Content Marketing moving beyond buzzwords

@AndreaTEdwards

AndreaTEdwards

AndreaTEdwards www.thedigitalconversationalist.com

The Digital Conversationalist

The Digital Conversationalist

How can I talk to you about content marketing?

You don’t shout loud enough

Greatest competition is eyeballs

#PromaxAsia @AndreaTEdwards

It’s true…

Average attention span dropped 12 secs in 2000 to 8 secs in 2015 - Statistic Brain

So content marketing…

#PromaxAsia @AndreaTEdwards

What is it?• It’s a philosophy, not a tactic• It’s not an add-on to marketing• It’s definitely not advertising• Move from selling to serving• Fundamental shift in mindset• It’s a revolution

Because we just don’t care about brands anymore – we really don’t

15% of people trust recommendations from brands

84% trust recommendations from people they know

Source: Gartner

67% of the buyers journey is now digital

Source: Sirius

Digital owns 90% of the buyers journey

Source: Forrester

#PromaxAsia @AndreaTEdwards

Who do we trust?According to an affilinet survey, the order of trust1. Family 2. Friends3. Bloggers4. Social media connections5. Colleagues6. Journalists7. Religious leaders8. Celebrities9. Brands10.Politicians

#PromaxAsia @AndreaTEdwards

We are the change• Global conversations• Sharing knowledge• Speed• Conversations• Human• Communities• Power• Today’s playing field• Business continues to speak marketing

Content Marketing is fundamentally about

business transformationIt’s not something the marketing team ‘does’

Everyone must be on board and it starts at the top

#PromaxAsia @AndreaTEdwards

Our goal todayCreating conversations with customers,

partners, influencers, employees, potential employees

To achieve that, it’s about creating content so good, it earns the right to exist in your

customers world, where they are

We’re building so much loyalty with customers – because we consistently deliver value to them –they reward us and buy from

us

Must start with content strategy

#PromaxAsia @AndreaTEdwards

Content strategy is about

• Who is your customer?• What do they REALLY care about?• What challenge are they facing?• Who buys, who influences?• What’s your story in relation to

customer need?

Do the research

1st talk to sales

What’s the conversation you want to own?

What’s the big idea?

#PromaxAsia @AndreaTEdwards

Success requires energy• The quality and intent of the content • It requires a hunger• A desire to solve your customer’s

problems• A sense of urgency in how you

think/plan• A true obsession to help customers• Half hearted? Content shock

Success needs a destination

#PromaxAsia @AndreaTEdwards

A content hub – mission critical• A central destination• Make it easy for customers to find you • Feature content audience wants• Very very little sales or promotional content• Branding up to you – subtle is good• Full spectrum of topics around big theme• Wrap CTAs around the content• It will be the future digital entry point to business

#PromaxAsia @AndreaTEdwards

Felix Baumgartner live• 8 million people watched him pass the speed of sound

- breaking a 52-year-old record According to Social Bakers• Subscribers to YouTube grew from 2,142/day to 87,801

on day of jump• Facebook = 900k interactions, 83k shares• 6 months after, sales rose 7% to $1.6bn in US • Opened new markets in Brazil, Japan, India, South

Korea • Not just good story telling, great business

ROI – reported as single largest source of new leads and revenue for American Express

ROI – what owning a category looks like

ROI – what owning a target audience looks like

ROI – how you change the global brand narrative

ROI – can connect individual blogs to million$ deals

ROI – biggest brands in the world working with me

Amplification strategy?

“The majority of content discovered by your audience comes from just three channels: email, search, and social. The best marketers focus their efforts on creating content that can be discovered across all of these.”Michael Brenner, Marketing Insider Group

#PromaxAsia @AndreaTEdwards

Defining amplification channels

• Social? • Email?• Search?• Advertising?• Native advertising - Outbrain?• PR?• Events?• Influencers, customers, partners?

What about employees?

500 connections500 x 500 = 250K5k x 500 = 2.5 mil

And remember, people are trusted

#PromaxAsia @AndreaTEdwards

Unleashing the employees

1. Culture2. Guidelines3. Employee brand first 4. A Platform 5. Effective

measurement 6. Champions 7. 1-2-1 Coaching

“If your employees aren’t

your biggest fans, you’ve got problems WAY

bigger than social media”

Jay Baer

But employees must be advocates for themselves first, brand second

To become a content marketing driven business

#PromaxAsia @AndreaTEdwards

A content marketing driven biz• Gaol is to reach customers in their bubble • Think holistically• Tap into their need• Educate them and enhance their life• Answer their questions• Engage with them how they want to be

engaged• Make them want to read/watch/absorb you• And then they buy

Once you’ve done that, measure, measure, measure, refine and keep going!Patience really is a virtue

Your customer has a challenge Identify itAlign your brand to itCreate world-class content customers can’t resist

#PromaxAsia @AndreaTEdwards

It takes guts• Starts at the top• A powerful CCO• Company-wide commitment• Strategy• Processes to simplify• 180 degree shift in thinking• An energetic, determined team• True collaboration

#PromaxAsia @AndreaTEdwards

True success is big picture

1. Siloes down2. Partnership 3. Train & trust4. Leaders

engaged5. Culture change

Image: Courtesy of Shutterstock

Content marketing is the digital shop front for your business. Is your window tantalising enough for customers to walk in or will we walk past?

#PromaxAsia @AndreaTEdwards