MC Worksop Content Marketing Cover HR.pdf 1 15-04-13 10:02 AM · ©2015 Marketing CoPilot Inc. All...

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MC Worksop Content Marketing Cover HR.pdf 1 15-04-13 10:02 AM

©2015 Marketing CoPilot Inc. All rights reserved. Marketingcopilot.com | 1

Buyer behavior has changed. What are you doing about it? Buyers want to self-‐educate and self-‐select. They want to use your website and your content to decide if they should buy from you. Your digital dialogue is the new top of the sales funnel. Buyers want be;er content from your company because good content is: •  Not intrusive •  Adds value •  Invites them to engage

Execute be4er content marke7ng to respond to today’s new buyer reality… Marie Wiese, President and Founder MarkeGng CoPilot Inc. @mariewiese @mcopilot

2 | ©2015 Marketing CoPilot Inc. All rights reserved.

The most important things your Content Marketing strategy must address…

Why are we doing this? “Build brand awareness” is very different from “Generate leads”. Link your content to clearly defined business goals. Who buys from us and why? Without a clear picture of your value proposiGon and the buyer journey, your content is random and unfocused. Who is going to do the work? Assign responsibility or it won’t get done. You need a plan that clearly explains who will write your content and how oSen. What content are we offering at each stage of the buyer journey? Where do buyers need a video and where do they need a brochure with pricing? Each stage requires strategically curated content. Where does our target audience want to consume content? A good road map will help you supply the right content to the right buyer at the right Gme. How do we know if it’s working? Tie metrics to your program. What is success? What is failure? And, most importantly, how do we change it up as results roll in?


Let’s get started!

7 Steps to your Content Marke7ng Plan… 1.  Agree on why you need content

markeGng 2.  Define your audience 3.  ArGculate your differenGaGon 4.  Execute your plan 5.  Publish your content 6.  Help your audience find your

content 7.  Define success


1. Agree on why you need content marketing

Good content = Sales Gone are the glory days of when trade shows, cold calls, and networking could generate all leads for your business. The Internet has changed everything. Buyers are searching for ideas and tools to help them solve problems; reviews on what other people think about products and services; and background informaGon on people who can help them. They want to understand who you are, what you do, and why they should buy from you. •  99% of people searching for a product or

service start their search online. •  Prospects will consider more than 12 pieces

of online data in making a choice. •  Buyers will be 70% of the way through the

buying process before you ever hear from them.

Exercise: Discuss whether your current content is facilitaGng your buyer’s decision to choose you…

1.  List all of the places you publish content about your company.

2.  List ways you determine today if customers are using that content to choose you.

3.  List three things you could do to improve your content for customers and if it might change your sales results.


2. Define your audience

Who are you wri7ng for? Most companies do not have a descripGon of their ideal customer. You need to know who buys from you and why. Ask yourself: 1.  What are the top 1-‐3 buyer personas who

currently purchase from us? 2.  What other audiences will help spread the

word about our company and share our content?

Ideas to help: •  Review your email lists to understand

customer data — namely job Gtles. •  Take a look at LinkedIn and Twi;er analyGcs

to see basic informaGon about followers. •  Look at Google AnalyGcs to see views of

demographics. •  Run queries on your brand in social media

and search engines to see audiences and associated links.

If you have not done a formal buyer map for your business, consider a Customer Scorecard and a set of Buyer Personas to get you started: markeGngcopilot.com/resources

http://marketingcopilot.com/content-marketing-resources/


3. Articulate your differentiation

What is your value proposi7on? To discover your value proposiGon and why you ma;er to customers, you must: 1.  DifferenGate your offer from your

compeGtors/alternaGves. 2.  Match a compeGtor in every dimension, but

excel in at least one. 3.  Have proof points and be able to arGculate

these through content and the buyer journey.

