Unlocking the content dungeon

Chris Wilson, Earnest

B2B Marketing is changing. Fundamentally.

9 out of 10 buyers say when they’re ready to buy – they’ll find you

Source: DemandGen Report

Today’s buyer journey

Changes over time

Recognition of needs

Evaluate options

Select best option

Problem defined

Negotiate / purchase

ImplementChanges over time

Recognition of needs

Problem defined

Evaluate options

Select best option

Changes over time

Recognition of needs

Problem defined

Early stage awareness

Influence how they define their problem and solution...

Ac

tiv

ity

Press/online (PR)

Event attendance Word of mouth (Advocacy)

Search & social

Analyst reports & white papers

Sponsored research

Web presence

Industry bodies & associations

Awareness and early need identification

Campaign microsites (pURLs)

Testimonials

Analyst reports

Targeted ads

Our own events & webinars

Videos

White papers & guides

Social media listening & participation

Case studies

Tailored product proposition

Building compelling RFP

Demonstrate we have the most compelling proposition

Case studies

ROI aides

Practical ‘how to’ guides

Recommendations and references

Formal sales presentations

Close the sale and maximise the value of the deal.

Moving conversation from cost to value (e.g. Through expression of tangible ROI)

Ensure seamless customer onboarding –maximise time to value

Welcome packs

‘Get the most from’ guides

Customer portal – and community

User group events

Ou

r ta

sk

Marketing-led Sales-led

Why should we care?

Source: Hubspot

“80% of new leads will come from inbound marketing by 2015”

B2Bmarketingdirections. March 2012

“80% of new leads will come from inbound marketing by 2015”

B2Bmarketingdirections. March 2012

The challenge

To be part of the conversation, you need to have something to say…

•Relevant•Interesting•Useful•Different•Thought provoking•Funny?

To be part of the conversation, you need to have something to say…

•Relevant•Interesting•Useful•Different•Thought provoking•Funny?

Solution: CONTENT!

Think Value Exchange

“Deliver consistent, ongoing valuable information to buyers, and they will ultimately reward us with their business and loyalty.”

But first, some problems

“We have no content!”“We have no content!”

“All our content is sh*t!”

“How do we get our

content out there?”

“How do we get our

content out there?”

“We don’t know what content

works!”

“I have no budget for content!”

But above all else….

Content strategy!

Content

Problem 1

“We have no content!”

“We have no content!”

In reality•It’s likely you have more than you need, rather than less•You already employ many content authors, you (and they) just didn’t know it

They just need:• To be given the chance• To get some direction• To get some TIME

Solution

Make it easy for them•Do an audit first: find out what you have already, and then just repurpose•Their time is precious – work round them•Interview & ghost-write, rather than ask for words•Do the edit•Pick low hanging fruit – helps get something tangible fast, and proves the case•Social collaboration tools – you can be the content curator / master editor

Create the ‘Rules’

•What purpose does the content serve•Always focused on value to the customer•Interesting is a must, controversial is a bonus•Company name mentioned less than 2 times…•NO SELLING!

Solution

Promote them:•Ensure you’ve got top level buy-in – and ‘publish’ this…!•Ego-time: ‘author’, photo/biog, direct email, ideally video…•Often helps to have a third party (outside) – PR agency / content specialist for example

Solution

Reward them:•Everything from ‘thank you’ to direct link to bonus (if you can affect this…)•Measure content effectiveness – and name-check strong performers

From the outset:•Top level endorsement (and lead by example) means that people don’t think they’re wasting company time…

Problem 2

In reality•It’s not necessarily bad in itself, just not fit for purpose•So you need to be clear what purpose you’re trying to achieve

Which means:• Audience 1st. • Mapped to buyer journey.

“All our content is

sh*t!”

Solution

Funnels and buyer journeys

•Who are is the audience?•What do they (really) care about?•What is the absolute best wayyou can help them out?•Where are they (honestly)in the funnel? A registration formis not a purchase order!

Example: a bit of repurposing…

Example: a bit more repurposing…

Example: a corporate brochure?

Problem 3

Answer:

“How do we get our content out

there?”

Distribution strategy: channels, KPIs, etcChannel Objective Focus Desired outcome

Twitter[Owned Media]

›Position company as thought-leader›Build audience engagement & dialogue›Show we are credible›Keep us front-of-mind

›Share content we generate (blog / YouTube)›Share our news / promote events / case studies›Share valuable third-party content (wider blogosphere / media)

›Increase in click throughs to blog / YouTube / our website›Increase in Mentions and Retweets›Increase in followers

Blog[Owned Media]

›Position company as thought-leader›Build audience engagement & dialogue›Help shape and guide buyer strategies

›Provide analysis, opinion and guidance on key issues, industry and new developments›Deliver a rich and engaging experience wherever possible

›Increase in page views›Increase in inbound & outbound links›Increase in comments›Increase in sharing of our content›Increase in search performance on keywords

Blogosphere[Earned Media]

