Content Marketing,an overview

March 2013

Laura Porto Stockwell@lauraporto

Content that is developed or curated by a brand to provide added consumer value such as entertainment or education. It is designed to build brand consideration and affinity, not sell a product or service. It is not a paid ad, sponsorship, or product placement.

—Tracy Stokes, How To Build Your Brand With Branded Content, Forrester, March 21, 2013

What is Content Marketing?

Photo credit: George Mason University Libraries Special Collections and Archives

Jell-O knew it in 1904.

1999

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Finally, we understand the value of content.

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It’s not new, it just seems new, because we’ve been hesitant to mix editorial and marketing content, so we developed advertising content that was often disingenuous and tacky.

Yuck.

But it doesn’t have to be that way.

“Instead of pitching your products or services, you are delivering information that makes your buyer more intelligent.” - Marketer quoted in AdAge, March 2013

It’s a shift in mindset.

Exactly.

If you are a marketer, content is awesome.

Consumers are skeptical of advertising. Content marketing delivers meaningful messages.

Content strategy is essential for social strategy.

Content is a key part of an SEO strategy, making your digital presence findable.

Measurable content provides actionable insights.

Percent of marketers plan on increasing content marketing budgets in 2013. —AdAge

55%

Percent of marketers list content marketing as their top priority in 2013—nearly doubled from 2012. — eMarketer, March 2013 (CopyPress study cited)

35%

"The lines between products, services and marketing continue to blur. We will keep pushing ourselves to think in terms of content, not just campaigns."

—Jeff Jones, Target CMO

Common Challenges

Clients are not publishers

"We struggle with content creation and marketing, because people see this as something that they have to do over and above their current job responsibilities or KPIs," said another survey-taker. "It gets pushed to the side as people have to carve out time from their current work responsibilities. It's a problem with the perception of this concept." – Marketers polled by AdAge, February 2013

Percent of U.S. internet users who said encountering videos that appeared to be content but turned out to be sponsored ads either changed their opinion of the brand for the worse or at best had no effect.— eMarketer, Key Digital Trends for 2013, December 2013

85%

There’s a risk of doing it badly

Who’s doing it right?

So how do I get a content marketing strategy?

Editorialexpertise

Digital savvy

conten

t

marke

ting

strategy

!

What content does your audience want and need?

How often to update? What format is best for delivery? How will content be created? Is it compelling enough to be

shareable?

What topics, keywords and meta- data will make content findable?

What channels offer best opportunity for connection?

How does content align across channels?

How will content be measured?

Thanks!