This is one of the most important exercises you will go through — for content marke7ng or for your business. MarkeGng CoPilot has a workshop and workbook dedicated to this topic, called Discovering Your Value Proposi7on. (marke'ngcopilot.com/resources)



Exercise: Think about what your customers say about you. Can you arGculate in one sentence why they buy from you? Make a list of the problems you solve for them: __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ How did you solve these problems differently (not be;er) than other ways the customer could have solved the same problem? Example: An excel spreadsheet solves the same problem accoun'ng so<ware does. ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ What is the primary problem you solve for your best customers? _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Helpful Blog Post

The 5 things that make a digital markeGng rock star markeGngcopilot.com/5-‐digital-‐markeGng-‐expert


4. Execute your plan

The bigger the organiza7on, the harder it is to rally the troops 1.  IdenGfy who in your company will help

create content. Be conservaGve in esGmaGng what they will be able to contribute. If one blog post per year is what you are going to get out of them, be honest about it.

2.  IdenGfy what part of the work you are willing to outsource and how you will manage the process. Come up with a realisGc budget that includes outside writers and people who can publish and opGmize the content to maximize results.

Iden7fy your team: Most companies don’t have a clue about how long it takes to produce good content. Everyone thinks it’s easy! •  Secure an execuGve sponsor who will

support the Gme and resources. •  IdenGfy who will contribute content and

what they can provide from the perspecGve of your customer.

•  Determine how much Gme it takes to produce a blog post or a download.

•  Look at the seasonality of your business and decide how many months of content producGon is realisGc.

If your CEO can only commit one hour a month to content markeGng, this is not enough to write a decent blog post. However, you could have someone interview him or her on a topic,

and that could produce enough content for several blog posts!


Create an editorial calendar Someone needs to own the editorial calendar. And that person needs to have the authority and support from the CEO to ensure deadlines are met and content is coordinated in a Gmely fashion. The best way to do this is to make it easy for people to parGcipate. An editorial calendar helps people focus on content, keywords, and deadlines.


Everyone is a poten7al copywriter… Give your team a template for success to make it easy for them to contribute compelling content that focuses on buyer problems and tells a story. The best content focuses on a conclusion that is relevant, important, and urgent, and also: •  Achieves orienta7on – Your reader likely

came from somewhere else (email, social media, search) and needs to orientate quickly with things like headings and sub-‐headings.

•  Builds engagement – Intensify the problem and get your reader to idenGfy with it.

•  Presents solu7ons – Never present a soluGon without being sure your reader has a clear understanding of the problem.

•  Makes the ask – Don’t ask for too much too soon (e.g., “sign up now”). Take Gny steps to move the reader up the chain (interest + engagement + understanding + appeal = subscribing).

Headline Sub-heading

Body

Call-to-action

Download the template for developing a well-‐ structured blog post

marke7ngcopilot.com/resources



5. Publish your content

Topic versus format — which comes first? This is a tricky one because many Gmes you set out to create a PowerPoint or a whitepaper, and you think about everything you want to say. But you need to start by understanding what your audience cares about. Start with the quesGon, “What problems do my customers have that I could write about?” Topics are driven by what your customer is trying to understand in the buying journey. Formats (blog versus whitepaper versus email) need to evolve based on topics and how your customer wants to consume that content.

Exercise: Decide on 1-‐2 high-‐level themes that speak to what your company stands for or wants to educate the marketplace about. ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Create your editorial mission statement. Example: “We are thought leaders in helping small business owners grow their business by developing more efficient ways to do XXX within their business. We publish instruc'onal content that helps a small business owner solve a problem that is cos'ng them 'me and money in their business.” ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________


Exercise: Address the buyer journey. When someone buys a product or service like yours, what do they need to know, do, or experience in order to put you on their list of choices? Before someone knows that your offering is the soluGon to their problem, what quesGons are they asking themselves about how to solve their problem? What do they need to understand about the problem? Example: If a technology company is selling accoun'ng so<ware, the business owner knows that they are losing money every 'me they do month-‐end reconcilia'on. They have too much informa'on to put in an excel spreadsheet and it is never up to date. They experience problems with this and think about those problems and how to solve them before they conclude that accoun'ng so<ware is the answer. ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________


What do your customers do when faced with the same challenge? Consider their thought process… 1.  The problems with my current soluGon is

_________________________.

2.  I am currently spending XX amount of Gme or XX amount of $$ on this issue now and here are the problems this causes for my business _______________________________.

