Content Marketing and Content Strategy: A Peaceful Coexistence?

Ahava LeibtagPresident

Aha Media Group

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Every minute…• YouTube users upload 48 hours of video• Facebook users share 684,478 pieces of

content• Instagram users share 3,600 new photos • Tumblr sees 27,778 new posts published

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Demanding?The average brand organization is responsible for the content demands of 178 social media properties, plus websites, blogs and live events.

--The Altimeter Group (2013)

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Impossible?The average American is bombarded by 5,000 messages a day.

--The New York Times (1988)

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To build an audience of 50 million

58 years

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To build an audience of 50 million

58 years

14 years

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To build an audience of 50 million

58 years

14 years

4 years

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To build an audience of 50 million

58 years

14 years

4 years

3.6 years

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To build an audience of 50 million

58 years

14 years

4 years

3.6 years

80

Source: ComScore

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Modern Marketing Challenges• Ads don’t have the same power (esp.

in digital)• Reduced attention• Lack of brand loyalty• Social sharing

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Today• Understanding content• Defining content strategy• Defining content marketing• How to do your job like a superhero

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UNDERSTANDING CONTENT

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The Wall of WordsEvidence for Global Warming:Degradation of Earth's Atmosphere; Temperature Rise; Glacial Melting and Sealevel Rise; Ocean Acidity; Ozone Holes;

Vegetation ResponseIntroduction"Global change". "Greenhouse effect". "Global warming". The media are full of statements, concerns, guesses, and speculation about these

phenomena, as scientists and policy-makers around the world struggle to address recent scientific observations that indicate human activities impact our environment. And yet, each of these is a "natural" phenomenon, as are many others. Hurricanes, droughts, and monsoons all occur without any control by humans to initiate, forestall or moderate them. Most readers of this Tutorial already know that global warming is literally a "hot" topic. For those still with relative unfamiliarity, we recommend this Wikpedia review: effects of global warming. This page considers the nature of and evidence for global warming. There seems almost no doubt that the Earth's climate has been steadily warming overall in the last hundred years: global warming is a fact - a reality. The nagging question - still unanswered to everyone's satisfaction - is: How much of the quantified increase of about 1° C in that time interval is just due to a natural trend probably related to glacial cycles (which themselves are temperature-dependent) and how much is additional warming accelerated by human activity as the industrial revolution reaches rapidly increasing levels? The present page provides an overview of some of the answers to this question. Since it was first written, the writer (NMS) has encountered new lines of evidence - pro and con. Rather than try to splice these into the text, I have elected to add a new page (16-2a), accessed at the bottom of this page. Most people who follow the news accounts of global warming have come to realize that the primary culprit is human contributions of heat-affecting gases into the atmosphere as these are released by everyday processes such as burning coal to produce electricity and consuming gasoline to run automobiles. The most blamed gas is carbon dioxide (CO2), but carbon monoxide, methane, sulphur dioxide, and other gases also contribute. The United States is often cited as the principal polluting nation, although now China and India - each with more than a billion people, many of whom are now driving cars - are becoming major players. In the U.S., cities and surrounding metropolitan areas are the chief sources of CO2, as evident in this map made from ground and aerial sounding monitors but also containing some input from satellite measurements

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Content Reveals the Flaws in a Business

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All organizations need to know:• To whom are you talking? • Who are you? • What are you trying to say? • When do you say it? • Where do you say it?

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They also need to know:• Internally who is responsible for all the

different phases of a content strategy?• Plan• Create• Publish• Distribute• Analyze• Govern

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Want to win at content?

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Content is a conversation.

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To whom are we talking?

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To whom are we talking?

Who is our customer?

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Who are we?

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Who are we? Who is our brand?

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CONTENT IS THE CONVERSATION THAT

FUELS THE SALES PROCESS.

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Content Formats• Written articles• Podcasts• Video• Photographs• Infographics• Slide Shows• Whitepapers• Polls/Survey data

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VS.(DON’T GET CONFUSED)

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Content Delivery Tools• Websites• Blogs• Newsletters• iTunes• YouTube• Facebook• Twitter• Slideshare

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DEFINING CONTENT STRATEGY

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Content Strategy:• Align with business objectives• Support users in accomplishing tasks

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Business Goals

User Tasks

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Content Strategy Has 2 Parts

• External Messaging: Answer the 5 essential questions

• Internal Workflow: How do we create a repeatable, sustainable content lifecycle?

