VERTICAL MEASURES | 2019

If we had to pick one key theme that has emerged from this yearrsquos B2B research it would be this If you want to be more effective at content marketing document your strategy

- Joe Pulizzi and Ann Handley Content Marketing Institute 2015 Benchmarks Budgets and Trends Report

is a central focus for both B2C and B2B inbound marketers This type of content is aimed at providing valuable useful information to potential and current customers in order to drive qualified leads build brand authority and trust and solidify customer loyalty

Audience-driven content

Forrester reports that potential buyers are now 70 to 90 of the way through the sales process when they finally connect to a salesperson Whatrsquos more potential customers reward businesses who provide them with honest and helpful content

Prospects are more informedbefore the point of purchase than in any other point in history

So thatrsquos great we know businesses need to publish quality content But how do we actually go about creating effective content that resonates with potential customers and turns curious site visitors into leads and ultimately into customers

The buyer is

of the way through the sales process before ever

connecting with a salesperson

TO

The answer it all starts with a documented content strategy

2 Vertical Measures

What iscontent marketing strategy

Informed

Realistic

A documented content strategy doesnrsquot have to be a 50-page document or a 75-slide PowerPoint presentation You can make your content strategy as robust or simple as your time and budget allows All you need to create is an informed realistic and actionable plan that outlines how content will help you achieve your larger business goals This document will help align your people processes and priorities around common goals and accelerate any efforts you make

Well-researched educated on industry audience competitors and business challengesopportunities

Practical content recommendations and insights are relative to your business

ActionableStep-by-step plan that can easily roll into execution and be scaled updown by budget

Data-drivenYour content plan is centered on evidence and is measurable

Your content strategy should be

An effective content strategy gives you a dedicated action plan with a prioritized roadmap to help you maximize the return on your content investment A 2015 study by the Content Marketing Institute found that successful inbound marketers shared a common practice 52 of those surveyed whose content was (self-reported) most effective said they had a documented content strategy and they followed it

Why create a content strategy

Content strategies do not have to be made from scratch For most businesses if you can answer these questions for the following 8 checkpoints in at least one full sentence then congratulations you will have documented your first content strategy

content strategy template

Business Goals Why are you creating content

Getting started - do it with a

Content Goals What do you want the content to do

Audience Who will your content speak to

Competitor Research What are your competitors doing online and where can you find a competitive advantage

Format What are the content formats you can realistically create

Distribution Where will the content live and how will it be shared How often will you publish contentImplementation What is your budget for content Who will produce publish and promote your content

Measurement How will you measure success Set 1 realistic milestone for your content for the first 90 days Repeat after each defined measurement cycle

Letrsquos go over these 8 core checkpoints in greater detail At the end of this template you will be able to draft your own content strategy and move on to producing great content

Yes but it isnrsquotdocumented

Percentage of B2B Marketers Who Have a

Content Marketing Strategy

Yes and it is documented

Unsure

No

Source Content Marketing Institute

How Much Should We Spend on Marketing

Source The CMO Survey and Deloitte Digital

Consumer Packaged Goods

Consumer Services

Tech SoftwareBiotech

CommunicationsMedia

Service Consulting

Education

HealthcarePharmaceuticals

Retail Wholesale

BankingFinanceInsurance

Transportation

Manufacturing

Engery

MiningConstruction

24

1515

1313

12

111010

88

8

4

Industry Revenue allocated for Marketing

Annual Revenue

Marketing Budget

of Revenue

Higher

How do you compare within your business category

Lower

Same

YOUR CURRENTALLOCATION

4 Vertical Measures

Your business goals drive your overall content strategy All content should directly support or complement your larger business goals Most companies create content to drive additional leads to increase revenue

Why are you creating contentBusiness Goals

Checkpoint 1Your business goals drive your overall

content strategy All content should directly support or complement your larger business goals

Why are you creating content

Start writing

Why are you doing content marketing

Example Increase qualified lead generation become a thought leader expand to new markets or audiences

Other common goals include establishing a business as a thought leader or primary authoritative voice within an industry or expanding your brand to reach to a new market or audience Always make sure you have a clear business purpose for why you are specifically using content in your marketing efforts

