THE B2B CONTENT CREATION MASTERCLASS

SQUAREDOT A BRAND NEW STORY

f you’re head of marketing in an Every initiative you oversee and every ambitious B2B company, you need to campaign you sign off is another stamp of generate a steady stream of qualified leads your ownership and direction. If you have big to your sales team and you need to keep ambitions for your own career, then you your current client base sweet and loyal. need to get it right every time. It’s never easy, That’s your job in a nutshell. and that’s a good thing. For if it was easy, sure everyone would be at it, and without the The problem with nutshells is that they are challenge there would be no rewards. really small. The perspective from inside is narrow. You may be missing the bigger So you are preoccupied with promoting your picture, for you have a bigger responsibility brand in the best light, in front of the right that you may be overlooking. people, at the right time, with the right message to ensure (among other things) a Because as head of marketing, you are steady stream of ongoing quality leads and brand guardian and your legacy will shape loyal customer retention. You’ve done your the perception of your company and its homework, weighed up your options and product lines or service offering. Your brand concluded that you need to get serious presence is your top priority because it about your content marketing. represents the trust, authority and consideration that people (potential customers) place on everything you’re selling. Without brand credibility, the leads will dry up regardless of your other activities. GOOD CALL

1 FIRST THINGS FIRST

What do I am mean by ‘brand’? It’s a much maligned word, bandied about to mean all sorts of things, depending on who is saying it. For some, it’s just the logo. For others it’s the packaging. More often than not, it’s a semantics shortcut people use when they could be talking anything from PR, products, websites, stationary, designs, advertising to whatever other specific thing is top of their to-do list.

So for clarity, when I talk about the ‘brand’ I’m taking the holistic view.

Your brand content often forms a first We’ll talk how much of your budget you impression. Every time your audience see should be looking to set aside and how this any of your marketing communications, in all fits in with your other digital initiatives like whatever form and whatever context, display advertising, social media, PPC and Descartes once said “I think channel or promotion, this impression is SEO. further stamped. Are you a trusted brand? therefore I am.” Well in that case a Are you relevant? Do you solve specific We’re just going to assume that you’ve brand might respond, business related pain points? Do you have already completed all your persona an authoritative voice with an engaging and identification, strategy and planning work. If “I am therefore what you think of me.” informed opinion? not, don’t even think of writing a word of content yet. Down tools and download our Now that we’re on the same page with the “Intro to Inbound” instead. ‘brand’, we’ll drill down into the details about getting your content right to reflect the kind For everyone else, read on. of brand you want to steer towards. Content marketing comes in many forms, typically blogs, ebooks, websites, videos and so on and we’ll discuss them all.

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How much of your budget do you The list of free content discovery and Worried that your competitors Next, you’ll need to go through each of these http://www.toprankblog.com/2014/07/10-real-time-content-discovery-tools/ http://www.toprankblog.com/2014/07/10-real-time-content-discovery-tools/ need to set aside for content marketing? recommendation platforms is http://www.toprankblog.com/2014/07/10-real-time-content-discovery-tools/growing all the one by one and review the content. What http://www.toprankblog.com/2014/07/10-real-time-content-discovery-tools/ have already got their feet on the http://www.toprankblog.com/2014/07/10-real-time-content-discovery-tools/ http://www.toprankblog.com/2014/07/10-real-time-content-discovery-tools/ http://www.toprankblog.com/2014/07/10-real-time-content-discovery-tools/ http://www.toprankblog.com/2014/07/10-real-time-content-discovery-tools/ http://www.toprankblog.com/2014/07/10-real-time-content-discovery-tools/ http://www.toprankblog.com/2014/07/10-real-time-content-discovery-tools/ http://www.toprankblog.com/2014/07/10-real-time-content-discovery-tools/time. But Google and and BuzzSumo are form dœs it take? Is it any good? How well

http://www.slideshare.net/CMI/2015-b2b-content-marketing-benchmarks-budgets-and-trends-north-america-by-content-marketing-institute-and-marketingprofs?from_action=save http://www.slideshare.net/CMI/2015-b2b-content-marketing-benchmarks-budgets-and-trends-north-america-by-content-marketing-institute-and-marketingprofs?from_action=save content marketing ladder? http://www.slideshare.net/CMI/2015-b2b-content-marketing-benchmarks-budgets-and-trends-north-america-by-content-marketing-institute-and-marketingprofs?from_action=saveAccording to the Content Marketing Institute, good places to start. The latter specialises in is it presented? What topics are covered? in 2015, B2B marketers put aside an identifying the key influencers and How much of it is there? How frequently is it average of 28% of their total marketing best-performing content in your field. Most Don’t be. All their hard work - their posted? Is it recent and up-to-date? budget, but the most effective marketers put of these platforms place their emphasis on successes and their failures – will prove to aside much more: 37%. social shares and viral potential, helping you be an absolute gold mine of information and Ask yourself: is it readable/ watchable/ tap into trending content or chip in to the insights when you come to planning your listenable/ engaging, engaging, and easy to That’s nearly two-fifths of their total spend. conversation early on – you need to have own strategy. follow? Is it well integrated with social And for good reason. your finger firmly on the pulse. media? Dœs it give the audience clear Thanks to competitor content analysis, you pointers for what they should do next? Plus, curating takes the burden off you to not only have a means of catching up, you produce a constant stream of new and also have a guided path upon which to learn It works. original content. It allows you to benefit from from other people’s mistakes. someone else’s efforts in a way that actually promotes and supports them; a win-win It takes time and skill, and a fair bit of manual If you’re new to content marketing, you might situation that helps build up your industry labour, but it’s absolutely worth the trouble to want to ease your way in with content network and informs your opinion. get you off to a flying start. curation, rather than creation. A good way to stay on your tœs and on the First, pick a competitor and visit their Contenthttp://smallbiztrends.com/2015/02/content-discovery-tools.html discovery and listening tools help lookout for ways to up your own game, is to website. you find things your audience consume keep your ears to the ground on the more easily, picking out relevant stories and initiatives your peers are up to. And, of Then, figure out where their content is stored. ideas without having to wade through course, you can keep tabs on which stories Is there a link to a blog? Learning resources endless media. your followers like and share the most, or tutorials? Infographics, videos or white giving you invaluable insights about the kind papers? ebook downloads or podcasts? of content you should invest your time and Check the sitemap too, to see if there’s budget in creating. buried content. 42 Now that you have an idea of what you’re up against, get forensic.

http://blog.hubspot.com/blog/tabid/6307/bid/31619/How-to-Conduct-Competitive-Analysis-to-Step-Up-Your-Content-Strategy.aspx Rhttp://blog.hubspot.com/blog/tabid/6307/bid/31619/How-to-Conduct-Competitive-Analysis-to-Step-Up-Your-Content-Strategy.aspx http://blog.hubspot.com/blog/tabid/6307/bid/31619/How-to-Conduct-Competitive-Analysis-to-Step-Up-Your-Content-Strategy.aspxesources like HubSpot’s Competitor

http://blog.hubspot.com/blog/tabid/6307/bid/31619/How-to-Conduct-Competitive-Analysis-to-Step-Up-Your-Content-Strategy.aspx http://blog.hubspot.com/blog/tabid/6307/bid/31619/How-to-Conduct-Competitive-Analysis-to-Step-Up-Your-Content-Strategy.aspx http://blog.hubspot.com/blog/tabid/6307/bid/31619/How-to-Conduct-Competitive-Analysis-to-Step-Up-Your-Content-Strategy.aspx http://blog.hubspot.com/blog/tabid/6307/bid/31619/How-to-Conduct-Competitive-Analysis-to-Step-Up-Your-Content-Strategy.aspx http://blog.hubspot.com/blog/tabid/6307/bid/31619/How-to-Conduct-Competitive-Analysis-to-Step-Up-Your-Content-Strategy.aspx http://blog.hubspot.com/blog/tabid/6307/bid/31619/How-to-Conduct-Competitive-Analysis-to-Step-Up-Your-Content-Strategy.aspx Trackinghttp://blog.hubspot.com/blog/tabid/6307/bid/31619/How-to-Conduct-Competitive-Analysis-to-Step-Up-Your-Content-Strategy.aspx Tool offer great ways to analyse competitors’ traffic, social media fan bases, SEO and more. But for even more depth, you can use targeted technologies like http://buzzsumo.com/blog/5-steps-track-competitor-content-buzzsumo-case-study/ http://buzzsumo.com/blog/5-steps-track-competitor-content-buzzsumo-case-study/ BuzzSumo’shttp://buzzsumo.com/blog/5-steps-track-competitor-content-buzzsumo-case-study/ Competitor Tracker, which tells you every time someone posts a link to your competitor’s site. These innovations allow you to track shares, review a competitor’s most popular content, work out who is doing the sharing and even establish how influential these ‘sharers’ are.

