sirius decisions ebook
TRANSCRIPT
Content: The Key to Inbound Success Jay Gaines Ona Koehler Group Director, Demand Senior Benchmark Analyst
23 May 2012
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Executive Summary
• Key issues – Inbound marketing has become a required part of the overall b-to-b
mix – Inbound approaches have created new content requirements that
many organizations struggle to meet – A cohesive content strategy based on buyer intelligence is the
foundation for highly effective inbound strategies
• What you will walk away with – An understanding of how inbound is evolving content requirements – A definition of the elements of an effective inbound content strategy – Key approaches for using content strategy to drive inbound success
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The Critical Role of Inbound
It’s a buyer-driven world, and we’re all living in it
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Survey Results: Defining Inbound Marketing SiriusPerspective: Tactics extended to an unknown target audience that deliver value-added content and are consumed at an individual’s discretion.
4
61%
63%
67%
81%
84%
84%
0% 50% 100%
Content syndication
Online demos/trials
Display advertising
Keyword advertising
SEO
Social media
% of respondents
User-Driven
Demand Creation and Reputation
Technology
Value-Added Content
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57
61
76
83
- 50 100
Other
Score
Survey Results: Inbound Marketing Priorities SiriusPerspective: Attract, engage and qualify are the top three priorities for inbound marketers.
INBOUND MARKETING SPEND INBOUND MARKETING PRIORITIES
Improve quality of responses
Buyer’s information gathering
Attract buyers early
Current state 37%−50%
of DC
Inbound Outbound
Outlook 2015 50%−65%
of DC
Inbound Outbound
ATTRACT
ENGAGE
QUALIFY
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Content Strategy
Taking a systematic approach
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The Content Monster
Inbound and Content: Don’t Panic! SiriusPerspective: Content is the fuel that powers effective inbound marketing, but an ad hoc content approach simply won’t do.
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Brief, valuable, targeted, broadly appealing, unique, findable
Mwahahahaaaaaa!
Effective inbound strategies require content that is . . .
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The Content Strategy Requirement SiriusPerspective: A sound content strategy is the foundation for inbound demand creation performance optimization.
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The
Pill
ars
of C
onte
nt
Mar
ketin
g fo
r Inb
ound
Targeting
Offer
Placement
Buyer Persona
Alignment Improved targeting of key buyer roles using buyer intelligence
Buyer’s Journey
Alignment More compelling offers and offer sequences to drive qualifying behaviors
Campaign Alignment
Streamlined planning of integrated inbound and outbound components
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Polling Question
• Which of the following statements most closely describes the content strategy for your inbound marketing efforts? – Strategy? What strategy? – It is fragmented and inconsistent – It is consistent with outbound marketing strategy only – It is aligned to the buyer’s journey – It is consistent with overall marketing strategy
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Continuous Improvement
Objective Content Asset
Architecture
Content Execution Measurement
Inbound Content Strategy: A Five-Pronged Approach
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• Campaign framework
• Demand type • Buyer’s journey • Planning
• Define the audience
• Audit and map assets
• Content library
• Content mediums • Delivery
mechanisms • Dynamic content • Crowd-sourcing
• Engagement rate
• Conversion rates • SEO
performance
• Revisions • Content
rationalization • Buyer’s journey
SiriusPerspective: A sound content strategy for inbound requires a systematic, closed-loop approach to content management and execution.
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One: Objective SiriusPerspective: The majority of inbound strategies are not aligned with the buying cycle or are targeted exclusively to the earliest stage.
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DEMAND TYPE
New Concept New Paradigm Established Market
MA
RK
ET
PE
NE
TRAT
ION
Low
High
Market Crea)on Market Share Customer Acquisi)on
Market Leadership Wallet Share
A:ract Engage Qualify
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Two: Content Asset Architecture SiriusPerspective: The process of building a content asset architecture is the foundation of a strategic approach to content management.
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Assign ownership
Define audience segments
Identify information needs
Audit and map content
Fill content gaps
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Contributors Internal Analysts Partners
Prospects Clients
Competitors
Three: Content Execution SiriusPerspective: Inbound performance can be maximized through high relevancy, content curation and optimized content delivery mechanisms.
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Delivery SEO
Navigation Keyword
Call to action Syndication WCM/WCO
Mobile
Attract Engage Qualify
EDUCATION
SOLUTION
VENDOR SELECTION
Buyer’s Journey
WEBINARS CASE STUDIES
WHITE PAPERS PEER REFERRALS
Content Types
Personas
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Content Execution: An Example SiriusPerspective: Inbound performance can be maximized through high relevancy, content curation and optimized content delivery mechanisms.