›Position company as thought-leader›Create and participate in conversations online›Show we are credible

›Listening online to identify where we should be commenting or stimulating discussion

›Increase in share of voice online›Increased participation in online discussions

LinkedIn [Owned/Earned Media]

›Leverage professional networks of our key execs to open up new conversations›Keep us front-of-mind

›Integrating blog and Twitter feeds›Participating in the right online groups – and stimulating discussion

›Increase in click throughs to blog / our website›Increased participation in online discussions

YouTube [Owned Media]

›Position company as thought-leader›Show we are credible›Help shape and guide buyer strategies

›Provide analysis, opinion on key issues, industry and technology developments›Share our story›Share client case studies

›Increase in channel views›Increase in channel subscribers›Increase in comments

Content goes Social

Source: CMI

Source: CMI

Find out where your audience is hanging out online

Video sharing

75% of senior executives say they watch work related videos on business-related websites at least weekly

65% have visited a vendor’s website after watching a videoSource: Forbes

Source: Google

Make it easy to share

Use industry standard platforms –

YouTube, Vimeo, Slideshare, Flickr

Always include sharing buttons onlineand in PDFs

But make it interesting and compelling enough that they want to share it!

Case example:

30,000 page views

200+ blogs

Time to go mobile?

Mobile web searches increased by 247%

1 in 4 employees use personal smartphones at work

Source: ITPro

And another important channel...

Your sales force

90% of marketing deliverables are not used by sales

Only 7% of IT services companies are seen by their customers as ‘strategic partners’

Only 7% of IT services companies are seen by their customers as ‘strategic partners’

•Need to show industry knowledge

•‘Think for me’, not just ‘do for me’: guidance not plumbing

•Need an opinion, an angle, a point of view, a vision of what’s next....

Source: New Rules of Sales Enablement

K.I.S.S.

8 minutes: the average ‘dead time’ before a meeting. •And it’s when a sales person preps for the meeting

8 minutes: the average ‘dead time’ before a meeting. •And it’s when a sales person preps for the meeting

What is it we actually sell?What is it we actually sell?

Who’s it for?Who’s it for?

What to askWhat to ask

Who to bring to the next meeting Who to bring to the next meeting

Problem 4

Try it, test it, learn which channels work for you...

“We don’t know what content

works?”

Source: Hubspot

Turn measurement into revenue

Problem 5

Get some!

Cost per outbound lead analysis – include the cost of sale

Basic funnel analysis – shows inbound (content) is essential due to finite outbound universe…

“I have no budget for content?”

Where to start?

5 steps to successful content marketing

Get close to your SMEs, they are your raw materialGet close to your SMEs, they are your raw material

Be useful. Know what your audience needs, and give it to themBe useful. Know what your audience needs, and give it to them

Cut the sales pitch. Good content does this for you. Cut the sales pitch. Good content does this for you.

Be bold. Be controversial. Be interesting. Be bold. Be controversial. Be interesting.

50% of your effort should be distribution, 50% creation50% of your effort should be distribution, 50% creation

And start with one of these…

StrategyStrategy Audit and planAudit and plan

Programme development ImplementImplement Measure &

iterateMeasure & iterate

Objective settingObjective setting

Proposal and c-level endorse

Proposal and c-level endorse

Brand + marketing alignment

Brand + marketing alignment

KPIsKPIs

Identify SMEs Identify SMEs

Existing content & channels

Existing content & channels

Systems & resourcesSystems & resources

Influencers + customer input

Influencers + customer input

Audience destinationsAudience destinations

Competitor activityCompetitor activity

Set up channelsSet up channels

Publishing processPublishing process

Content ‘tiers’ against funnel & buyer journey

Content ‘tiers’ against funnel & buyer journey

SME ‘rules’SME ‘rules’

Publishing calendarPublishing calendar

WritingWriting

DesigningDesigning

FilmingFilming

DashboardDashboard

RAG status on contentRAG status on content

Iteration Iteration

Reporting & rewardingReporting & rewarding

‘Socialing’‘Socialing’

Our very own content marketing experiment

Vital Statistics for B2B Marketing

It started with a blog post...

Vital Statistics for B2B Marketing

The video...

YouTube: “B2B vital statistics”

Spreading the word

YouTube branded channel Twitter Targeted approaches to key commentators and

influencers LinkedIn – embedding the video into our profiles Facebook PR – free online news wires Blog comments

Beyond all expectations...

Targets:

1,000 video views in 6 weeks 30% increase in Twitter

followers 20% increase in average site

visits 20% increase in inbound links 2 new business opportunities

Results (6 weeks later):

6,500 video views 42% increase in Twitter

followers 30% increase in average

site visits 87% increase in inbound

links 2 new business

opportunities

PlusOver 90 mentions on Twitter,

extensive media coverage and improvements in natural search

Earnest online

Web:www.earnest-agency.com

Twitter:www.twitter.com/earnestagency

YouTube:www.youtube.com/earnestagency

LinkedIn:www.linkedin.com/companies/earnest

Thank you