All of which allows you to build up a

http://www.ragan.com/Main/Articles/Boost_your_SEO_with_these_10_free_keyword_research_50006.aspx detailed picture of the kind of content that http://www.ragan.com/Main/Articles/Boost_your_SEO_with_these_10_free_keyword_research_50006.aspx Once you’re done analysing the Therehttp://www.ragan.com/Main/Articles/Boost_your_SEO_with_these_10_free_keyword_research_50006.aspx are a ton of great tools out there to works best in your industry, is popular with competition, you’ll need to tackle the help you identifyhttps://yoast.com/keyword-research-tools/ relevant keywords that your target audience, and is likely to strike a most important question of all: what are https://yoast.com/keyword-research-tools/people whack into Google, and the chord with the people you’re most keen to your customers’ pain points? temptation can be to chase the traffic and get on board. overload your site. In fact, it can be far What keeps them awake at night? What more effective to zero in on “longtail And all before you’re put out a single piece obstacles are they struggling with? What keywords” - the more specific, and of content of your own. questions do they need answers to? What therefore less common, combinations that https://yoast.com/focus-on-long-tail-keywords/ https://yoast.com/focus-on-long-tail-keywords/ products or services do they need to further people enter when they’re deliberatelyhttps://yoast.com/focus-on-long-tail-keywords/ their business ambitions or careers? tryinghttps://yoast.com/focus-on-long-tail-keywords/ to narrow down their search to exactlyhttps://yoast.com/focus-on-long-tail-keywords/ the thing they really want. This is where keyword research comes in. Keyword research isn’t just an essential step These are the people that have already in guiding the right people to your website. It trawled the web doing their research and also helps you plan what kind of top-quality now they’re really zoning in on the right content you should be focussing on. stuff – which also means they’re closer to starting a conversation or making a sale. To get your keywords right, you need to And while you might be chasing a smaller think carefully about the vocabulary and the group, it’s the group you really want: the needs of your audience. What things do serious shoppers, not the passive they search for? What questions do they browsers. want answered? How do they word or frame these questions?

52 Once you’re done analysing the There are a ton of great tools out there to competition, you’ll need to tackle the help you identify relevant keywords that most important question of all: what are people whack into Google, and the your customers’ pain points? temptation can be to chase the traffic and overload your site. In fact, it can be far What keeps them awake at night? What more effective to zero in on “longtail obstacles are they struggling with? What keywords” - the more specific, and questions do they need answers to? What therefore less common, combinations that products or services do they need to further people enter when they’re deliberately their business ambitions or careers? trying to narrow down their search to exactly the thing they really want.

These are the people that have already trawled the web doing their research and now they’re really zoning in on the right stuff – which also means they’re closer to starting a conversation or making a sale. And while you might be chasing a smaller group, it’s the group you really want: the serious shoppers, not the passive browsers.

But back to what this means for your content marketing.

S EO research and keyword planning http://www.convinceandconvert.com/content-marketing/how-to-create-a-content-marketing-strategy/ http://www.convinceandconvert.com/content-marketing/how-to-create-a-content-marketing-strategy/Jar Bær over at Convince and Convert not only drives traffic, it gets you in the http://www.convinceandconvert.com/content-marketing/how-to-create-a-content-marketing-strategy/ mindset of thinking about what your uses a simple formula to help you map the customers want. customer journey and work out where you need to be creating and offering content: The kind of information they’re really trying to dig out. The kind of advice or insights that they might just kill for in an ebook or a tutorial video, a webinar or whitepaper. Personas x Buying Stages x Questions per Stage It helps you direct your energies into planning the material that people will be genuinely interested in or grateful for, helping you to establish your “tribe” and attracting followers of like-minded and So, if you have 5 distinctly different types of But this is finger in the air stuff really. Every influential people. Some of whom could be customer, 4 steps in your buying process brand, every company, in every industry potential customers. and around 5 important customer and every circumstance, has individual concerns to be addressed at each stage in goals and objectives. These will ultimately We’ve talked about the kind of content you the journey, you’ll need: define how much content you need to should be making and the kind of places produce to reach your specific KPIs. And you should be putting it. The next big 5 Personas x 4 Buying Stages x 5 budgets obviously have the final say. question is: how much content should you Questions Per Stage = 100 Pieces of put out there? Content

Is there such a thing as overload – and if so, how much is too much?

It is possible to bombard customers so much that you drive them away. But the real question isn’t how much you’re giving them, but whether it’s relevant, useful and https://moz.com/blog/why-good-unique-content-needs-to-die-whiteboard-friday tailored to their needs.https://moz.com/blog/why-good-unique-content-needs-to-die-whiteboard-friday Is it 10 times better https://moz.com/blog/why-good-unique-content-needs-to-die-whiteboard-friday https://moz.com/blog/why-good-unique-content-needs-to-die-whiteboard-fridayquality than the best of the rest?

If your client base is exceedingly niche, this issue will be fairly easy to address. But what if you appeal to more than one type of client or industry? What if your product or service is used for more than one purpose? How do you make sure you’re offering the right amount of the right kinds of content to the right kind of people? 62 Know Y ur Target

There’s really only one way to get Don’t just read what the journalists write. under the skin of your bullseye personas, Read the comments and responses. Read what they want and how they want it: do what people say when they retweet or repost your research. the links. These are the people who are in the know - who really know what the Every industry is different. Every region is problems are. They’re the ones you’re trying different. Every type of customer is a little to reach. different. But the deeper you get into their heads, the further away you get from Reach out to existing customers and explore generic “blah” content and the closer you what parts of their successful buyer journeys get to solving a specific, pressing problem. can be replicated, at scale. The closer you get, in fact, to showing them that you ‘get’ them and their You might look up ideal customers’ profiles business – that you’re a partner to rely on. on professional networking sites like LinkedIn to see who they follow and what There are a number of ways to approach groups they’ve joined, check out posts this. they’ve written and find out what articles they These clues will help you understand the However you approach your research, the share or comment on. business context, terminology and major important thing is that you’re cutting through You might start by looking at key trends in talking points of the world you’re trying to to the specific pain points that your clients your customers’ industries, reading reports tap into, giving you some clarity on what have. by analysts and consultants like Gartner, your customers need and how to present it Capgemini and PwC, and scouring to them. What are they frustrated about? What keeps through the websites and magazines that them awake at night? What is the precise your potential customers read for You might also organise in-depth nature of the problem? What tools, expertise common concerns. interviews with companies in the industries or information do they lack that could help you target to get a strong sense of their key them solve their pain points? concerns, how they frame their problems and the language they use – all of which Armed with all this knowledge, you will have will feed into how you market and keyword all the tools necessary to craft your content. this content.

Or, to really make yourself invaluable, you can go a step further, profiling your customers’ customers and interviewing them directly to find out what they need from their suppliers.

This adds enormous value for potential customers, positioning you as an expert in their field as well as your own. It gives them a compelling reason to download your content and start a dialogue with you in the first place. 72 These clues will help you understand the business context, terminology and major talking points of the world you’re trying to tap into, giving you some clarity on what your customers need and how to present it to them.