5

What are your goals for your content

Content Goals

Checkpoint 2

Start writing

What do you want the content to do

Content goals take your business goals and narrow them down into the specific context of what the content needs to do in order for you to achieve your business goals If your goal is to become an authoritative thought leader your content typically needs to be comprehensive insightful and educational (Specific formats like how to decide between blog articles or white papers are discussed later in the strategy process) In this checkpoint you want to focus on defining the elements each piece of content should contain to effectively support your business needs

If time and budget are on your side you can take this checkpoint one step further by identifying concise and specific strategic initiatives that outline how you are going to achieve your content goals

Strategy Initiatives(eg Create a Resource Center)

Content Goals (eg Educate Engage)

Business Goals(eg Drive Leads)

Examples Educate readers create a community dialogue or showcase brand values and expertise

6

What do you want your content to do

Start writing

Who is the intended audience of your contentAudience Goals

Checkpoint 3

Who will your content speak to

The most successful content marketing campaigns align production and distribution to the needs goals and concerns of a specific audience

Creating content for a generic audience is a no-win situation

bull Your target audiencersquos general demographics age gender and digital comfort level

bull The problem your audience is trying to solvebull Your audiencersquos expectations from your industry

product or servicebull Your audiencersquos primary hesitation to convertWho will your content speak to

Yoursquoll invest valuable resources to produce content that attempts to speak to everyone and usually ends up bland with your readers hitting the snooze button

Instead always speak directly to your core target market Developing buyer personas can be a comprehensive process but for now wersquoll simplify your persona profile to include only the basic information yoursquoll need to get going with content production

Example Company ABC is a plastic surgery practice Their target audience is between 30 and 50 years old is very comfortable with the internet and technology wants to find the right medical practitioner for an elective procedure needs empathetic customer service and is concerned about results pain and cost

7

Start writing

What is the current state of your contentContent Goals

Checkpoint 4

What content do we currently have

Where are the gaps and current opportunities with your content

We use a number of tools to perform content audits One of the most useful tools is Screaming Frog Download the software and you can crawl your site The tool produces a report that shows all your URLs Titles Meta Descriptions H1 tags and more

This will allow you to review your content to find gaps where you havenrsquot created content in a particular stage of your customer journey You can find old outdated content that needs to be updated or deleted and you can also find content based around topics or themes that can be combined together to make long form content

CURRENT GOAL

Example In your audit you may find a number of articles that focus on the same topic Can you collapse all of them into one awesome article that will have more authority with the search engines

8

Start writing

How are your competitors using content to achieve their goals

Checkpoint 5

What are your competitors doing online and where can you find an advantage

What are your competitors doing online and where can you find an advantage

Competitor Research

Here yoursquoll want to identify how your competitors use content to achieve similar goals even if they are aspirational A review of the sites and content offers can help you determine where you fit within the industry Take note of how crowded the space is (for content) and how far behind or ahead you are mdash this can help you allocate additional budget if you discover yoursquore significantly behind your competition Also take note of any formats that seem to stand out such as video free guides or custom visuals and how your competitors distribute their content

ldquo3-4x a weekThe number of times my top competitors currently produce authoritative articles on their blog

Example My top competitors currently produce authoritative articles on their blog 3-4x a week Video tutorials are popular among readers earning several thousand views but lack a written transcript and relevant calls-to-action

9

Start writing

What types of content can you realistically createCheckpoint 6

What are the content formats you can actually create

What are the content formats you are able to produce

Format

Example With my budget and in-house resources I can create 10 blog articles a month allowing me to post twice per week to my blog

This checkpoint is critical because it directly informs implementation You want to make sure you can actually create content with your available resources and do so on a consistent basis Video content can be highly engaging but is often expensive and time-intensive to create Infographics typically require several hours of design time and need additional promotional spend

Prioritize quality and frequency mdash even if that means creating fantastic web copy and blog articles mdash over aspirational formats until you have a solid library of content in place Once you have a good content foundation feel free to explore more creative and unique content types

10

Start writing

Where will your content live and how will you share itCheckpoint 7

Where will the content life and how will it be share

Where will you publish promote and distribute your content

Distribution

Example Free guides will live under our Resources section on our website we will promote our blog and free guides through LinkedIn and Facebook and we will write a monthly column for Huffington Post Small Business Voices

For most businesses this checkpoint is straightforward the company website and social media channels are the standard promotion platforms However feel free to add in other channels like email marketing blog syndication or external publishers relevant to your industry

