Sirius Decisions eBook

Content: The Key to Inbound Success Jay Gaines Ona Koehler Group Director, Demand Senior Benchmark Analyst

23 May 2012

© Copyright SiriusDecisions. All Rights Protected and Reserved.

Executive Summary

•  Key issues –  Inbound marketing has become a required part of the overall b-to-b

mix –  Inbound approaches have created new content requirements that

many organizations struggle to meet –  A cohesive content strategy based on buyer intelligence is the

foundation for highly effective inbound strategies

•  What you will walk away with –  An understanding of how inbound is evolving content requirements –  A definition of the elements of an effective inbound content strategy –  Key approaches for using content strategy to drive inbound success

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The Critical Role of Inbound

It’s a buyer-driven world, and we’re all living in it


Survey Results: Defining Inbound Marketing SiriusPerspective: Tactics extended to an unknown target audience that deliver value-added content and are consumed at an individual’s discretion.

4

61%

63%

67%

81%

84%

84%

0% 50% 100%

Content syndication

Online demos/trials

Display advertising

Keyword advertising

SEO

Social media

% of respondents

User-Driven

Demand Creation and Reputation

Technology

Value-Added Content


57

61

76

83

- 50 100

Other

Score

Survey Results: Inbound Marketing Priorities SiriusPerspective: Attract, engage and qualify are the top three priorities for inbound marketers.

INBOUND MARKETING SPEND INBOUND MARKETING PRIORITIES

Improve quality of responses

Buyer’s information gathering

Attract buyers early

Current state 37%−50%

of DC

Inbound Outbound

Outlook 2015 50%−65%

of DC

Inbound Outbound

ATTRACT

ENGAGE

QUALIFY

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Content Strategy

Taking a systematic approach


The Content Monster

Inbound and Content: Don’t Panic! SiriusPerspective: Content is the fuel that powers effective inbound marketing, but an ad hoc content approach simply won’t do.

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Brief, valuable, targeted, broadly appealing, unique, findable

Mwahahahaaaaaa!

Effective inbound strategies require content that is . . .


The Content Strategy Requirement SiriusPerspective: A sound content strategy is the foundation for inbound demand creation performance optimization.

8

The

Pill

ars

of C

onte

nt

Mar

ketin

g fo

r Inb

ound

Targeting

Offer

Placement

Buyer Persona

Alignment Improved targeting of key buyer roles using buyer intelligence

Buyer’s Journey

Alignment More compelling offers and offer sequences to drive qualifying behaviors

Campaign Alignment

Streamlined planning of integrated inbound and outbound components

© Copyright SiriusDecisions. All Rights Protected and Reserved. 9

Polling Question

•  Which of the following statements most closely describes the content strategy for your inbound marketing efforts? –  Strategy? What strategy? –  It is fragmented and inconsistent –  It is consistent with outbound marketing strategy only –  It is aligned to the buyer’s journey –  It is consistent with overall marketing strategy


Continuous Improvement

Objective Content Asset

Architecture

Content Execution Measurement

Inbound Content Strategy: A Five-Pronged Approach

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•  Campaign framework

•  Demand type •  Buyer’s journey •  Planning

•  Define the audience

•  Audit and map assets

•  Content library

•  Content mediums •  Delivery

mechanisms •  Dynamic content •  Crowd-sourcing

•  Engagement rate

•  Conversion rates •  SEO

performance

•  Revisions •  Content

rationalization •  Buyer’s journey

SiriusPerspective: A sound content strategy for inbound requires a systematic, closed-loop approach to content management and execution.


One: Objective SiriusPerspective: The majority of inbound strategies are not aligned with the buying cycle or are targeted exclusively to the earliest stage.

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DEMAND TYPE

New Concept New Paradigm Established Market

MA

RK

ET

PE

NE

TRAT

ION

Low

High

Market Crea)on Market Share Customer Acquisi)on

Market Leadership Wallet Share

A:ract Engage Qualify


Two: Content Asset Architecture SiriusPerspective: The process of building a content asset architecture is the foundation of a strategic approach to content management.

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Assign ownership

Define audience segments

Identify information needs

Audit and map content

Fill content gaps


Contributors Internal Analysts Partners

Prospects Clients

Competitors

Three: Content Execution SiriusPerspective: Inbound performance can be maximized through high relevancy, content curation and optimized content delivery mechanisms.

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Delivery SEO

Navigation Keyword

Call to action Syndication WCM/WCO

Mobile

Attract Engage Qualify

EDUCATION

SOLUTION

VENDOR SELECTION

Buyer’s Journey

WEBINARS CASE STUDIES

WHITE PAPERS PEER REFERRALS

Content Types

Personas


Content Execution: An Example SiriusPerspective: Inbound performance can be maximized through high relevancy, content curation and optimized content delivery mechanisms.