You might also organise in-depth interviews with companies in the industries you target to get a strong sense of their key concerns, how they frame their problems and the language they use – all of which will feed into how you market and keyword this content.

Or, to really make yourself invaluable, you can go a step further, profiling your customers’ customers and interviewing them directly to find out what they need from their suppliers.

This adds enormous value for potential customers, positioning you as an expert in their field as well as your own. It gives them a compelling reason to download your content and start a dialogue with you in the first place.

By now, your strategy is laid out, your As a long-form medium that’s not directly The key is make sure that, as a brand, you’re research is complete, and you’re ready to pushing your product, content marketing is a authentic. You’re not emulating the look and move on to the fun stuff: making the content. fantastic space to develop your voice and feel of popular competitors – customers demonstrate who you are as a business. It’s hate that - but rather, you’re putting out Note the word “fun”. While high quality content a chance to show potential customers how content that is consistent with who you are, creation isn’t easy, your output should never you think and interact – and what it would be what you value and how you operate. feel laborious and strained. If you’re bored like to work with you. making it, the audience will be bored wading And, of course, you need speak to your through it. To make it engaging, you need it to Are you a down-to-earth, no-nonsense and target audience in their language, giving flow. You need energy. You need a certain authoritative outfit, preferring to get straight them solid, useful, actionable tools to tackle lightness of touch. to the point with practical solutions? Great – pain points and solve real business focus on making your tone assured, concise problems – without trying to hard sell your And most of all, and jargon free, and on giving products or services in the process. easy-to-follow guidance, tutorials or advice. Okay, so now you’ve got a sense of what you need to tell a story. Are you a bold, forward-looking and your content is going to look and feel like, http://www.forbes.com/sites/work-in-progress/2013/02/05/5-secrets-to-using-storytelling-for-brand-marketing-success/#3fdaf40b3dd9 http://www.forbes.com/sites/work-in-progress/2013/02/05/5-secrets-to-using-storytelling-for-brand-marketing-success/#3fdaf40b3dd9 http://www.forbes.com/sites/work-in-progress/2013/02/05/5-secrets-to-using-storytelling-for-brand-marketing-success/#3fdaf40b3dd9 innovative bunch that encourages clients to what are you going to make? http://www.forbes.com/sites/work-in-progress/2013/02/05/5-secrets-to-using-storytelling-for-brand-marketing-success/#3fdaf40b3dd9 do things differently and creatively to stand out? Fantastic – produce content that’s Here’s our run-down of 6 of the most Defining and projecting your brand’s imaginative and striking, with language and common forms of content marketing – and personality is an essential aspect of design that’s inspiring, rousing and perhaps how to decide if they’re right for you. Bear in marketing and needs to permeate even a little controversial if it’s appropriate. mind this is only a snapshot of the current everything you do. As Kate Hardcastle, landscape and with technological advances, multi-award winning founder of Insight With these formats will evolve and expand.

http://www.smeinsider.com/2015/03/06/to-succeed-in-business-you-have-to-get-your-story-straight/ http://www.smeinsider.com/2015/03/06/to-succeed-in-business-you-have-to-get-your-story-straight/ http://www.smeinsider.com/2015/03/06/to-succeed-in-business-you-have-to-get-your-story-straight/ http://www.smeinsider.com/2015/03/06/to-succeed-in-business-you-have-to-get-your-story-straight/ http://www.smeinsider.com/2015/03/06/to-succeed-in-business-you-have-to-get-your-story-straight/ http://www.smeinsider.com/2015/03/06/to-succeed-in-business-you-have-to-get-your-story-straight/ Passion and Positive Image Month, explains:http://www.smeinsider.com/2015/03/06/to-succeed-in-business-you-have-to-get-your-story-straight/ “Story’s really important. Who are you? What do you stand for? Why is it different? Why am I gonna buy from you?”

8 Blogs...

The result?

Perhaps the most straightforward, low But most importantly, you need to offer up Top quality editorial content that frequently And, of course, an impressive 700,000 cost and manageable way to create useful information that your target audience actually inspires viral sharing, transforming a humble downloads of its flagship app – despite content for your audience, blogs are usually wants to read and encourage them to build B2B blog into a well-respected source of giving it a super-soft-sell. attached to your company’s website, an affinity with your brand – not just flogging design industry news, advice and inspiration.

allowing you to guide the visitor towards your your products or services. A genuinely engaged communityhttp://blog.invisionapp.com/ux-design-tips-for-your-app/ of readers http://blog.invisionapp.com/ux-design-tips-for-your-app/ http://blog.invisionapp.com/ux-design-tips-for-your-app/ http://blog.invisionapp.com/ux-design-tips-for-your-app/ offering. You might offer handy advice, http://blog.invisionapp.com/ux-design-tips-for-your-app/that trust InvisionApp to understand their http://blog.invisionapp.com/ux-design-tips-for-your-app/ https://www.invisionapp.com http://blog.invisionapp.com/ux-design-tips-for-your-app/ interesting discussions of industry-specific Case in point: whenhttps://www.invisionapp.com InvisionApp, a professional needs and interests. A publicly issues or glimpses behind-the-scenes. prototyping platform for design teams, set advertised network of leading design http://blog.invisionapp.com http://blog.invisionapp.com http://blog.invisionapp.com When posts are penned by (or ghostwritten up itshttp://blog.invisionapp.com blog, it decided to tap into the agencies and individuals that lend the for) company employees and CEOs, they’re bordering-on-obsessive passion shared by company serious credibility. personable and engaging, fostering direct professional designers, eschewing both conversations, interactions and comments. self-promotional and more “generalist” And, of course, an impressive 700,000 http://blog.invisionapp.com/inside-design-bbc/ http://blog.invisionapp.com/inside-design-bbc/ http://blog.invisionapp.com/inside-design-bbc/ click-bait content in favour of http://blog.invisionapp.com/inside-design-bbc/deep-dive downloads of its flagship app – despite http://blog.invisionapp.com/inside-design-bbc/ http://blog.invisionapp.com/inside-design-bbc/ http://blog.invisionapp.com/inside-design-bbc/ Crucially, you’re battling with the forces of http://blog.invisionapp.com/inside-design-bbc/interviews with industry figures and giving it a super-soft-sell. http://blog.invisionapp.com/research-techniques-for-website-redesigns/ http://blog.invisionapp.com/research-techniques-for-website-redesigns/ Google Search and competing with social innovators, http://blog.invisionapp.com/research-techniques-for-website-redesigns/unashamedly geeky tutorials and http://www.copyblogger.com/how-to-write-headlines-that-work/ http://www.copyblogger.com/how-to-write-headlines-that-work/ media clickbait, so writinghttp://www.copyblogger.com/how-to-write-headlines-that-work/ compelling insightful guest posts… and barely a mention http://www.copyblogger.com/how-to-write-headlines-that-work/ http://www.copyblogger.com/how-to-write-headlines-that-work/ http://www.copyblogger.com/how-to-write-headlines-that-work/ http://www.copyblogger.com/how-to-write-headlines-that-work/ http://www.copyblogger.com/how-to-write-headlines-that-work/headlines and getting your SEO and of the product they sell. keywords just right is a must.