Also donrsquot forget about distribution Whereas promotion is about driving your audience to your content the goal of distribution is to drive your content to your audience Your content can live off your site on distribution channels like YouTube Pinterest or Tumblr

The important thing about promotion and distribution is to go where your audience is and where you can realistically achieve traction This ends up being a combination of your available time budget and current level of credibility

11

Start writing

Who will produce and publish your contentCheckpoint 8

Who will produce publish and promote your content

What is your budget for content Who will produce and publish and promote your content

Implementation

Example We will hire an editorial manager who will be responsible for hiring 2 freelancer writers familiar with our industry managing employeesrsquo written contributions and publishing content to our site following a set schedule

Find out how much quality content you can produce within your budget and have at least one person in your company dedicated to content marketing success Depending on your resources this person may be responsible for overseeing your editorial efforts mdash like finding and managing freelance writers mdash or even writing the content in-house

Both options are fine but decide who is ultimately responsible for sourcing and publishing your content to ensure you stay on schedule and on strategy If you have the budget consider working with a reputable content marketing agency or consultant to amplify and streamline your efforts

What is your budget for content

12

Start writing

Who will be accountableCheckpoint 9

Who will have accountability to your content

Governance

Example You may have two separate departments within your organization that need to approve content compliance and marketing Make sure they know what you expect from them once they receive an article Set deadlines and establish processes that expedite approvals

Donrsquot let your content marketing get bogged down with unclear accountability Someone has to approve the strategy the content the channels and how all your content will be deployed Donrsquot let your content sit in someonersquos inbox for weeks Set expectations deadlines and determine who has the final say on publishing content

We use the RACI matrix to help us understand who needs to sign off on content For some of our clients itrsquos only one person For other entire departments are impacted The key is to identify who and set expectations

ResponsibleWho iswill be doing this taskWho is assigned to work on this task

ApproverWhorsquos head will roll if this going wrongWho has authority to make decisions

ConsultedAnyone who can tell me more about this taskAny stakeholders already identified

InformedAnyone whose work depends on this taskWho has to be kept updated about the progress

13

The Customer Journey

Your customers follow predictable patterns in the buying process As a best practice you should have their stages mapped out from the earliest point of your relationship where theyrsquove never heard of you all the way through where they decide to purchase from you Each piece of content you publish might reach your prospects in a different stage of the customer journey and each piece should help your customers advance to the next step (or even skip a step) as they move closer to a purchase decision

These customer journey process examples are generic Take the time to evaluate your customerrsquos buying process to make sure you understand all the steps Remember each piece of content should focus on a stage of the customer journey and should meet their focused interest to move them further through the journey Are you creating content that is useful helpful and moves the prospect to the next stage of your customer journey

PRO TIP

Growth

Customer

Engagement

Influencer

LEARN MORE WITH OUR RESOURCES

How Much Should You Budget For Digital Marketing This Year

Editorial Content Calendar Template Digital Marketing Calculator

Mapping out your Customerrsquos Journey

14 Vertical Measures

What does your journey look likeMapping Your Customer Journey

1

2

3

4

5

6

YOUR JOURNEY STAGES

In order to align your content with the customer journey you must first know the touch points that lead a prospect to a transaction The customer journey is the complete sum of interactions a customer goes through with your brand

Knowing your unique customer journey allows you to create content for every stage of the journey assuring your prospect wonrsquot fall out of your journey into a competitors Document your journey as it leads a prospect to becoming a customer A documented journey is an essential part of your digital marketing strategy

15 Vertical Measures

The Customer Journey

bull Build awareness around products or servicesbull Use top-of-funnel content to attract new visitorsbull Provide info on what audiences are actively searching forbull Use paid for greater reach and awareness

Awareness StageGrow your audience by sparking interest around your products and services

Contentrsquos Role

bull 0 if you are not engaging in that tactic

bull 1-2 if you are just beginning

bull 3-4 if you are using this tactic with unclear results

bull 5 if your company is successfully using this tactic

Rank your Organization

Content Ideation

Content Creation

Persona Development

Traditional Advertising

Programmatic Advertising

Organic Social

Paid Social

Influencer Marketing

Analytics MeasurementEnter your total

Total Your Score

16 Vertical Measures

The Customer Journey

bull Answer common questions from your audiencebull Solve the audiencersquos problemsbull Emphasize key benefits of your product or servicesbull Compare other products or services