3.  I don’t understand why it happens but perhaps I should research ________________________ to start my search.

4.  I wonder who I can trust to solve this problem (consultant, online product, business partner, etc.).

Your goal from this exercise is to have a short list of master topics you can cover on an ongoing basis to test with potenGal buyers and see what ma;ers to them as they search for soluGons to create a short list of choices. To start these exercises make sure you have stated your editorial mission statement and have decided why you are wriGng content and who it is for.


1.   Document the “Top 10” ques7ons that get asked in the sales process This is perhaps the single most important content you could put on your website and oSen the most overlooked. If you know what quesGons are gesng asked when you sit down with a customer for the first Gme, chances are, other prospects are asking the same quesGons.

2.   Discuss problems with your products or services This is all about being transparent, and you may think it's counter-‐producGve, but it shows you are real. Transparency leads to authenGcity, which leads to trust. Being a trusted source of informaGon will drive your prospects to your content.

3.   Address the subject of price Even if you don’t have a price list on your website, you should sGll give ranges and help people understand how much they should be invesGng in your offering. For example, if you sell leadership training, you should write a post about how much to invest in training per employee and how to assess what the money should be spent on.

4.   Do a "Best of" ar7cle in your area Let’s say you're an architect located in Toronto. Your arGcle could be called, “Who are the best commercial architects in Toronto, Ontario? (This type of post does amazing things for SEO — parGcularly local SEO.)

5.   Talk about the biggest issues or challenges in your industry You should address these head-‐on and not be afraid to have an opinion. Your sales people are probably talking about them in sales calls, so why not address them on your website?

Top 10 ways to generate content ideas


6.   Ride a trend Use tools like TalkWalker, Google Alerts, and Smartbrief news alerts to see what is trending online. You can then create a post that speaks to the trend. Cau7on: riding a trend is different than “news jacking”. Stay away from a breaking story that has nothing to do with your business.

7.   Read comments on other people’s and industry blogs If other people have taken the Gme to comment or ask a quesGon, this is great content. Write a response for your website and there are always posiGve results, including links, cha;er, and oSenGmes SEO benefits.

8.   Share a debate This builds links and SEO, especially when done right. Whether you compete with someone or not, approach them with a shared topic and ask them to write a contrary view to your own and create links between the two websites. Again, honesty gains trust

9.   Compare every service/product you sell with every service/product everyone else sells This works, especially when done in a “versus” style post.

10.   Check your inbox If a customer or prospect asks you for informaGon and you respond, chances are this is content you should share somewhere online. QuesGons to the “help desk” are also an excellent source of website and social media content.


6. Help your audience find your content

If you build it, they don’t automa7cally come To understand where your target audience consumes content: 1.   Survey your exis7ng customers. Pick up the

phone and ask them: what do they read and how do they find it?

2.   Ask prospects during sales calls or publish simple polls on the side bar of your website.

3.   Test content using retargeGng tools like AdMob or Outbrain or post ads on LinkedIn on topics that drive traffic to content. Since you only pay for the clicks, it’s a cheap way to find out where people are going and what they are clicking on.

4.   Use Google Trends to see what topics are trending and where you might find this content online.

5.   Join an industry group your customers are part of on LinkedIn and ask the group what they read online.


What are your keywords? A well-‐researched keyword strategy from the perspecGve of your buyer (not your product or service) is a great starGng point for understanding what people are searching for and which topics you can Ge into their pain points. Create a keyword list based on: •  Buyer problems •  Buyer prioriGes •  Buyer obstacles •  Your value proposiGon/brand •  Lastly, your product categories

Download the MarkeGng CoPilot Keyword Workbook at markeGngcopilot.com/resources.

Keyword List

a. Branded: b. Short Tail c. Long Tail d.Questions e. Competitors

Buyer Problems

Buyer Priorities

Buyer Obstacles

Corporate Brand

Product Brand

Product Categories



Are you promo7ng your content? This is oSen the forgo;en link in the chain. People think if they post to the website or send out one email or tweet, that their work is done. But think about your day for a minute. How do you scan your inbox, Twi;er account, or websites? What do you retain in your search? We are all busy human beings, and we need to see something several 7mes before it starts to sGck. If content is any good, it should and can be shared over and over again. Take a moment and consider: •  Which channels to focus on based on what

customers are doing online. Don’t do something just because the CEOs daughter thinks you need a Facebook page. Where do you have the most opportunity?