9 Books Infographics

http://www.mobilepaymentstoday.com/images/mobile_payments_today_what_is_a_mobile_payment_infographic.png http://www.fastcodesign.com/3024448/infographic-of-the-day/building-a-fexible-manufacturing-supply-chain http://www.mobilepaymentstoday.com/images/mobile_payments_today_what_is_a_mobile_payment_infographic.png http://www.fastcodesign.com/3024448/infographic-of-the-day/building-a-fexible-manufacturing-supply-chain http://www.mobilepaymentstoday.com/images/mobile_payments_today_what_is_a_mobile_payment_infographic.png http://www.fastcodesign.com/3024448/infographic-of-the-day/building-a-fexible-manufacturing-supply-chain http://www.mobilepaymentstoday.com/images/mobile_payments_today_what_is_a_mobile_payment_infographic.png http://www.salesforcemarketingcloud.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/SEO-Experts-Reveal-The-Truth-About-Marketing.pdf?1763e5 http://www.fastcodesign.com/3024448/infographic-of-the-day/building-a-fexible-manufacturing-supply-chain http://www.mobilepaymentstoday.com/images/mobile_payments_today_what_is_a_mobile_payment_infographic.png http://www.fastcodesign.com/3024448/infographic-of-the-day/building-a-fexible-manufacturing-supply-chain http://www.mobilepaymentstoday.com/images/mobile_payments_today_what_is_a_mobile_payment_infographic.png http://www.fastcodesign.com/3024448/infographic-of-the-day/building-a-fexible-manufacturing-supply-chain http://www.mobilepaymentstoday.com/images/mobile_payments_today_what_is_a_mobile_payment_infographic.png http://www.salesforcemarketingcloud.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/SEO-Experts-Reveal-The-Truth-About-Marketing.pdf?1763e5 http://www.fastcodesign.com/3024448/infographic-of-the-day/building-a-fexible-manufacturing-supply-chain http://www.mobilepaymentstoday.com/images/mobile_payments_today_what_is_a_mobile_payment_infographic.png http://www.mobilepaymentstoday.com/images/mobile_payments_today_what_is_a_mobile_payment_infographic.png O http://www.salesforcemarketingcloud.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/SEO-Experts-Reveal-The-Truth-About-Marketing.pdf?1763e5 Thehttp://www.fastcodesign.com/3024448/infographic-of-the-day/building-a- drierfexible-manufacturing-supply-chain or more niche the industry, the nline publications that tackle a particular Take this http://www.salesforcemarketingcloud.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/SEO-Experts-Reveal-The-Truth-About-Marketing.pdf?1763e5simple but smart example from If you’re looking to rack up media more online trade publications will be problem area are one of the most popular – SalesForce. coverage in your industry, an infographic will desperate for visually arresting content, and effective – ways to engage an audience trump a press release 99% of the time. making it a perfect opportunity for you to tap with your brand. Here, the team took common questions that Journalists love them because they’re into demand and get your name out there at people ask about SEO in marketing, put engaging, get tons of social shares and can the same time. They position you as an expert on the topic, them to leading figures in the industry, and quickly plug a gap on a slow news day or a while allowing you to create value for collected their responses into an eBook. It demanding editorial calendar – creating a potential customers by giving them a free, cements the company’s reputation as win-win situation for everyone. in-depth, targeted resource to tackle a well-connected and in touch with what their common problem in their industry, or to customers need and in the final Visualhttp://blog.hubspot.com/marketing/best-infographics-2015 representations are a powerful way to provide insights that help them improve the call-to-action, it directs them to the http://blog.hubspot.com/marketing/best-infographics-2015 puthttp://blog.hubspot.com/marketing/best-infographics-2015 across information, and the beauty of an way they do their job. company’s Marketing Cloud platform. infographic is that (provided it’s well-researched, well-designed and relevant) Typically, they’re used as a tool for lead The product dœsn’t tackle the reader’s it can be incorporated into articles and blog generation, offered for download via email or how-to-get-SEO-right pain point – the posts on multiple sites, with your logo, and direct from your website, in return for a few eBook dœs that. But, by this stage, the usually a backlink, included each time. This contact details from the reader - giving you reader is far more inclined to build on the helps to establish you as a respected source an easy way to progress to the next stage of new knowledge they’re acquired by checking of information in the industry and boosts the conversation. And, of course, they use a out SalesForce’s product demo. your search engine rankings along the way. final call-to-action to direct the reader to the next stage in the customer journey.

Choosing your topic is a delicate art. After all, you don’t want to end up giving away too much for free that you normally charge for. But neither is the idea to trick a person into reading a 10,000-word advert for your product, offering “advice” that boils down to: “Surprise! You have to buy the thing we sell!”

10 VIDEOSVIDEOS

Video is taking over the internet. So Take Adobe Creative Cloud. Of course, tutorials don’t have to be about If you remember one thing about video much so, in fact, that some marketers are your product. They might show people how marketing, make it this: keep it short. http://www.theguardian.com/small-business-network/2014/jan/14/video-content-marketing-media-online calling http://www.theguardian.com/small-business-network/2014/jan/14/video-content-marketing-media-onlinevideo the future of content marketing. The cloud-based subscription version of the to use free or common tools, or even Adobe suite has been a massive hit with improve personal skills that are relevant to People watch a lot of video, but they don’t We would say that this is probably a slight freelancers and creative agencies, despite the things you sell. watch a lot of the same video. If it’s longer exaggeration at this point. Video is going to the company having its fair share of than 3 minutes, you’ll encounter a sharp http://www.reelseo.com/b2b-video-content-marketing/ http://www.reelseo.com/b2b-video-content-marketing/ (andhttp://www.reelseo.com/b2b-video-content-marketing/ already dœs) play a massive role in any naysayers before they made the switch. A For example, the Mobile Studio Company, drop-off rate. successful content marketing strategy, but big part of that success is how the company which specialises in corporate video people aren’t likely to stop reading stuff in has focussed on adding value through its production, released a popular series on Our multi-tab, multi-tasking approach to the next two years, especially in the B2B catalogue of video tutorials. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q5WT2vweFRYimproving your presentation skills and work means that video needs to be

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-sQvr9lo4Jk world. It would be far more sensible to look calminghttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-sQvr9lo4Jk your nerves, subtly demonstrating “snackable”. Lots of short, snappy pieces will for ways to incorporate video into your Moving to the Creative Cloud means that to potential clients that they’d be well looked keep people clicking. So, if you’re filming content marketing for maximum impact. users can tap into the whole range of Adobe after and supported by a team that interviews or even tutorials, breaking up a products, which sounds great, but is actually understands their worries, without giving longer video into a series of shorter ones will After all, video can be embedded into blog quite overwhelming. There was a danger that their video capabilities the hard sell. yield far better results. posts, social media updates like LinkedIn people might think, “huh, I’m not really using statuses, PowerPoint decks and even all this stuff. Maybe I’ll go back to using the Industry interviews are a trickier to get right. eBooks, making it a great way to spruce up bootlegged version of Photoshop that I had While someone watching a tutorial video static content. before.” might forgive dodgy sound, bad lighting or stumbling delivery if it means they can solve So what kind of content works best for But Adobe did something clever: It created an urgent problem, if an interview video has https://helpx.adobe.com/creative-cloud/tutorials-explore.html https://helpx.adobe.com/creative-cloud/tutorials-explore.html video? Adobehttps://helpx.adobe.com/creative-cloud/tutorials-explore.html Creative Cloud TV, a huge library of substance issues the viewer will quickly lose video tutorials that helps users of all levels to interest, regardless of how engaging the In the context of B2B marketing, two areas develop their skills, try out new ideas and get presenter is, or how flash the production stand out: tutorials and industry interviews. inspired, and crucially, learn how to use the values are. features offered by other programmes in the suite to fix specific problems or deal with And when it comes to video, tight, effective particular pain points. By showing them how storytelling is as important – even more to make the most of connected products, important – than with text, because people even if they’d never used them before, they can’t easily scroll or search a video to get to got creatives used to accessing the entire the bit they want. If they switch off for a suite – making them far less likely to cancel millisecond, they’re likely to click off entirely. their subscription along the line.