Consideration StageNow that the prospect has found your website you want them to engage with your content ultimately filling out a form or contacting you directly

Contentrsquos Role

bull 0 if you are not engaging in that tactic

bull 1-2 if you are just beginning

bull 3-4 if you are using this tactic with unclear results

bull 5 if your company is successfully using this tactic

Rank your Organization

Content Ideation

Content Creation

Persona Development

Paid Retargeting

User Experience

Organic Social

Paid Social

Influencer Marketing

Analytics Measurement

CRO

Search Optimization

Enter your total

Total Your Score

17 Vertical Measures

The Customer Journey

bull Build confidencebull Create a sense of urgencybull Inform on pricingbull Guide through the purchase process

Decision StageHelp your audience make a buying decision theyrsquore comfortable with

Contentrsquos Role

bull 0 if you are not engaging in that tactic

bull 1-2 if you are just beginning

bull 3-4 if you are using this tactic with unclear results

bull 5 if your company is successfully using this tactic

Rank your Organization

Content Ideation

Content Creation

Persona Development

Paid Retargeting

User Experience

Organic Social

Paid Social

Influencer Marketing

Analytics Measurement Enter your total

Total Your Score

CRO

Search Optimization

Lead Nurture

18 Vertical Measures

The Customer Journey

bull Thank thembull Confirm they made the right decisionbull Ask for testimonials and referralsbull Build the relationship to promote word of mouth referralsbull Create user guides tips and tricks and special deals

Advocacy StageGrow your audience by providing a stimulus to spark interest around your products or services

Contentrsquos Role

bull 0 if you are not engaging in that tactic

bull 1-2 if you are just beginning

bull 3-4 if you are using this tactic with unclear results

bull 5 if your company is successfully using this tactic

Rank your Organization

Content Ideation

Content Creation

Analytics Measurement

Customer Outreach

Enter your total

Total Your Score

19 Vertical Measures

The Customer Journey - Your Score

As you consider your scoreLook through the channels and tactics and make decisions on where you want to prioritize your resources What are you missing out completely What do you need to improve on

Rank Your Organization

Awareness

Consideration

Decision

Advocacy

Enter your total

Total Your Score

0-40I need help

41-80Just beginning and lots of gaps

81-130Wersquore pretty good with room for improvement

131-180Wersquore experts at the whole journey

Write your top 3 priorities based on your score

20

Persona Development

Why create buyer personas These are examples of buyers who make or influence decisions about our businesses

Whether itrsquos B2B or B2C small business or enterprise each of us has an audience For some it is clearly defined and narrowly focused For others your business covers a broad range of demographics

Define Your Audience

The key is to define that audience so you know who they are their habits and activities and how you can reach them throughout the customer journey

These insights will inform your content marketing strategies content formats and promotional and distribution effortsThey will also help you align your efforts with current company marketing efforts

Put as much detail as you can into the persona mdash age gender where they work leisure habits mdash anything that will shapeand define your audience segments

21 Vertical Measures

Now itrsquos time to create the personas specific to your business Wersquove given you some blank faces to work from so start to think about the type of people you already reach or want to reach and flesh out their persona here

3 adjectives to describe them

Demographics (Age gender marital status location education socioeconomic status)

Pain Points (Barriers to purchase or conversion)

Trust Factors (Those things that create trust and loyalty with brands)

Trust Factors (Who or what are they influenced by Include media sources where they already consume content)

Preferred Content Formats

Sample Content Topics

Are they active on social media Where

Mobile Tablet Desktop

Preferred Devices (Check where they consume content the most)

Your Persona Development

Persona Name

Long-form content

Infographics

Case Studies

Webinars

Reviews

Email

Video

Podcasts

Blogs

Interactive

22 Vertical Measures

Ideation Keyword Phrases

Variation 1 all-in-one juicer amp blender machine

Variation 2 blender combo model

Variation 3 dual-purpose smoothie maker

Keyword phrase eg juicer combo machine content

Most businesses have a few keyword phrases (common terms) that drive most of their online traffic and most of their revenue Itrsquos important to know those phrases as well as other semantic phrases that users are typing into search engines to find your products or services This will help you understand how to craft content that people will land on

