Content Marketing: Strategy & Creation

…or… “Why I Get Paid to Daydream

and Tell Stories.”

who am i? glad you asked.

have many interests; never stop learning.

So, what is content?

Content is …

the information people need, the stories they desire,

and the mindless distractions they can’t resist.

What isn’t content?

This isn’t content. It’s an ad.

1. Is it information I need? Nope.

2. Is it a story I desire? Nope.

3. Is it an irresistible distraction? If Twitter or Blue Nile think I’m easily distracted by

“shiny,” then (A) they’re wrong, and (B) I’m offended.

But how about this one?

1. Is it information I need? The first part, maybe … but the rest?

2. Is it a story I desire? Facebook seems to think so.

3. Is it an irresistible distraction? No kittens? No babies? No gorgeous photo of an

exotic destination? No distraction.

Is it or isn’t it?

is it or isn’t it? sponsored content & native advertising.

http://www.buzzfeed.com/geico/animal-vines-that-will-make-you-laugh-every-tim#.rl8QjbNVo6

is it or isn’t it? sponsored content & native advertising.

http://www.buzzfeed.com/geico/animal-vines-that-will-make-you-laugh-every-tim#.rl8QjbNVo6

is it or isn’t it? sponsored content & native advertising.

http://learn.walmart.com/Beauty/Articles/Take_command_of_your_color/11579/

is it or isn’t it? sponsored content & native advertising.

is it or isn’t it? sponsored content & native advertising.

https://www.upworthy.com/prepare-to-laugh-protein-shakes-arent-as-harmless-as-you-might-think-take-a-look-at-these-men?c=tpstream

is it or isn’t it? sponsored content & native advertising.

https://www.upworthy.com/prepare-to-laugh-protein-shakes-arent-as-harmless-as-you-might-think-take-a-look-at-these-men?c=tpstream

is it or isn’t it? sponsored content & native advertising.

is it or isn’t it? sponsored content & native advertising.

Tips On: Strategy

All you have to do is ..

Give them something they will really cherish, something they’ll genuinely

want to talk about for weeks. Something they’ll share and something that is awesome.

@EricaCampbell, Homes.com

to build a solution, you must first know the problem.

Internal or external, before you build a content strategy you must first listen to

your stakeholders.

content strategy step-by-step.

1. Listen. Clients first say what they want. Keep asking questions. Be an active listener. They will tell you what they need.

2. Read and research. Content audit; competitive analysis; audience personas; insights

3. Plan with purpose. Need of audience; goal of content

4. Schedule and assign. Content platforms; types; sources; calendar

5. Determine the true meaning of success. KPIs; benchmarks

to build a solution, you must first know the problem.

• Why do we need content?• Ask your stakeholders “Why” questions. Follow-up with more.

• What do we want content to do for us?• Sell product isn’t an answer. Ask “Why content?” to this.

• Who is the target audience of our content?• Who influences your customers. That’s your audience.

• What does our audience need from us?• Check out your customer reviews, complaints, and buzz from social.

• What stories do we want to tell?• You & your audience are on a first date. What are you talking about?

• What stories do we want our audience to tell?• Enough about you. What are THEY talking about?

• Where is our audience?• Where do they go for content?

• How will we define successful content marketing?• Define your KPIs, please please please think beyond the ROI.

the audit & the analysis: use what you have & they don’t.

• Create an Inventory of Everything.• Commercials, logos, product info … these are not content.

• But they could be! See the potential of assets repurposed. • Include user-generated commentary and social content.• Performance metrics are a must, but they’re not the only.• Now do it all over again for your competitors.

Audit:

• Format of content

• Location of content

• Focus of content

• Audience

• Metrics

• Recommendation

Analysis:

• Company name

• Format of content

• Location of content

• Focus of content

• Overview

audit & analysis: the building blocks

• Understand the context. • Your goals; audience needs.

• Evaluate the landscape.• Comparative & competitive.

• Check your current vocabulary.• What does it say about your brand?

• Match content to an audience and a moment in their journey. • Customer journey maps are essential.

• Assess the situation. • Where is the opportunity your competition doesn’t see?

• Perform an audit & analysis. Deliver a strategy. • Audit & analysis are research. Strategy is built from the insights you gather after.

the difference between an audit and a strategy

=

=

persona’s aren’t people, they’re patterns.

Behavior Persona

• Demographic

• Hispanic

• United States

• Some college

• Behavior

• Groceries include baby food, frozen meals, alcohol

• Heavy coupon user; loyal to certain baby brands

• Media

• Cable; watches sports regularly

• Uses mobile device in store

• Social platform: Facebook

Character Persona Pam is 37 years old. She has been at her place of employment for over 10 years, and is now head of HR. She is married and has a 6-year-old daughter and a new baby. Her family enjoys soccer; her daughter plays in a local league. Pam tries to save money where she can so she can spend more money on family vacations and save for retirement. The household income is about $100,000.

persona’s aren’t people, they’re patterns.

Surprise! It’s the same person. But which example gave you insights you could really use?

what happens when you market to a persona…

customer journey: it’s not what you think.

Not this. More like this.

style guide: sound like no one but yourself.

• Create, or uncover, your brand’s personality. • What does your brand stand for? Believe in?• If your brand were a person, what would he

or she sound like? • Pick three tone of voice base notes.

• “Human” isn’t a base note. It’s a given. • Here’s mine: Friendly, optimistic, irreverent.

• Create the tone of voice guide. • Write the guide in voice.

• Include good & bad examples. • Voice never changes. Tone does. • Embrace the jargon of your people.

content plan: i love it when a plan comes together.