11 SLIDESHARES PODCASTS

The best thing about podcasts? Your audience can download them whenever they Bad PowerPoint drives an audience to like and listen at their leisure. On the train, in despair, but good PowerPoint works like the gym, walking home – anywhere. video optimised for business: it’s visual, it’s dynamic, it tells a story, and best of all, you The worst thing about podcasts? People are can easily skip back or forward to an less likely to access them at work. This all-important quote or statistic. means that B2B podcasts have to be so compelling, so useful, or so entertaining that No wonder Slideshare has taken off the way potential clients and decision-makers will http://www.slideshare.net/reed2001/culture-1798664/2-We_Seek_Excellence_Our_culture http://www.slideshare.net/reed2001/culture-1798664/2-We_Seek_Excellence_Our_culture http://www.slideshare.net/reed2001/culture-1798664/2-We_Seek_Excellence_Our_culture http://www.slideshare.net/reed2001/culture-1798664/2-We_Seek_Excellence_Our_culture it has, elevating decks like http://www.slideshare.net/reed2001/culture-1798664/2-We_Seek_Excellence_Our_cultureNetflix’s opt to listen to them in their spare time. And Finally… http://www.slideshare.net/reed2001/culture-1798664/2-We_Seek_Excellence_Our_culture industry-disrupting,http://www.slideshare.net/reed2001/culture-1798664/2-We_Seek_Excellence_Our_culture 127-slide “Culture” deck http://www.marketingdive.com/news/7-podcasts-b2b-marketers-should-listen-to/216298/ http://www.marketingdive.com/news/7-podcasts-b2b-marketers-should-listen-to/216298/ http://www.marketingdive.com/news/7-podcasts-b2b-marketers-should-listen-to/216298/http://www.marketingdive.com/news/7-podcasts-b2b-marketers-should-listen-to/216298/ to rock star status among entrepreneurs. Or It’s a tall order. http://www.marketingdive.com/news/7-podcasts-b2b-marketers-should-listen-to/216298/http://www.marketingdive.com/news/7-podcasts-b2b-marketers-should-listen-to/216298/But it’s not impossible. It all helped Hubspot’s guide to visual storytelling comes down to whether you (or your CEO) http://www.marketingprofs.com/podcasts/2015/28376/sales-jill-konrath-donal-daly-marketing-smarts http://www.slideshare.net/HubSpot/what-would-steve-do-10-lessons-from-the-worlds-most-captivating-presenters?related=1 http://www.marketingprofs.com/podcasts/2015/28376/sales-jill-konrath-donal-daly-marketing-smartshttp://www.marketingprofs.com/podcasts/2015/28376/sales-jill-konrath-donal-daly-marketing-smarts http://www.slideshare.net/HubSpot/what-would-steve-do-10-lessons-from-the-worlds-most-captivating-presenters?related=1 http://www.marketingprofs.com/podcasts/2015/28376/sales-jill-konrath-donal-daly-marketing-smartshttp://www.marketingprofs.com/podcasts/2015/28376/sales-jill-konrath-donal-daly-marketing-smarts http://www.marketingprofs.com/podcasts/2015/28376/sales-jill-konrath-donal-daly-marketing-smarts http://www.slideshare.net/HubSpot/what-would-steve-do-10-lessons-from-the-worlds-most-captivating-presenters?related=1 http://www.marketingprofs.com/podcasts/2015/28376/sales-jill-konrath-donal-daly-marketing-smartshttp://www.marketingprofs.com/podcasts/2015/28376/sales-jill-konrath-donal-daly-marketing-smarts http://www.slideshare.net/HubSpot/what-would-steve-do-10-lessons-from-the-worlds-most-captivating-presenters?related=1 has the right personality, http://www.marketingprofs.com/podcasts/2015/28376/sales-jill-konrath-donal-daly-marketing-smartspresentationhttp://www.marketingprofs.com/podcasts/2015/28376/sales-jill-konrath-donal-daly-marketing-smarts and and presenting, “Whathttp://www.slideshare.net/HubSpot/what-would-steve-do-10-lessons-from-the-worlds-most-captivating-presenters?related=1 Would Steve Do?”, https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/brutal-truth-about-sales-selling/id327760868?mt=2 http://www.marketingprofs.com/podcasts/2015/28376/sales-jill-konrath-donal-daly-marketing-smarts https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/brutal-truth-about-sales-selling/id327760868?mt=2 https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/brutal-truth-about-sales-selling/id327760868?mt=2 http://www.marketingprofs.com/podcasts/2015/28376/sales-jill-konrath-donal-daly-marketing-smartshttp://www.marketingprofs.com/podcasts/2015/28376/sales-jill-konrath-donal-daly-marketing-smarts http://www.marketingprofs.com/podcasts/2015/28376/sales-jill-konrath-donal-daly-marketing-smartshttp://www.marketingprofs.com/podcasts/2015/28376/sales-jill-konrath-donal-daly-marketing-smarts http://www.marketingprofs.com/podcasts/2015/28376/sales-jill-konrath-donal-daly-marketing-smarts Remember that each piece of content you But, to help its serious message to break http://www.marketingprofs.com/podcasts/2015/28376/sales-jill-konrath-donal-daly-marketing-smartshttp://www.marketingprofs.com/podcasts/2015/28376/sales-jill-konrath-donal-daly-marketing-smarts reach nearly 2 million views. http://www.marketingprofs.com/podcasts/2015/28376/sales-jill-konrath-donal-daly-marketing-smartshttp://www.marketingprofs.com/podcasts/2015/28376/sales-jill-konrath-donal-daly-marketing-smartsinterview skills to bring each episode to life, http://www.marketingovercoplentyhttp://www.marketingoverco of spark with co-presenters,ffee.comee.com access to create needs to fit together logically as part through during a frivolous time of year, the https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/brutal-truth-about-sales-selling/id327760868?mt=2 http://theb2bpodcast.com/erika-heald/ https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/brutal-truth-about-sales-selling/id327760868?mt=2https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/brutal-truth-about-sales-selling/id327760868?mt=2 https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/brutal-truth-about-sales-selling/id327760868?mt=2 of your larger strategy. You need to have a http://theb2bpodcast.com/erika-heald/ https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/brutal-truth-about-sales-selling/id327760868?mt=2 company emailed links to a string of witty When it comes to B2B content marketing, http://theb2bpodcast.com/erika-heald/http://theb2bpodcast.com/erika-heald/high-calibre guests and https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/brutal-truth-about-sales-selling/id327760868?mt=2plentyhttps://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/brutal-truth-about-sales-selling/id327760868?mt=2 to say about https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/brutal-truth-about-sales-selling/id327760868?mt=2https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/brutal-truth-about-sales-selling/id327760868?mt=2 coherent user experience that connects your Wes Anderson-style videos highlighting the https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/brutal-truth-about-sales-selling/id327760868?mt=2 SlideShare is a superb way to disseminate https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/brutal-truth-about-sales-selling/id327760868?mt=2your industry blog to your videos, your videos to your domestic tech headaches that IT workers are well put together, concise, data-driven eBook, your eBook to your webinars, etc. inevitably lumbered with when they head industry research in a format that’s instantly A really good podcast can see your That means creating clear call-to-actions home for the holidays, and used these to accessible and useful to potential clients. A credibility soar, give you a great premise for that signpost viewers to the next point in the gently guide viewers towards downloading great way to get noticed. networking with other thought leaders and potential customers, and even bring in an chain, and it making sure that your tone and the workplace tech headaches whitepaper. extra revenue stream for your business. Just visual language are consistent throughout http://www.toprankblog.com/2014/06/b2b-content-marketing-examples/http://www.toprankblog.com/2014/06/b2b-content-marketing-examples/ http://www.toprankblog.com/2014/06/b2b-content-marketing-examples/http://www.toprankblog.com/2014/06/b2b-content-marketing-examples/ the customer journey. It means working hard http://www.toprankblog.com/2014/06/b2b-content-marketing-examples/ be sure you can deliver the goods before The approach http://www.toprankblog.com/2014/06/b2b-content-marketing-examples/well and truly paid off, with you foray into the field. to be creative, compelling and capturing email open/clickthrough rates at 2-3 times your audience’s mood, while remembering their average, 3,000 leads generated in 3 all the time the ultimate purpose of this days, and 87.4% of viewers opting to interaction with your client. download the whitepaper at the end of the videos.