Long Tail termsThis concept was introduced by Chris Anderson in a Wired magazine article in 2004 It refers to the fact that in the aggregate longer more detailed searches can account for more traffic and business than the shorter lsquoheadrsquo terms This is still true today Below list the phrases that based on industry knowledge or analytics insights drive your online traffic

23 Vertical Measures

Common Questions and Your ExpertiseYour customers have questions answer them

What You Should Know About the True Costs of Content MarketingHeadline

Ex How much does content marketing costQuestion

What questions are your potential customers asking There are common questions almost everyone asks before buying during their ldquoZero Moment of Truthrdquo Use the questions to create topics and headlines By answering their questions on your website you are moving visitors through the customer journey They will be more informed and ready to buy when it comes time

24 Vertical Measures

Practical Application

Hub

SpokesSpokes are ancillary pieces of content created with the goal in mind of driving people to the hub Topics are brainstormed in conjunction with the hub and planned out over a designated period of time (eg a quarter) in order to focus your content marketing efforts Content from the hub can be repurposed for the spokes in different formats and for different content channels

Now that yoursquove gone through the first part of this workbook and you have a better understanding of content marketing and the customer journey itrsquos time to put everything yoursquove learned into an actionable plan The hub and spoke model of content marketing gives you a tight focus for a designated amount of time with a main goal of driving traffic leads and nurturing relationships into business opportunities

Hubs are comprehensive pieces of content that are often gated behind a form in order to drive leads They can take many different formats PDFs kits tools e-books an exclusive video series or more They should provide additional value that your normal day-to-day content may not

hub

Webinar

Off-SiteArticle Press

Release

LeadNurture

Newsletter

News

Infographic

info

CaseStudy

Page

PPTX

Video

Page

Blog

Email

Social

Social

Social

Slideshare

Social

LandingPage

Ad

Email

Email Email

Email

Blog

Learn More

How Much Should You Budget For Digital Marketing This Year

Editorial Content Calendar Template

Digital Marketing Calculator

25 Vertical Measures

Business Goal Background Audience Persona

Launch Timeline

Many people feel like they are failing with their content marketing so this guide will address the major elements they need to revamp in the next 90 days to see improvements Goal is to generate leads who are struggling and nurture the relationship introducing them to our Coaching program

Initial Hub Topic and Title Ideas

bull Your 60-Day Content Marketing Plan Template bull 90-Day Content Marketing Course-Correction Planbull Guide to Revamping your Content Marketing Program in 90 Days

Spoke Ideas (create as many as you can)

bull Insourcing vs Outsouring your Content Developmentbull [Infographic] How to Revive Your Content Marketing Plan in 2

Months [Blog]bull 10 Industry Experts Share How to Course-Correct Failing Content

Marketing Programs [Influencer Round-up]

Content Format

Long-form downloadable PDF

Q2 2019

Marketing Mary - Marketing Director or Manager at B2B or B2C businesses both small and large scale who wears many hats She is not the final decision maker but regularly consumes content (mostly written articles and case studies) and attends indistury events in order to bring back insights to her team

Lead Nurture Sketch

A series of 4 emails spaced out over a few weeks after download First few emails will be informational with CTAs pointing people to published spokes that are relevant Information on Coaching program to be included in later emails with CTA to contact us to talk further

Lead Content Creator

Freelance

Other Roles and Responsibilities

bull Susan - Content outline and editing general management bull Bob - Guide design bull Tim - Social media plan and promotion Jess - Lead nurture

implementation

Hub and Spoke Campaign Abstract Sample

26 Vertical Measures

Business Goal Background Audience Persona

Launch Timeline

Initial Hub Topic and Title Ideas

Spoke Ideas (create as many as you can)

Content Format

Lead Nurture Sketch

Lead Content Creator

Other Roles and Responsibilities

Hub and Spoke Campaign Abstract Sample

27 Vertical Measures

My Hub amp Spoke Campaign

Headline

Start writing

Hub amp Spokes Notes

Format Channel Deadline Pub Date Creator

28

Content AuditDownload Screaming Frog to crawl your site This software will give you a report of all your pages and posts in a spreadsheet format This will save you time and give you a complete list without any manual action Add columns to the spreadsheet to help organize what content you will keep what content needs refreshing and what content is outdated and needs to be deleted Even use the ROT format to mark things quickly ndash ldquoRrdquo for redundant ldquoOrdquo for outdated and ldquoTrdquo for trivial Create a column to mark your letters quickly and then go back in depth later

