turning stories into dollars: how to create a content marketing machine that works

TURNING STORIES INTO DOLLARS: HOW TO CREATE A CONTENT MARKETING MACHINE THAT WORKS

Director of Content & Social Media

Influence & Co.

Tweet: @MayaSLuke

#ContentMachine

Field Marketing Specialist

Taboola

Tweet: @LSacco519

Josh Johnson is the vice president of Influence & Co., a company that specializes in expertise extraction and knowledge management that is used to fuel marketing efforts.

Ran Gishri is the vice president of audience development at Taboola, the largest discovery platform, serving 600B content recommendations to 550M uniques every month.

An Ever-Changing Industry

Why Content?Buyers want to feel connected to a brand before and beyond purchase.

CHALLENGE FOR MARKETERS#1

“CREATING ENGAGING CONTENT”

KEY COMPONENTS OF A SALE

HELP

TRUST AND RESPECT

STAYING TOP-OF-MIND

INTERNAL TIMING &

RESOURCES

HOW CAN YOUR EXPERT CONTENT HELP ACCOMPLISH ALL OF THIS AND MORE?

KEY COMPONENTS OF A SALE

HELP

DEMONSTRATE EXPERTISE AND

LEADERSHIP

CREATE CONSISTENT

POSITIVE TOUCHPOINTS

EDUCATE ON IMPORTANCE

IT STARTS WITH YOU: SHARE YOUR KNOWLEDGE

Steps for Creating an ROI Driven Content Strategy

WHAT YOUR CONTENT STRATEGY NEEDS

ESTABLISHED GOALS

A TARGET AUDIENCE

KEY METRICS TO MEASURE

Top of the FunnelAwareness

Content Marketing Funnel

Content here should largely be educational and help the individuals connect the dots

from the problem to how they may be able to solve it.

Example: An educational e-book explaining more about your industry.

Middle of the FunnelConsideration

Our goal is to present them with the solution and show them the

complexities and expertise involved in doing it well, which will overwhelm

them and convince them that they want help implementing the solution.

Example: Guides, and best practices

Content focused on truly identifying your company as the

best solution is ideal here.

Example: Case studies, comparison documents, and trial

offers focused on why your company is an ideal solution to

the problem

Bottom of the FunnelDecision

Track key metrics• Site visits

• Page views

• Reading time

• Leads

• Sales

How to Create Amazing Content

Create mini campaigns

The Big Picture

One of the most attractive things about content is it’s opportunity to drive qualified leads through a funnel.

CONTENT FUNNEL

Harness your company’s expertise

A WELL-ROUNDED CONTENT TEAM

CONTENT STRATEGIST

SUBJECT MATTER EXPERTS

CONSUMABLE EDITOR

DISTRIBUTION SPECIALIST

What editors of the top publications had to say

Quote from Our Editor Survey

“It’s imperative to get direct content and insights from key players in the industry, whether they are peers of our readers or general colleagues.”

— Editor surveyed in the State of Contributed Content Report

Our Q1 NumbersQ4 2014

Q1 2015

The practice of sharing opinions, perspectives, and experiences around a specific expertise with the goal of educating, inspiring, and driving innovation within one’s industry.

thought lead er ship• •nounCASE STUDY

Yuriy BokivCEO

Gravity Media

Luba TolkachyovCo-Founder, New Media Development

Gravity Media

Goals

• Position Gravity as a leader in multicultural marketing.

• Publish consistent content to individually position Yuriy and Luba as thought leaders

• Drive additional exposure to Gravity

• Create sales opportunities.

Key ROI Points• Early invite-only contributors to LinkedIn

• Inc. weekly columnist

• Numerous Agency Awards (Ad Age, Agency 100)

• Speaking opportunities and further press coverage

• Credited content as key sources to 2 major accounts in 201

I’M HERE TO HELPTo download the resources I mentioned, visit www.influenceandco.com/resource-library.

Tweet your questions to me: @JoshuaJohnsonT.

Connect with me on LinkedIn.

Email me at josh@InfluenceandCo.com.

#LikeableICO @tweetJohnHall @DaveKerpen

Is content still king if nobody sees it?

CONTENTDISTRIBUTION

DETERMINE YOUR DISTRIBUTION MIX

Free Paid

Scale & Predictability

Your websiteEmail to house listSocial networks

Content websitesTraditional mediaGuest blog post

Email to 3rd-party listsSponsored social updates

Social media adsPaid search Display ads

Content Recommendations

Typically Low Typically High

#LikeableICO @tweetJohnHall @DaveKerpen

CONTENT RECOMMENDATIONS

Example: generate X new qualified leads through ebook downloads – keep CPL below $Y

DEFINE YOUR GOALS AND KPI’S

DEFINE YOUR GOALS AND KPI’S

Example: drive X new visitors that will visit more than Y pages per session

MAKE SURE YOU CAN TRACK PERFORMANCE

UNDERSTAND READER STATE OF MIND

“I want to engage with my social

network”

“I want to explore – read content”

“I want to find information about a

specific topic”

Search Discovery Social

CHOOSE CONTENT ITEMS

Videos Pictures/ Slideshows

Articles/Blogs

How-to…

Behind-the-scenes

Exclusive

interviews

Authentic, funny

Tips & tricks

Ordered lists

Industry secrets

Earned media

Positive reviews

Before & after

Celebrity

Food recipes

Fashion & style ideas

Funny/unbelievable

o Creative Elementso Geographic Locationo Demographics – B2C/B2Bo Platform – Desktop/Tablet/Phoneo 1st and 3rd Party Datao Retargeting

TARGET RELEVANT AUDIENCES

TEST EVERYTHING!

TEST EVERYTHING!

75% Reduction in CPA

TEST EVERYTHING!

57% Increase in Conversion

MEASURE OPTIMIZE REPEAT

Approach Content Marketing as a journey rather than a one-off campaign

#LikeableICO @tweetJohnHall @DaveKerpen

THANK YOU!

@rgishri