http://www.sungardas.com/company/news/PressReleases/Pages/sungard-availability-services-recognized-for-creativity-and-ingenuity-in-b2b-marketing.aspx http://www.sungardas.com/company/news/PressReleases/Pages/sungard-availability-services-recognized-for-creativity-and-ingenuity-in-b2b-marketing.aspx http://www.sungardas.com/company/news/PressReleases/Pages/sungard-availability-services-recognized-for-creativity-and-ingenuity-in-b2b-marketing.aspx http://www.sungardas.com/company/news/PressReleases/Pages/sungard-availability-services-recognized-for-creativity-and-ingenuity-in-b2b-marketing.aspx http://www.sungardas.com/company/news/PressReleases/Pages/sungard-availability-services-recognized-for-creativity-and-ingenuity-in-b2b-marketing.aspx Take, for example, http://www.sungardas.com/company/news/PressReleases/Pages/sungard-availability-services-recognized-for-creativity-and-ingenuity-in-b2b-marketing.aspxSungard’s 2013

http://www.sungardas.com/company/news/PressReleases/Pages/sungard-availability-services-recognized-for-creativity-and-ingenuity-in-b2b-marketing.aspx http://www.sungardas.com/company/news/PressReleases/Pages/sungard-availability-services-recognized-for-creativity-and-ingenuity-in-b2b-marketing.aspx http://www.sungardas.com/company/news/PressReleases/Pages/sungard-availability-services-recognized-for-creativity-and-ingenuity-in-b2b-marketing.aspx http://www.sungardas.com/company/news/PressReleases/Pages/sungard-availability-services-recognized-for-creativity-and-ingenuity-in-b2b-marketing.aspxaward-winning Christmas-themed

http://www.sungardas.com/company/news/PressReleases/Pages/sungard-availability-services-recognized-for-creativity-and-ingenuity-in-b2b-marketing.aspx http://learn.sungardas.com/SurviveTheHolidays1.html http://www.sungardas.com/company/news/PressReleases/Pages/sungard-availability-services-recognized-for-creativity-and-ingenuity-in-b2b-marketing.aspx http://www.sungardas.com/company/news/PressReleases/Pages/sungard-availability-services-recognized-for-creativity-and-ingenuity-in-b2b-marketing.aspx http://www.sungardas.com/company/news/PressReleases/Pages/sungard-availability-services-recognized-for-creativity-and-ingenuity-in-b2b-marketing.aspx http://www.sungardas.com/company/news/PressReleases/Pages/sungard-availability-services-recognized-for-creativity-and-ingenuity-in-b2b-marketing.aspx http://learn.sungardas.com/SurviveTheHolidays1.html http://www.sungardas.com/company/news/PressReleases/Pages/sungard-availability-services-recognized-for-creativity-and-ingenuity-in-b2b-marketing.aspx http://www.sungardas.com/company/news/PressReleases/Pages/sungard-availability-services-recognized-for-creativity-and-ingenuity-in-b2b-marketing.aspx http://www.sungardas.com/company/news/PressReleases/Pages/sungard-availability-services-recognized-for-creativity-and-ingenuity-in-b2b-marketing.aspxcampaign, called http://learn.sungardas.com/SurviveTheHolidays1.html“Holiday Resiliency”. The insurance company was looking for a way to remind prospective IT clients of the importance of being prepared for, and protected against, any disaster, and it created a thorough white paper highlighting risks and solutions.

12 TIME IT PERFECTLY

You’ve got your content all lined up like planes circling an airport ready to land. The next Where is your content being released? Are The presentation has attracted over step? Figuring out the perfect moment to time you, its creators, the only ones putting it out 300,000 views and counting – around 30 your release. there? Or have you tapped into other leading times more than Cision’s second most and respected voices in your field to offer up popular Slideshare. Planning a content schedule in advance - one this content on your behalf? that fits with industry behaviours, buying cycles, key events and other calendar considerations - It gœs without saying that having other is, of course, a very sensible (and important) thought leaders and media outlets promote approach. But for maximum impact, you’ll need the release of your content, link back to it or to be able to respond to specific, unplanned include it in their own output raises its credibility. Plus, if you’ve created something developmentshttp://zmags.com/blog-5-steps-to-freedom.html in the market.

http://zmags.com/blog-5-steps-to-freedom.html that is truly valuable to your audience, http://zmags.com/blog-5-steps-to-freedom.html “Moment marketing” can be highly effective – but persuasion will be far less of a chore.

http://www.fastcompany.com/3031542/hit-the-ground-running/the-best-and-worst-of-real-time-marketing-4-lessons-for-marketers http://www.fastcompany.com/3031542/hit-the-ground-running/the-best-and-worst-of-real-time-marketing-4-lessons-for-marketers http://www.fastcompany.com/3031542/hit-the-ground-running/the-best-and-worst-of-real-time-marketing-4-lessons-for-marketers http://www.fastcompany.com/3031542/hit-the-ground-running/the-best-and-worst-of-real-time-marketing-4-lessons-for-marketers http://www.fastcompany.com/3031542/hit-the-ground-running/the-best-and-worst-of-real-time-marketing-4-lessons-for-marketersbeware: dropping a link to your products or services in response to a news item or disaster We mentioned infographics earlier in this can look strained, crudely opportunistic or even book, but they certainly aren’t the only type of http://www.imediaconnection.com/content/35988.asp#singleview content that can add value to someone else’s http://www.imediaconnection.com/content/35988.asp#singleview insulting. On the other hand,http://www.imediaconnection.com/content/35988.asp#singleview offering a useful http://www.imediaconnection.com/content/35988.asp#singleview http://www.imediaconnection.com/content/35988.asp#singleview blog, news report, podcast or other output. http://www.imediaconnection.com/content/35988.asp#singleviewhttp://www.imediaconnection.com/content/35988.asp#singleview http://www.imediaconnection.com/content/35988.asp#singleviewresource,http://www.imediaconnection.com/content/35988.asp#singleview potential solution, or (when appropriate) http://contentmarketinginstitute.com/2015/07/every-moment-content-opportunity/ http://contentmarketinginstitute.com/2015/07/every-moment-content-opportunity/ a touch of humourhttp://contentmarketinginstitute.com/2015/07/every-moment-content-opportunity/ is far more likely to be