Review your content in Google Search Console to determine the most popular content highest converting pages pages with the longest user engagement and the content where users tend to leave your site the most This review will help you identify what content is resonating with your audience

Screaming Frog

29 Vertical Measures

From Content Audit to Creation

Name 5 experts in your industry or community that you could interview for either a blog post or video interview or other content piece

What free guides case studies or e-books could you develop in the next 90 days

What presentations have you given recently that you could re-purpose

What customers can you interview for either a blog post or video interview

What webinars or podcasts could you create in the next 6 months

Name major events conference or holidays you could create content around

Stay Organized Sample Content Editorial Calendar Template ndash EXCEL spreadsheet content calendar105 Ideas to fill up your content calendar Jay Baer - Convince and Convert

Following your assessment if you found content lacking you may need to build before you can promote ndash try these questions on for size

TIP

30 Vertical Measures

Content Optimization

31

WHAT DO YOU

Optimization is a crucial element of content marketing You should never publish a new piece of content without ensuring best optimization practices have been followed If yoursquore going to spend 10 hours creating a piece of content at least spend 10 minutes optimizing it so it can be easily discovered Optimization is also important for a good user experience that engages the visitor and encourages them to take the next step in their journey

Below are the major elements that each web page or content should have Check the box of the ones you already consistently do so you know where to improve

Page title (shows in search results)

Meta description (shows in search results)

H1 Tag (only one per page)

Section headings (H2 H3 H4)

Internal links

External links

Bulleted and numbered lists

Font formatting

Calls-to-action

Image ALT text

Mobile friendliness

Page load times

Search Social and Content Strategy

1

Search Social and Content1

At Vertical Measures we understand that your business and your website are unique and you require different approaches and internet marketing services to be the most successful That is why we offer a broad range of services to provide you with everything that you need from SEO and link building to social media consultation and content creation services

2

2

3

3

Begin with a Search Social amp Content Strategy

4

65

5

6

4

7

7

Link Building

Current Linkable Assets

Start writing

Hub amp Spokes Notes

New Linkable AssetsWhat can we create in the next 12 months

Resource Center

Blogs

Case Studies

Infographics

Free guides

Glossaries

Links Page

Calculators

Interactive

Giveaways

Stat pages

Templates

VideoWebinars

Checklists

32

Content PromotionThink about where you will promote your content Many of us have a blog on our site so that makes a natural publishing channel There are also many other places you can distribute your content

Check off the channels where you can distribute your content Then circle the channels you have the budget to promote on Pick the channel most aligned with your audience to increase the value of your promotion

Amplify ndash Promoting your content to your audience

My blog

Corporate website

Industry related site

Pinterest

Twitter

Current Distribution Channels Social Media Channels

Paid Search

Programmatic

Influencer

Facebook

Twitter

LinkedIn

Pinterest

Instagram

Paid Media

Start writing

Notes

Facebook

LinkedIn

InstagramAssociation site

Guest post

E-mail

33 Vertical Measures

Content in The Customer Journey

Programmatic

Video

Display

Sponsored Social

Native Advertising

Paid Search

Email Workflows

AWARENESS CONSIDERATION DECISION ADVOCACYCHANNELTACTIC

What to use when

34 Vertical Measures

Lead NurtureUsing 7 emails toward the sale

Your Headline

Content Focus

1

2 3 4

5 6 7

bull Focus on what housing will look likebull Property video or gallery imagesbull Pricing informationbull Specific details about the property

bull Testimonialsbull FAQsbull Residentrsquos experiencebull CTA (schedule a visit)bull Recap Value propositionbull About Companybull CTA (tour property)

bull Thank them for requesting informationbull Provide resources for helping a family

member prepare for assisted living

Sample Content 1

Sample Content 2-4

Sample Content 5-7

bull Company mission and valuesbull Day in the life of our residentsbull Diningbull Amenities