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Delivery SEO

Navigation Keyword

Call to action Syndication WCM/WCO

Mobile

Attract

EDUCATION

SOLUTION

VENDOR SELECTION

Buyer’s Journey

WEBINARS CASE STUDIES

WHITE PAPERS PEER REFERRALS

Content Types

Personas

Engage Qualify

Contributors Internal Analysts Partners

Prospects Clients

Competitors

Content Strategy Deep Dive

It’s all about your ability to attract, then engage and qualify


Polling Question

•  How does your organization currently measure the impact of its inbound efforts? –  We don’t measure it –  Primarily activity metrics (e.g. views, clicks, Web site visits) –  Activity metrics, plus conversion of unknown visitors to

known –  Conversion of inbound sourced contacts to MQLs (sales-

ready leads) –  Conversion of inbound sourced contacts to pipeline and/or

revenue


Attract: Topic-Driven SEO Only SiriusPerspective: SEO in the absence of a content strategy tends to be unfocused, too broad, diluted and ineffective.

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Personas

Topics

Buying Cycles


Attract: SEO and More SiriusPerspective: SEO in the absence of a content strategy tends to be unfocused, too broad, diluted and ineffective.

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Preferences

Topics

Personas

Your Content Strategy

Buying Cycle

Formats

Gating Rules

SEO/PPC

Focused and aligned with key personas

Social Media

Topic alignment, identification of social sites

Content Syndication

Key destinations, relevant topics, optimal formats

Influencer Marketing

Improved targeting, identification and engagement


Engage: Dynamic Content SiriusPerspective: The information flow between buyer behavior and dynamic content allows marketers to identify the buyer genome.

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Visit source Content selection Repeat traffic Preference data

Multiple calls to action Refresh/update Customized content

Dynamic Content

Buyer Behavior

Buying Cycle Stage Persona Business

Need


Engage: Before and After SiriusPerspective: Inbound has become the primary source of Web visits, but visitor engagement requires a content strategy.

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> 5% response rates

50%+ visitors go past POE

Minimal use of landing pages

Clean, rules-based home page

< 2% response rates

60%+ bounce rate

Dozens of landing pages

Extremely busy home page

No Content Strategy Content Strategy


Qualify: Lead Enrichment SiriusPerspective: A cohesive content strategy combined with an integrated set of technologies enables deeper lead qualification.

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WCM and MAP

Rules Predefined topic categories Plain-English descriptors

Sales View SFA (Activity Details)

Topical interests

Product association

Urgency

Planning

Content attributes, weighting

Content strategy

Predefined behaviors


Qualify: Progressive Profiling SiriusPerspective: Progressive profiling combines gathering explicit and implicit visitor data, which can’t be done without a content strategy.

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Fully Qualified Lead Explicit data + Activity meaning

Explicit Data Maximum 3-5 questions, map to lead

definition

Technology Infrastructure MAP, WCM, SFA

Content Mapping Buying cycle,

personas

Implicit Data Pre-defined activity, recency, frequency

Lead Definition Attributes, score

Rules Dynamic content

delivery

Planning and Integration

Ensuring that content gets its seat at the strategy table


The Role of the Content Strategist SiriusPerspective: Developing a cohesive content strategy requires an accountable leader who will drive interlock across functions.

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Brand

Managers

Marcom

Managers

Field

Marketing

Product

Managers

Solution

Managers

Industry

Marketing Sales

Operations

Program Marketing

Content

Strategist

The Internal Content Community Content Strategist

Responsibilities -  Content architecture -  Development strategy -  Training and measurement -  Shared service management Strategy -  Enable content developers in the

business to create assets that can be leveraged in a common framework

Content Framework -  Structured forms of content -  Technical architecture -  Playbook on content development


Content: The Core of Campaign Integration SiriusPerspective: A content strategy ensures that inbound efforts effectively align with and support campaign themes.

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Campaign One Campaign Two Campaign Three Campaign Four The overall “themes” on which programs are based

The red vertical bars signify inbound strategies linked to specific campaigns

The red horizontal arrow signifies generalized inbound strategies that benefit all campaigns

Inbound Marketing

Market Intelligence

Reputation

Demand Creation

Sales Enablement


Action Items

•  Marketing –  Pilot a content strategy for a defined audience/offering pairing

in order to learn and prove the concept –  Measure impact in defined categories, including attract,

engage, qualify and internal efficiency •  Sales

–  Work with marketing to define buyer’s journey, key personas and information needs

–  Prepare to engage with knowledgeable inbound leads


Recommended Research

•  Inbound Marketing, the Sirius Way •  Inbound Targeting: From Passive to Proactive •  Integrating Inbound Marketing Into Campaign Planning •  Optimizing B-to-B Web Site Conversion •  Content and Web Site Conversion Optimization •  Building a Content Strategy •  Progressive Profiling: The Sirius View

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