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Content is a Conversation:5 Questions You MUST Ask

1. To whom are we speaking?

2. Who are we? (as a brand?)

3. What are we trying to say?

4. How do we say it?

5. When and where do we say it?

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Part #1 of Content Strategy: External Messaging

External Messaging Questions• To whom are you speaking?

• Who are you?

• What are you trying to say?

• How do you say it?

• When and where do you say it?

Content Strategy Tools• Personas

• Identity Pillars

• Messaging Architecture

• Voice/Tone

• Editorial Calendar

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To Whom Are We Speaking?: Personas

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Customer Journey Maps

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Who are we?: Identity PillarsCurrent Identity Pillars Future Identity Pillars

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FOR EXAMPLE

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Identity PillarsCurrent Identity Pillars Future Identity Pillars

CHEAP

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Identity PillarsCurrent Identity Pillars Future Identity Pillars

CHEAP AFFORDABLE

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What Are We Trying to Say?:Messaging Architecture

Current Content Pillars Future Content Pillars % Articulation Statement Messaging

CHEAP

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Messaging ArchitectureCurrent Content Pillars Future Content Pillars % Articulation Statement Messaging

CHEAP AFFORDABLE

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Messaging ArchitectureCurrent Content Pillars Future Content Pillars % Articulation Statement Messaging

CHEAP AFFORDABLEYou can find the products you want, at the price you are looking for.

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Messaging ArchitectureCurrent Content Pillars Future Content Pillars % Articulation Statement Messaging

CHEAP AFFORDABLEYou can find the products you want, at the price you are looking for.

• Our prices are consistently 20% lower than other retail chains

• Robust coupon program

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How Do We Say It?:Voice and Tone

We are:sophisticated innovative academicfriendly fun important smart differentfunny hipster sarcastic sympatheticempathetic awesome helpful convenient

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VoiceWe are:

sophisticated innovative academicfriendly fun important smart differentfunny hipster sarcastic sympatheticempathetic awesome helpful convenient

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VoiceWe are:

sophisticated innovative academicfriendly fun important smart differentfunny hipster sarcastic sympatheticempathetic awesome helpful convenient

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VoiceWe are:

sophisticated innovative academicfriendly fun important smart innovativefunny hipster sarcastic sympatheticempathetic awesome helpful convenient

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When and Where Do We Say It?:Editorial Calendar

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Part #2 of Content Strategy: Internal Workflow

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The Very Dreaded Roles and Responsibilities

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Our GoalTo create a cohesive and sustainable strategy for creating, producing and

managing content that clearly defines roles and responsibilities for content

within your organization.

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DEFINE CONTENT MARKETING

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Goals of Content Marketing

1. Attract: Create content that will draw prospects like bees to a blossoming flower

2. Acquire: Give them the content in exchange for an email address or some other form of potential ongoing contact

3. Engage or connect: Continue to engage by creating and sending relevant content about your product, service or knowledge base

4. Drive profitable action: Clearly align your content creation and distribution efforts with your business goals

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#1: Attract

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#1: Attract

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#2: Acquire

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#3: Engage or Connect

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#3: Engage or Connect

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#3: Engage or Connect

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#4: Drive Profitable Action

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BE A CONTENT SUPERHERO

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1. Listen

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2. People, Process, Technology

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3. Advocate for Systems

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4. Iterate

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Content is a product.

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The Iteration Roadmap1. Process Evaluation: What does

our current process look like?2. Review of past projects: Let’s

examine 1 or 2 projects 3. Incorporate what you’ve

learned: What can we change?

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Who said?“Getting an audience is hard. Sustaining an audience is hard. It demands a consistency of thought, of purpose, and of action over a long period of time.”

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Questions?Ahava LeibtagAha Media Group, LLCahava@ahamediagroup.com

@ahavaL @ ahavaleibtag

THANK YOU!