http://contentmarketinginstitute.com/2015/07/every-moment-content-opportunity/ http://blog.newswhip.com/index.php/2013/07/marketing-in-the-moment-5-top-examples-of-reactive-marketing#iMeGvAJ5fXmuiXtX.97 http://blog.newswhip.com/index.php/2013/07/marketing-in-the-moment-5-top-examples-of-reactive-marketing#iMeGvAJ5fXmuiXtX.97 http://contentmarketinginstitute.com/2015/07/every-moment-content-opportunity/ http://blog.newswhip.com/index.php/2013/07/marketing-in-the-moment-5-top-examples-of-reactive-marketing#iMeGvAJ5fXmuiXtX.97 http://contentmarketinginstitute.com/2015/07/every-moment-content-opportunity/ http://blog.newswhip.com/index.php/2013/07/marketing-in-the-moment-5-top-examples-of-reactive-marketing#iMeGvAJ5fXmuiXtX.97 http://contentmarketinginstitute.com/2015/07/every-moment-content-opportunity/ http://blog.newswhip.com/index.php/2013/07/marketing-in-the-moment-5-top-examples-of-reactive-marketing#iMeGvAJ5fXmuiXtX.97 The smartest content marketers are always http://contentmarketinginstitute.com/2015/07/every-moment-content-opportunity/ http://blog.newswhip.com/index.php/2013/07/marketing-in-the-moment-5-top-examples-of-reactive-marketing#iMeGvAJ5fXmuiXtX.97 http://blog.newswhip.com/index.php/2013/07/marketing-in-the-moment-5-top-examples-of-reactive-marketing#iMeGvAJ5fXmuiXtX.97 http://contentmarketinginstitute.com/2015/07/every-moment-content-opportunity/ http://blog.newswhip.com/index.php/2013/07/marketing-in-the-moment-5-top-examples-of-reactive-marketing#iMeGvAJ5fXmuiXtX.97 http://contentmarketinginstitute.com/2015/07/every-moment-content-opportunity/appreciated and well-received. http://blog.newswhip.com/index.php/2013/07/marketing-in-the-moment-5-top-examples-of-reactive-marketing#iMeGvAJ5fXmuiXtX.97 http://blog.newswhip.com/index.php/2013/07/marketing-in-the-moment-5-top-examples-of-reactive-marketing#iMeGvAJ5fXmuiXtX.97 http://blog.newswhip.com/index.php/2013/07/marketing-in-the-moment-5-top-examples-of-reactive-marketing#iMeGvAJ5fXmuiXtX.97 http://blog.newswhip.com/index.php/2013/07/marketing-in-the-moment-5-top-examples-of-reactive-marketing#iMeGvAJ5fXmuiXtX.97 http://blog.newswhip.com/index.php/2013/07/marketing-in-the-moment-5-top-examples-of-reactive-marketing#iMeGvAJ5fXmuiXtX.97 http://blog.newswhip.com/index.php/2013/07/marketing-in-the-moment-5-top-examples-of-reactive-marketing#iMeGvAJ5fXmuiXtX.97 be on the lookout for partnerships and tie-ins http://blog.newswhip.com/index.php/2013/07/marketing-in-the-moment-5-top-examples-of-reactive-marketing#iMeGvAJ5fXmuiXtX.97 http://blog.newswhip.com/index.php/2013/07/marketing-in-the-moment-5-top-examples-of-reactive-marketing#iMeGvAJ5fXmuiXtX.97 http://blog.newswhip.com/index.php/2013/07/marketing-in-the-moment-5-top-examples-of-reactive-marketing#iMeGvAJ5fXmuiXtX.97 http://blog.newswhip.com/index.php/2013/07/marketing-in-the-moment-5-top-examples-of-reactive-marketing#iMeGvAJ5fXmuiXtX.97 Having a bank of great content means you can that will bring their assets to the widest seize opportunities as they arise, linking back to possible audience - whether they’re items in your library in a new blog post or embedded in a larger post or article, or used call-to-action when it’s genuinely relevant or as the source of a story. pertinent. It keeps you looking well-informed and In fact, when there’s a clear benefit on both ahead of the curve. sides, you could even collaborate with a respected thought leader to create great In addition to time, you need to think about place. content together – as Cision and Vocus did when they partnered with popular author http://www.slideshare.net/Cision/vocus-brian-solis-ebookfnal http://www.slideshare.net/Cision/vocus-brian-solis-ebookfnal Brian Solis to release http://www.slideshare.net/Cision/vocus-brian-solis-ebookthis Public Relations fnal http://www.slideshare.net/Cision/vocus-brian-solis-ebookfnal http://www.slideshare.net/Cision/vocus-brian-solis-ebookfnal http://www.slideshare.net/Cision/vocus-brian-solis-ebookebook/SlideShare. fnal

13 Ultimately, if you’ve made something worth while, others will be more than happy to share the glory

Of course, posting links to content on For example, if you’ve filmed a video social media sites such as Twitter, interview, don’t just post a YouTube link to Google+ and LinkedIn will also widen your Facebook page; upload a short teaser your reach, as well as potentially clip of 10-20 seconds as a Facebook video, improving your SEO (and your credibility) using the “Watch More” button to link to the by garnering social shares and backlinks. full length version at the end. That way, you make use of Facebook’s “autoplay” feature LinkedIn Pulse is an incredible resource and its tendency to prioritise native video in for B2B content marketing. After all, users’ newsfeeds, while also guiding the user LinkedIn is the social networking site for to watch the longer video wherever you’d professionals, and its ”Influencers” and prefer them to go next – most likely, ”Pulse” feeds are read by millions. Where embedded on your website or blog. else can you post your perspective on the industry in article format, and be listed The key, as always, is to make sure your alongside world-famous thinkers like output is sensitive to the medium and Richard Branson and Arianna Huffington? targeted for maximum impact.

What’s more, tapping into forums and As we’ll explore in the next chapter, there are a LinkedIn Groups for specific industries, number of tools at your disposal to help you sectors and types of roles means that you on your way. can join conversations with carefully selected, targeted audiences of potential clients. And once you’re there, you can offer them something useful, rather than pushing your products or jumping straight into sales chat.

To a lesser extent, depending on the type of content, Facebook and Tumblr, or even Pinterest and Instagram, can be handy places to broaden your reach. Just make sure you’re packaging your content in the most appropriate and engaging way for the platform.

14 Review and Refine

Y https://followerwonk.com our content marketing strategy is never This is where tools like FollowerWonkhttps://followerwonk.com and the set in stone. To reap the most success, you’ll BuzzSumo solution we mentioned earlier need to look for ways to continually optimise come into their own, helping you identify and and improve your output and your timing for rank follows for their level of influence, as well maximum ROI. as figuring out who’s following them, too.

That means mapping audience reactions to For even more depth, holistic tools such as the content you’re putting out, analysing and HubSpot’shttp://www.hubspot.com/products/analytics marketing analytics suite can help learning from the data you collect, and you to collate and unify metrics and data responding proactively and intelligently to from your content marketing campaigns, take your strategy to the next level. social media sites and website landing pages to give a complete, thorough picture of what’s

http://contentmarketinginstitute.com/2014/03/use-data-improve-content-marketing-strategy/ http://contentmarketinginstitute.com/2014/03/use-data-improve-content-marketing-strategy/ At its simplest, this meanshttp://contentmarketinginstitute.com/2014/03/use-data-improve-content-marketing-strategy/ keeping a detailed working, what isn’t, and how the whole thing http://contentmarketinginstitute.com/2014/03/use-data-improve-content-marketing-strategy/ spreadsheethttp://contentmarketinginstitute.com/2014/03/use-data-improve-content-marketing-strategy/ that is both editorial calendar fits together. http://contentmarketinginstitute.com/2014/03/use-data-improve-content-marketing-strategy/ http://contentmarketinginstitute.com/2014/03/use-data-improve-content-marketing-strategy/ andhttp://contentmarketinginstitute.com/2014/03/use-data-improve-content-marketing-strategy/ data capture tool, noting down details like titles, type of content, the date, day of the Of course, you don’t have to wait until your week the and time of its release, how many content is already out there to start analysing times it was downloaded and how many and responding to data. If you have a large shares or “likes” it received. enough subscriber list or number of daily website visitors, you may be able use A/B As you progress, you can review this Testing (also called split testing) to perform catalogue of data to scan for common trends this in real time. and use them to shape your future output. A/B testing means creating two versions of Perhaps the most-read blog posts are the the same thing - for example, an email with ones released on a Thursday afternoon. two different subject lines, a homepage with Perhaps the most-shared videos are the two different designs, or an eBook with two ones that are presented by your head of different cover images - and running them marketing. Perhaps eBooks get far more simultaneously. Half of your subscribers or traction than whitepapers, or your podcasts visitors will see one version and half will see about social selling attract far more listeners the other. than those on SEO. The system then automatically ascertains Whatever the outcome, listen to your which of two titles or styles are gaining the audience, and adapt. most traction and then switches all your viewers to the more popular version, making As well as analysing hard numbers, it’s sure that the remainder of essential to delve into the details of who is subscribers/visitors see only the version that engaging and interacting with your stuff. It’s all proved more successful. very well getting 1,000 retweets, but if none of these people or their followers are in your This increases your chance of hitting the target market, they’ll be far less valuable from jackpot – and it dœs it at lightning speed. 5 mentions by industry influencers who can enhance your reputation and visibility among the clients you’re trying to attract. 15