Your Headline

Content Focus

Your Headline

Content Focus

Practice makes permanent

2-Day Delay

2-3 Day Delay

3-7 Day Delay

35 Vertical Measures

ACTIONWhat action triggers your email

EMAIL 1What is the content and goal of your email

EMAIL 2What is the content and goal of your email

Lead NurtureLead nurture is the relationship-building element of content marketing Itrsquos just as important to keep the relationship alive as it is to create it in the first place This is where trust and loyalty are built by providing consistent value to someone who has shown interest in your products or services and delivering information that is helpful Lead nurture mainly takes the form of email From newsletters to updates to promotions email is a potent tool to stay top-of-mind (and inbox) to nurture an existing relationship encouraging prospects to move down the sales funnel

Sketch out a two-email lead nurturing process in the boxes below based on an action someone takes on your website For example if someone fills out a contact form what happens next How about a download Also write down one thing you can do to improve your email and lead nurturing program right away

36 Vertical Measures

Notes

Editorial Calendaramp How Can We Create All This Content

Date Title Goal Persona Phase Format

Calendar

Publishing content on a frequent basis will deliver more traffic and more leads But many organizations go about creating content without a plan or calendar This ad hoc approach is not effective or efficient and often stalls out

Creating a content calendar allows you to look months ahead to ensure that you are

bull Publishing content consistentlybull Focusing on business prioritiesbull Following your established strategy

The calendar format below includes the basics The more detail you add to the calendar the more effective it becomes Consider adding primary and semantic keyword phrases promotion and social media channels meta descriptions calls-to-action hub and spoke correlation and a search volume and competition metric field

Content formats could include blog post social media video infographic eBook case study etc Are there hubspokes you can identify

37 Vertical Measures

CONTENT FORMATS AVAILABLE RESOURCES

There are so many different ways to develop content From visual formats like videos and infographics to written content like case studies and articles the possibilities are endless But every business is different in terms of what their audience gravitates towards and what they have the resources to create

Use the checklist below to identify what content formats you can or want to produce that are aligned with your strategy and how you would go about getting them created with internal or external resources

Blog articles

Videos

Webinars

Newsletters

Case studies

Podcasts

Infographics Datagraphics

Quizes

Interactive tools

Downloadable guides

eBooks

Curation

Interviews

Content CreationExecution - What can you achieve

Internal External

Start writing

Notes

38 Vertical Measures

Content Marketing Goals and MetricsMarketing GoalsRecord the most important marketing goals for your company Goals should have corresponding metrics What will you measure How will you know yoursquore successful How will you know if you are not See previous page for even more examples than below

bull Return website visitors phone calls appointments scheduled

bull Request Information forms content downloads subscribers

bull Website traffic social shares content on other sites inbound links

Goal How will you measure

Potential Goals Sample Metrics

bull Brand awareness

bull Moving leads through the sales funnel

bull Client retention

Within the data is the answer to the question ldquoWhat do we do nextrdquo

39 Vertical Measures

Donrsquot waitAnother day to finish your content strategyIt may seem overwhelming to start your content strategy but if you take it one step at a time and write just one sentence for each checkpoint above you can have a realistic and actionable strategy to kick off your content production A documented content strategy is the first step toward creating effective content but try not to let your desire for perfection keep you from getting that content production wheel going You can always revisit your strategy later with new information or reflections on your recent content experiences No matter how fantastic a strategy is on paper execution will always be the most important part of any content marketing plan ndash so focus on using your strategy as a stepping stone toward pushing content live The hardest part is just getting started and above all else remember done is better than perfect

We consistently publish useful content on our blog to help you accelerate your content strategy so make sure to sign up for updates there Also wersquove pulled together all our content resources and training materials into one place where yoursquoll find workbooks templates and other guides to help you be successful

Learn more about content marketing strategy

Vertical Measures is a full-service Internet marketing agency dedicated to helping clients drive profitable growth through content marketing Based on the principles outlined in Vertical Measuresrsquo proven 8 Step Process VM produces integrated digital strategies content pieces and targeted SEO amp PPC campaigns for organizations large and small As an industry leader VM publishes in outlets like Content Marketing Institute and Marketing Land teaches educational content marketing workshops and seminars around the globe and crafts personalized coaching programs and on demand training for organizations in need of a content kickstart

About Vertical Measures

The hardestpart is just getting started and above all else rememberdone is better than perfect

40 Vertical Measures

(602) 314-3460

wwwverticalmeasurescominfoverticalmeasurescom

We help our clients grow their owned audience by leveraging their industry expertise and fusing it with more than 10 years of digital marketing success