@49digital

Kickstart Your Content Marketing Strategy in

Five Easy Steps!

Hi, I’m Helena Hill

Welcome to this free course on how to kickstart your content

marketing strategy! After you’ve finished the slides you

will find a short workbook where you can put some of the

things we’ve covered into action and start converting more visitors into paying

customers!

AGENDA

Intro: Finding time for Content Marketing

1. So you think you know your customers? 2. What makes your business different? 3. Do you really know your customers’ pains? 4. What content is not 5. Don’t press ‘Publish’ yet! 6. Bonus Workbook

FINDING TIME FOR CONTENT

MARKETING

These days we’re all hearing the term ‘Content Marketing‘ almost as often as

other digital marketing terms such as SEO, social media , inbound etc…

In fact, the difference between each of these areas of marketing is diminishing as the digital era firmly establishes itself as the primary marketing channel for most

businesses worldwide.

So, if you’ve heard of Content Marketing you probably know that you should be doing it. However, as a busy business owner or marketing professional, other demands on our time rarely allow for hours (if not days!) researching what our audience wants, producing relevant, quality content and developing strategy to get it out there.

In this free course we’ll explore how to kickstart your Content Marketing strategy without having to spend much time doing it! In fact, you should be able to do most of this work in 60 minutes!

LET’S GET STARTED!

Who Are Your Competitors Anyway?

1

If you know your industry/business area well then this really should only take a few minutes. For example, if

you run a Real Estate business, it’s more than likely that there are other Realtors/Agents serving the same

geographical area.

Getting a good idea of who they are and what they’re up to online is super easy – just pop a search term in to Google! For example, a term such as ‘Realtors in Long

Beach WA’ brings up everything from websites to Facebook pages, Twitter feeds, Google+ and Pinterest

pages!

Google search term

Social media results

Organic results

Taking a little time to visit some of these pages will be time VERY well spent. You will find that there are some

businesses who have a website as well as a

Facebook page, some that don’t have either (oh yes, it’s

true!) and others that are very active on several social

media channels.

Use what you find here to determine which social media channels are suitable for your business.

Visit competitor Facebook pages and Twitter accounts and take a look at how often they post and, most importantly, which types of post attract the most engagement with their ‘likers’ and followers.

Memes?

Video?

Questionnaires?

Photos? Tips?

How to…?

Testimonials?

What Makes You Different? 2

Taking some time to find out what the competition is up to may have been rather

enlightening!

Not only have you found out what (if anything) your competition is up to online, you might well have discovered that your business offers products or services that they’re not or that you can do better.

Here’s your opportunity to create some great

content.

www.49digital.usefedora.com

If you struggle with content creation here’s how to get started!

Now, we’re not saying that you should name and shame your competitors for not offering something; more that you should be

sharing what you offer to your customers!

So, what might these differences be?

Ask yourself, what makes my business unique?

• free delivery?

• exceptional service?

• expertise in your niche?

• an unrivalled customer experience?

• a free trial?

• a product or service your competitors don’t offer?

• a superior product or service?

• something else?!

Is it…

3

Getting to Know Your Customers (and their pains!)

Unless you regularly offer your audience interesting, valuable, educational and

relevant content, the likelihood of repeat custom is

substantially reduced.

Run the same search that you used for competitor research. Take another look at blog comments, social media posts, replies and engagement. What do their customers like or dislike about your competitors’ services or products. What could they do better? What are they doing well? Can you solve a particular problem or provide something that is hard to find?

How do we keep them coming back?

What Real People Really Want to Know!

• Common Challenges (when selling a house)• Tips (on how to get my house ready to sell)• How to (choose a Realtor)• Cost of (selling my home)• List of (who to contact when I move)• Why? (should I use a Realtor when selling my home)• Guide to (buying my first home)• Common concerns about (moving to an older house)• Where to get help with (mortgages)

The sooner you discover what your customers actually want and expect the better placed you will be to create

amazing content that is educational, informative and helpful!

Content Means Writing Doesn’t It?

4

Go back to it again! Let’s take a Facebook page. A good Facebook page should be made up of a variety of different types of posts. What do I mean by that?

Traditionally, content has been mainly text but with the rise of content marketing this has changed considerably. For example, a business can post pictures, polls and even video on their page. They can ask questions, share a white paper, recipe or

tell their customers about their latest blog.

Remember that research I asked you to do on your competitors?

https://www.facebook.com/chilternsestateagents?fref=ts

Content Types

WebinarsImages

White papers

VideoInfographicsBlogs

Forums

Newsletters

Comments

Podcasts

BUT…

For example, if you’re a natural writer but not so confident on camera then YouTube might not be for you! If you’re an artist then using social platforms

such as Pinterest or Instagram might be more your thing. If you’re a chef then share recipes with your customers to try at home over Facebook, blog posts or

twitter.

Only use content and content marketing channels that you feel comfortable with.

Be creative!

Stop!!!

5

Never publish content without first asking yourself…

• Is my content valuable to my customers? • Will my customers learn something from my content? • Is my content relevant to my industry and my customers’ needs?

• Does my content solve a problem or answer a question?

• Would I buy from me after reading/watching/listening to my content?

If you’ve researched your competitors, decided how you are (or are going to be!) different and identified

areas of your industry where you can offer something relevant, educational and valuable you’re well on your way to being a savvy content marketer!

GO FOR IT!

Thank You!

@49digitalwww.49digital.usefedora.com

facebook.com/49digital

YOUR CONTENT MARKETING STRATEGY WORKBOOK

Use the following activities to kickstart your awesome content marketing strategy!

WS 1: Your competitors: Check the relevant boxes as you research what your competitors are up to online.

WS 2: How are you different? Note down five ways in which your business is unique.

WS 3: What your customer wants: From your customer research write down five to ten ‘needs’ and ‘wants’.

WS 4: Types of content: What types of content would be best suited to solving these ‘needs’ and ‘wants’?

WS 5: Quality Control: Check each box each time you publish content on your website or social media.

WS 1: Your Competitors

Competitor 1 2 3 Me BusinessWebsite

Facebook PageGoogle+

TwitterPinterestInstagram

tumblr.LinkedIn

WS 2: What makes your business unique?

1. 2. 3. 4. 5.

WS 3: My Ideal Customer Wants To Know… 1. The pros and cons of a product or service 2. A ‘How to’ guide 3. Where they can buy… 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10.

WS 4: Content Type

Competitor 1 2 3 Me BusinessBlog

PodcastsWebinarsMemes

NewsletterWhite papers

ForumsOther

WS 5: Quality Control - Is My Content…

1. Relevant? 2. Interesting? 3. Useful? 4. Valuable? 5. Sharable? 6. Engaging? 7. Passionate? 8. Educational?