•  How much a4en7on does each channel deserve? If you can only do one video a year, is it worth having a YouTube channel?

•  If you can’t track or measure something, or keep the content fresh, you need to consider if you should be there. There are lots of orphaned PowerPoint presentaGons on SlideShare.


When should I publish? Everyone asks, “When is the best 7me to send an email, post a Tweet, or put up a blog post?” The answer? It depends. It depends on your audience, and the only way to really know is to test. Just as it’s important to have an editorial calendar and assigned tasks in your content markeGng plan, you also need to make decisions about how oSen to: •  Blog •  Send email •  Post to social media •  Create new downloads •  Change copy on websites You will need to increase or decrease your efforts depending on what’s working. Another thing to consider is how long your sales cycle is and how many touches from the sales team need to happen before you close a sale (not to be confused with the buying process). If a sales cycle is long, then deeper and longer-‐paced content may be opGmal. You also need to decide who hits “send” and what your approval process is.


Digital marke7ng channels Owned media •  Your website •  Email markeGng •  Offline and print efforts Social media •  Facebook, LinkedIn, Twi;er, Google+ •  YouTube •  SlideShare Paid media •  Paid search •  Paid display ads •  Paid social ads •  Paid content distribuGon Earned media •  PR and bloggers In order for your content to be searchable, consider: 1.  What are the most important keywords in

this post?

2.  How strong is the headline? Are there keywords in the Gtle, and, more importantly, are my customers searching for this?

3.  How will the headline show up in social media?

4.  Is there a call to acGon in the content that gives the reader a next step or something to do?

5.  Can I email this content to a select list or an extended list?

What to include in your content distribuGon plan


7. Define success

How do we know if it’s working? If you create a single objecGve for each piece of content, you can be specific about what you hope to achieve. For example: •  If you want to increase your email database,

find a topic that will drive people to a download.

•  If you want to increase interacGon on your website, create sharable content on topics that ma;er to the industry.

•  If you want to be seen as a thought leader in the industry, create a research report that can be shared on industry websites.

All of these tacGcs Ge back to lead generaGon and sales. Be prepared to explain the following for everything you produce:

HOW CONVERSION RATE

MOVING THE BUYER JOURNEY FORWARD TO A CLOSED SALE


You might find it tedious, but aSer you publish your content, you need to go back and see if it worked. No one likes cleaning up aSer a party, but it will make the next party even be;er!

Examples of tes7ng the buying process….

Goal Metrics

Build awareness of a business problem with

our target audience

Links, social shares, traffic, page views.

Build engagement with our site visitors and

educate them on product and services

Email subscripGons, repeat visitors, content downloads.

Convert engaged visitors who are viewing product

and service related content

Goal conversions from leads, specific conversion points like a brochure with pricing or forms where people give up more personal informaGon.

Build up customer reten7on, repeat

business, referrals and public reviews

Engagement with support content, customer churn, repeat business or customers that provide case studies and reviews.


About Marketing CoPilot Inc. We help companies find customers and keep customers

using the power of content marketing. We design, build and deliver online strategies

that become a powerful sales tool.

Resources for your Content Marketing Plan

Content Marke7ng Digest Canada Our blog highlights important strategies and resources for building a performing content markeGng plan. markeGngcopilot.com/content-‐markeGng-‐digest

Free guides and templates

q  Value ProposiGon Workbook q  Customer scorecard q  Buyer persona template q  Editorial calendar template q  Keyword Strategy Workbook q  Blog post template q  Email best pracGces q  Digital tools access guide

markeGngcopilot.com/resources Follow us

[email protected]

company/markeGng-‐copilot

@mcopilot

http://marketingcopilot.com/content-marketing-digest/


https://www.linkedin.com/company/marketing-copilot

mailto:[email protected]

http://twitter.com/?status=@mcopilot

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MC Worksop Content Marketing Cover HR.pdf 1 15-04-13 10:02 AM

MC Worksop Content Marketing Cover HR.pdf 1 15-04-13 10:02 AM · ©2015 Marketing CoPilot Inc. All...

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