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Delivery SEO
Navigation Keyword
Call to action Syndication WCM/WCO
Mobile
Attract
EDUCATION
SOLUTION
VENDOR SELECTION
Buyer’s Journey
WEBINARS CASE STUDIES
WHITE PAPERS PEER REFERRALS
Content Types
Personas
Engage Qualify
Contributors Internal Analysts Partners
Prospects Clients
Competitors
Content Strategy Deep Dive
It’s all about your ability to attract, then engage and qualify
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Polling Question
• How does your organization currently measure the impact of its inbound efforts? – We don’t measure it – Primarily activity metrics (e.g. views, clicks, Web site visits) – Activity metrics, plus conversion of unknown visitors to
known – Conversion of inbound sourced contacts to MQLs (sales-
ready leads) – Conversion of inbound sourced contacts to pipeline and/or
revenue
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Attract: Topic-Driven SEO Only SiriusPerspective: SEO in the absence of a content strategy tends to be unfocused, too broad, diluted and ineffective.
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Personas
Topics
Buying Cycles
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Attract: SEO and More SiriusPerspective: SEO in the absence of a content strategy tends to be unfocused, too broad, diluted and ineffective.
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Preferences
Topics
Personas
Your Content Strategy
Buying Cycle
Formats
Gating Rules
SEO/PPC
Focused and aligned with key personas
Social Media
Topic alignment, identification of social sites
Content Syndication
Key destinations, relevant topics, optimal formats
Influencer Marketing
Improved targeting, identification and engagement
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Engage: Dynamic Content SiriusPerspective: The information flow between buyer behavior and dynamic content allows marketers to identify the buyer genome.
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Visit source Content selection Repeat traffic Preference data
Multiple calls to action Refresh/update Customized content
Dynamic Content
Buyer Behavior
Buying Cycle Stage Persona Business
Need
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Engage: Before and After SiriusPerspective: Inbound has become the primary source of Web visits, but visitor engagement requires a content strategy.
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> 5% response rates
50%+ visitors go past POE
Minimal use of landing pages
Clean, rules-based home page
< 2% response rates
60%+ bounce rate
Dozens of landing pages
Extremely busy home page
No Content Strategy Content Strategy
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Qualify: Lead Enrichment SiriusPerspective: A cohesive content strategy combined with an integrated set of technologies enables deeper lead qualification.
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WCM and MAP
Rules Predefined topic categories Plain-English descriptors
Sales View SFA (Activity Details)
Topical interests
Product association
Urgency
Planning
Content attributes, weighting
Content strategy
Predefined behaviors
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Qualify: Progressive Profiling SiriusPerspective: Progressive profiling combines gathering explicit and implicit visitor data, which can’t be done without a content strategy.
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Fully Qualified Lead Explicit data + Activity meaning
Explicit Data Maximum 3-5 questions, map to lead
definition
Technology Infrastructure MAP, WCM, SFA
Content Mapping Buying cycle,
personas
Implicit Data Pre-defined activity, recency, frequency
Lead Definition Attributes, score
Rules Dynamic content
delivery
Planning and Integration
Ensuring that content gets its seat at the strategy table
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The Role of the Content Strategist SiriusPerspective: Developing a cohesive content strategy requires an accountable leader who will drive interlock across functions.
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Brand
Managers
Marcom
Managers
Field
Marketing
Product
Managers
Solution
Managers
Industry
Marketing Sales
Operations
Program Marketing
Content
Strategist
The Internal Content Community Content Strategist
Responsibilities - Content architecture - Development strategy - Training and measurement - Shared service management Strategy - Enable content developers in the
business to create assets that can be leveraged in a common framework
Content Framework - Structured forms of content - Technical architecture - Playbook on content development
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Content: The Core of Campaign Integration SiriusPerspective: A content strategy ensures that inbound efforts effectively align with and support campaign themes.
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Campaign One Campaign Two Campaign Three Campaign Four The overall “themes” on which programs are based
The red vertical bars signify inbound strategies linked to specific campaigns
The red horizontal arrow signifies generalized inbound strategies that benefit all campaigns
Inbound Marketing
Market Intelligence
Reputation
Demand Creation
Sales Enablement
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Action Items
• Marketing – Pilot a content strategy for a defined audience/offering pairing
in order to learn and prove the concept – Measure impact in defined categories, including attract,
engage, qualify and internal efficiency • Sales
– Work with marketing to define buyer’s journey, key personas and information needs
– Prepare to engage with knowledgeable inbound leads
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Recommended Research
• Inbound Marketing, the Sirius Way • Inbound Targeting: From Passive to Proactive • Integrating Inbound Marketing Into Campaign Planning • Optimizing B-to-B Web Site Conversion • Content and Web Site Conversion Optimization • Building a Content Strategy • Progressive Profiling: The Sirius View