• Determine content ratio.• Original, Curated, User-Generated

• How often will you refresh content? • Does your content have seasonal relevance?

• Does your audience have seasonal interests? • A calendar is a schedule.

• A content plan is assignments, sources, distribution channels, etc. • Include the “Why” for better internal alignment. • Be VERY nimble to change.

• Leave room for spontaneous content.

ROI is NBD. Here’s why.

Numbers can be misleading.

Impressions are fairy tales.

nooooooooooooooo.com 1 page website; 1.3 page views

*H/T @unmarketing

Blocks all ads, tracking, malware domains, even on Facebook and

YouTube.

Tips on: Creation

Why do copywriters get stuck under “Content” & designers get to be

“Creative?” Content IS Creative.

@theautumnstar

brainstorming: you’re doing it wrong*.

*H/T @jasonkeath, Social Fresh

• Creativity is work. • Never stop thinking, learning, active

daydreaming.• Brainstorming isn’t a bullet on a meeting

agenda. It IS the meeting. • Ideas require time, freedom and work.

• Gather clouds before the storm. • Come in with ideas. Refine them in the

storm. • Gather lots of clouds.

• Get the bad ideas out early. • For every 10 ideas; 1 is a keeper.

• Teams affect change more than individuals. • Find power players, influencers, big idea

people. Bring them to the table. • Surrender your right to be right.

• Stop walking in with THE solution.• Creativity isn’t taught.

• But effective collaboration can be. • And these skills combined make you a very

desirable recruit for companies.

collaboration: play on the same side of the court.

• This is not a one-man (or one-woman show). • It is better to create something amazing

together, than something mediocre alone. • Build a Bryan Brothers team.

• Find your greatest minds. Collaborate as often as possible.

• Define the strengths. Play to them. • Story/ideas• Strategy/management • Technology• Innovation

collaboration: Account Managers, Designers and other aliens

• Create your Justice League.• Build a team of the best from every

department. • You are Superman.

• A leader owns every project, but doesn’t do it alone.

• Communicate to collaborate. • 15-minute meetings and CC emails

• Speak alien languages. • Know their words to communicate better.

• Remember … they’re only human. • Empathize. Be the leader who listens,

become the leader who is listened to.

content writing: don’t be a good writer, be a great one.

• Write with an unforgettable voice.• The unforgettable voice of your brand.

• “Best words, best order.” • Intentional word choice. Word banks. Good

jargon. • Speak from the deeper story.

• Calling branded content “story” doesn’t make it a tale worth telling. Craft does that.

• Craft micro-copy. • Transaction and bounce-back messaging can

still be fun. • Become a story connoisseur.

• Read more. Write more.

content writing: spiders, robots and hummingbirds can’t read.

• Robot spiders search; people read.• Yes, SEO still matters.

• But in content, it’s about keyword association, not keyword stuffing.

• Write for people. • Optimize for the robots.

• What others say about you is actually more important than what you say about yourself. • Link anchor text & social shares matter.

visuals: designers are your new best friends.

• Images attract; stories captivate. • Average human attention span? 8 seconds.

1 second less than a goldfish. • Sometimes the image IS the story.

• Go beyond stock photography for the image that says it all.

• Your fans are your photographers. • Build deep loyalty with UGC imagery.

• An image is worth 81 words, not 1,000. • That’s science.

social: it’s about conversation.

• Social content builds community. • But only if you’re creating & commenting.

• Content has nine lives. • One piece of content can have many iterations.

• One theme to rule them all. • Themes create cohesive storytelling across

platforms. • Best in class: Dunkin Donuts

• Dunkin Donuts wins with social by giving the keys to its customers and creates true engagement with reply content.

https://vine.co/v/hQgnKlqEpdV

social: a two-way street, or a double-edged sword.

social: a two-way street, or a double-edged sword.

social: a two-way street, or a double-edged sword.

Extra Credit: Inspiration

Econsultancy’s Marketing Manifesto.

• Strategy: Marketers should sit at the board room table and help set strategy. • Brand: The Internet has forced transparency upon brands and businesses. • Experience: Improving the customer experience must be the relentless focus of modern marketing. • Data: Data must be turned into insight and action. • Digital: Digital should be embedded in marketing strategies as a matter of course. • Personalization: Offer the greatest opportunity to transform what customers currently get. • Technology: Modern marketers must be comfortable and adept at procuring and using technology. • Creative: We need creativity just as much as we need technology. • Content: Content reinforces a brand’s credibility and authenticity in what it stands for, believes in

and cares about. • Multi-screen: See beyond “mobile.” TVs, books, in-store kiosks, billboards, etc. • Social: Recognize that everything we do happens in an environment where customers can, and will,

talk about it and share it with the world. • Commercial: Sales and marketing must be more closely aligned and have common points of

accountability.

Reading & listening list.

• Books on writing • Best American Writing• Best Words, Best Order. Stephen Dobyns. • Elements of Style. Strunk & White. • On Writing. Stephen King• On Writing. William Zissner

• Books on marketing• Content Rules. Anna Handley• Unmarketing. Scott Stratten• Youtility. Jay Baer

• Websites to visit• Content Marketing Institute• Convince & Convert• Copyblogger

• Podcasts to listen to• Marketplace, American Public Media• This Old Marketing Podcast, CMI • Unpodcast, Scott Stratten

In Conclusion: Don’t stop asking, “Why?”

Don’t stop testing the boundaries. Don’t stop daydreaming.

Don’t stop believing!

Thank you!

ak@largeinc.com @theautumnstar