Final Thoughts

The power of content-led inbound Consider this: at the very start of this book, we But dœs the rise of content marketing mean For best results, it really boils down to this: marketing is getting harder and harder to talked about budgets. But one thing we didn’t you should throw other types of advertising ignore. mention was opportunity cost. out the window? Don’t pick a particular platform, medium, channel or even partner and then try to figure http://www.marketo.com/_assets/uploads/CMO-Guide-to-Inbound.png?20130312140421 http://www.marketo.com/_assets/uploads/_resampled/SetWidth765-Content-Marketing-Infographic-by-Marketo.png http://www.marketo.com/_assets/uploads/CMO-Guide-to-Inbound.png?20130312140421 http://www.marketo.com/_assets/uploads/_resampled/SetWidth765-Content-Marketing-Infographic-by-Marketo.png After all, 93%http://www.marketo.com/_assets/uploads/CMO-Guide-to-Inbound.png?20130312140421 of buying cycles start with an Creating great content, and a great content http://www.marketo.com/_assets/uploads/_resampled/SetWidth765-Content-Marketing-Infographic-by-Marketo.pngSome marketers certainly think so. But there’s out how you can use this to talk to your

http://www.marketo.com/_assets/uploads/CMO-Guide-to-Inbound.png?20130312140421 http://www.marketo.com/_assets/uploads/CMO-Guide-to-Inbound.png?20130312140421 http://www.marketo.com/_assets/uploads/CMO-Guide-to-Inbound.png?20130312140421 http://www.marketo.com/_assets/uploads/CMO-Guide-to-Inbound.png?20130312140421 http://www.marketo.com/_assets/uploads/CMO-Guide-to-Inbound.png?20130312140421online search, meaning that you’ve got to marketing strategy, will take time. Time away no need to be hasty: in a multi-channel world, customer. be on the lookout for more and more from other vital tasks, projects and these activities aren’t mutually exclusive. SEO-friendly ways to catch a customer’s interactions that you need to build your brand. Instead, work out what information your attention. Even the best-rated business bloggers know While the high ROI means that it dœs makes customer needs, the format they’re likely to http://www.curata.com/resources/ebooks/business-blogging-secrets-revealed http://www.curata.com/resources/ebooks/business-blogging-secrets-revealed http://www.curata.com/resources/ebooks/business-blogging-secrets-revealed this, making them nearlyhttp://www.curata.com/resources/ebooks/business-blogging-secrets-revealed twice as likely to sense to commit a larger and larger want it in, and, finally, where they’ll go to look

http://www.curata.com/resources/ebooks/business-blogging-secrets-revealed And content marketing is what your outsourcehttp://www.curata.com/resources/ebooks/business-blogging-secrets-revealed some of their content as their less proportion of your budget to content for it – or where they’re likely to spot it. customers want. successful counterparts. marketing, familiar methods like PPC/display/native advertising still have a If paid advertising helps to guide them there,

http://www.forbes.com/sites/capitalonespark/2013/01/23/tell-dont-sell-use-content-marketing-to-boost-your-business/ http://www.forbes.com/sites/capitalonespark/2013/01/23/tell-dont-sell-use-content-marketing-to-boost-your-business/ http://www.forbes.com/sites/capitalonespark/2013/01/23/tell-dont-sell-use-content-marketing-to-boost-your-business/ http://www.forbes.com/sites/capitalonespark/2013/01/23/tell-dont-sell-use-content-marketing-to-boost-your-business/ http://www.forbes.com/sites/capitalonespark/2013/01/23/tell-dont-sell-use-content-marketing-to-boost-your-business/According to Forbes, four-fifths of When you come to assess your budget, you place at the table, and it’s a good idea to think then great. If working with a partner means business decision makers would rather get may well reach the conclusion that the about how your varying approaches can you can plug gaps in your expertise and information about a company via a series benefits of investing in a partnership with a complement one other. create a high-performing and efficient of articles than an advert. skilled and experienced content marketing strategy, go for it. Experiment with what works partner outweigh the short-term savings that For example, as Facebook’s Ciaran Quilty for you, using high end content as an asset Plus, even a moderate shift can yield come with tackling everything inhouse. explains, the businesses reaping the greatest as you hone your approach. positivehttp://www.hubspot.com/marketing-statistics results. 79% of companies that rewards from the fast-growing field of

http://www.smeinsider.com/2015/01/28/how-facebook-is-changing-the-future-of-sme-advertising/ http://www.hubspot.com/marketing-statistics http://www.smeinsider.com/2015/01/28/how-facebook-is-changing-the-future-of-sme-advertising/ havehttp://www.hubspot.com/marketing-statistics a blog report a positive ROI – and This is one reason that marketers already Facebook Advertising arehttp://www.smeinsider.com/2015/01/28/how-facebook-is-changing-the-future-of-sme-advertising/ the ones that create Just make sure that you’re never sidetracked http://www.imaginepub.com/53-b2b-content-marketing-stats-you-should-know-in-2015 http://www.imaginepub.com/53-b2b-content-marketing-stats-you-should-know-in-2015 http://www.smeinsider.com/2015/01/28/how-facebook-is-changing-the-future-of-sme-advertising/ even those that only blog once or twice a outsource 62%http://www.imaginepub.com/53-b2b-content-marketing-stats-you-should-know-in-2015 of their content marketing to http://www.smeinsider.com/2015/01/28/how-facebook-is-changing-the-future-of-sme-advertising/great content (particularly video) and then pay by gimmicks or fads. Your focus should

http://www.imaginepub.com/53-b2b-content-marketing-stats-you-should-know-in-2015 http://www.smeinsider.com/2015/01/28/how-facebook-is-changing-the-future-of-sme-advertising/ http://www.imaginepub.com/53-b2b-content-marketing-stats-you-should-know-in-2015 http://www.curata.com/blog/content-marketing-statistics-the-ultimate-list/ http://www.smeinsider.com/2015/01/28/how-facebook-is-changing-the-future-of-sme-advertising/ http://www.imaginepub.com/53-b2b-content-marketing-stats-you-should-know-in-2015 http://www.smeinsider.com/2015/01/28/how-facebook-is-changing-the-future-of-sme-advertising/ http://www.imaginepub.com/53-b2b-content-marketing-stats-you-should-know-in-2015 http://www.curata.com/blog/content-marketing-statistics-the-ultimate-list/ http://www.smeinsider.com/2015/01/28/how-facebook-is-changing-the-future-of-sme-advertising/ month see their lead generation soar by http://www.imaginepub.com/53-b2b-content-marketing-stats-you-should-know-in-2015specialists, while only http://www.curata.com/blog/content-marketing-statistics-the-ultimate-list/25% stick to making http://www.smeinsider.com/2015/01/28/how-facebook-is-changing-the-future-of-sme-advertising/to promote it, helping their message to blend always, without exception, be what your http://www.curata.com/blog/content-marketing-statistics-the-ultimate-list/ http://www.curata.com/blog/content-marketing-statistics-the-ultimate-list/ 70%. Producing high quality and engaging http://www.curata.com/blog/content-marketing-statistics-the-ultimate-list/everything themselves. seamlessly with how users consume customer needs and how you can deliver it, content to reel in your audience seems like non-promotional content in their newsfeed. in ways that are smart, effective, engaging http://www.hubspot.com/marketing-statistics http://www.hubspot.com/marketing-statistics a no-brainer. Especially when inboundhttp://www.hubspot.com/marketing-statistics What kind of things should you entrust to a and calculated to leapfrog your competitors, http://www.hubspot.com/marketing-statistics http://www.hubspot.com/marketing-statistics http://www.hubspot.com/marketing-statistics http://www.hubspot.com/marketing-statistics http://www.hubspot.com/marketing-statisticsmarketing costs 62% less per lead than content marketing partner? Of course, it spurring your business on to greater and traditional outbound varieties. depends on your (and their) area of expertise, greater success.greater success. http://www.sensiblemarketing.com/blog/100-b2b-content-marketing-statistics-for-2015 but B2Bhttp://www.sensiblemarketing.com/blog/100-b2b-content-marketing-statistics-for-2015 marketers commonly outsource And here’s the thing: you don’t have to do things like writing (64%), design (54%), it all yourself. distribution (30%) and editing (22%), as well as the nitty-gritty of analytics (13%), strategy Outsourcing your content creation or (8%) and the creation of buyer personas (5%). marketing to an agency that specialises in this field can have a significant impact on its quality and effectiveness, and it can actually make the experience far more efficient for you.

16

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