of individual profit without written consent from the author. Address inquiries to: Melissa Harrison melissa@alleecreative.com www.alleecreative.com facebook.com/alleecreative twitter.com/alleecreative